James White

Area of Study / Keywords

Middle Ages the body pre-modern gender Christianity

About

Originally from Nashville in the southern US, I came to Edmonton to pursue my PhD and despite the winters, I'm still here, even after earning my doctorate!  I am a historian of late medieval Europe, with a special interest in the body, gender, and religion in late medieval Christianity.  I currently teach a range of courses on the pre-modern world, with a focus on medieval Europe.  I also regularly teach the department's required methodology course for history students.

Research

My dissertation research focused on the late medieval (1200-1500) devotion to the Holy Foreskin.  During this time, medieval people practiced affective (emotional) piety and developed a strong interest in the human side of Jesus and how he might have suffered bodily for humanity.  Based on Luke 2:21, which states that Jesus was circumcised as a Jewish boy, the belief developed that Jesus's foreskin might still be on earth; approximately 25 churches claimed to possess this relic.  My research examined theological support and opposition to these relics, with an emphasis on how three holy women (Agnes Blannbekin, Birgitta of Sweden, and Catherine of Siena) navigated both whether to believe in the relic(s) and achieving sainthood--not always successfully.

I am currently working on the late medieval anti-Jewish condemnation of circumcision by Christians in order to gain a better understanding of how medieval Christians could simultaneously venerate a circumcised Savior and also denigrate, often with wholly fictional stories, contemporary Jews who continued to practice bodily circumcision.

Teaching

I currently teach a range of courses, including HIST 110 (Pre-Modern World), HIST 111 (Early Modern World), HIST 207 (Medieval Europe), HIST 212 (Early Modern Europe), HIST 290 (Introduction to Historiography), HIST 297 (History of Christianity), and HIST 303 (Sainthood in the Middle Ages).  I periodically teach RELIG 102 (Intro to Western Religions) and RELIG 274 (Witchcraft and the Occult).  I also teach a rotating list of topics for the seminar-level courses HIST 403/491 (Medieval Europe/Medieval Mediterranean), including the medieval body, female saints and sinners, the Crusades, and medieval masculinity.  I am in the initial planning stages of a spring/summer study abroad course that would focus on medieval Europe, beginning in Paris and then doing a pilgrimage (using modern transportation!) to the site of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, one of the most famous pilgrimage destinations in the Middle Ages.

I am a co-founder of the Bodies and Being working group on pre-modern understandings of the body and its place in society.  We're small and just starting out, but check us out at https://bodiesandbeing.com/.

HIST 111 - The Early Modern World

World history from the 15th century through the 18th century.

HIST 207 - From Constantine to the Cathedral: Europe in the Middle Ages

A survey of Europe from the fourth to the thirteenth century.

HIST 297 - The History of Christianity

Lecture and discussion course about the development of Christian traditions in the world.

Browse more courses taught by James White