New Books Network

Princeton UP Ideas Podcast January 14, 2022

Ravenna

Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe

Judith Herrin

Hosted by Mark Klobas

At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here …

Indian Religions January 11, 2022

Hindu Theology and Biology

The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory

Jonathan B. Edelmann

Hosted by Shruti Dixit

In Hindu Theology and Biology: The Bhagavata Purana and Contemporary Theory (Oxford University Press, 2020), Professor Jonathan B. Edelmann develops a constructive and comparative theological dialogue between Hinduism and Western …

Art January 5, 2022

Tree of Pearls

The Extraordinary Architectural Patronage of the 13th-Century Egyptian Slave-Queen Shajar Al-Durr

D. Fairchild Ruggles

Hosted by Tanja Tolar

Shajar al-Durr--known as "Tree of Pearls"--began her remarkable career as a child slave, given as property to Sultan Salih of Egypt. She became his concubine, was manumitted, became his wife …

Art December 21, 2021

From Granada to Berlin

The Alhambra Cupola

Anna McSweeney

Hosted by Tanja Tolar

Part of the series CAHIM Connecting Art Histories in the Museum, Anna McSweeney's book From Granada to Berlin: The Alhambra Cupola (Kettler Verlag, 2020) is the story of an extraordinary survivor …

Islamic Studies December 17, 2021

Leaving Iberia

Islamic Law and Christian Conquest in North West Africa

Jocelyn Hendrickson

Hosted by SherAli Tareen

In her landmark new book Leaving Iberia: Islamic Law and Christian Conquest in North West Africa (Harvard UP, 2021), Jocelyn Hendrickson launches a searingly brilliant legal history centered on the …

Islamic Studies December 15, 2021

The Prophet's Heir

The Life of Ali ibn Abi Talib

Hassan Abbas

Hosted by Adam Bobeck

Ali ibn Abi Talib is arguably the single most important spiritual and intellectual authority in Islam after prophet Mohammad. Through his teachings and leadership as fourth caliph, Ali nourished Islam …

General History January 12, 2022

The Corrupter of Boys

Sodomy, Scandal, and the Medieval Clergy

Dyan Elliott

Hosted by Jana Byars

In the fourth century, clerics began to distinguish themselves from members of the laity by virtue of their augmented claims to holiness. Because clerical celibacy was key to this distinction …

Environmental Studies December 15, 2021

Community, Urban Health and Environment in the Late Medieval Low Countries

Janna Coomans

Hosted by Mohamed Gamal-Eldin

By exploring the uniquely dense urban network of the Low Countries, Janna Coomans debunks the myth of medieval cities as apathetic towards filth and disease. Based on new archival research …

Grinnell College: Authors and Artists December 1, 2021

A Conversation with Anne F. Harris, Medieval Art Historian and President of Grinnell College

"Medieval Art 250-1450: Matter, Making, and Meaning" (Oxford UP, 2021)

Anne F. Harris

Hosted by Marshall Poe

Today I talked to Anne F. Harris. Anne wears two hats: she's a medieval art historian and president of Grinnell College. We talked about her new book Medieval Art 250-1450: Matter, Making, and Meaning …

Chinese Studies November 30, 2021

The Way of the Barbarians

Redrawing Ethnic Boundaries in Tang and Song China

Shao-yun Yang

Hosted by Lance Pursey

Shao-yun Yang's The Way of the Barbarians: Redrawing Ethnic Boundaries in Tang and Song China (University of Washington Press, 2019) challenges assumptions that the cultural and socioeconomic watershed of the Tang-Song transition …

German Studies November 26, 2021

The Knight Without Boundaries

Yiddish and German Arthurian Wigalois Adaptations

Annegret Oehme

Hosted by Lea Greenberg

This volume explores a core medieval myth, the tale of an Arthurian knight called Wigalois, and the ways it connects the Yiddish-speaking Jews and the German-speaking non-Jews of the Holy …

General History November 23, 2021

The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland

Crawford Gribben

Hosted by Jana Byars

Today Crawford Gribben joins us to talk about his new book, The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland (Oxford UP, 2021). Ireland has long been regarded as a 'land of …

Middle Eastern Studies November 22, 2021

The Rise of the Arabic Book

Beatrice Gruendler

Hosted by Miguel Monteiro

How did it happen that, in the 13th century, Europe's largest library owned fewer than 2,000 volumes while Baghdad alone boasted of several libraries holding from 200,000 to 1,000,000 books …

Medieval History November 19, 2021

Ethnicity in Medieval Europe 950-1250

Medicine, Power and Religion

Claire Weeda

Hosted by Evan Zarkadas

Students in twelfth-century Paris held slanging matches, branding the English drunkards, the Germans madmen and the French as arrogant. On Crusade, army recruits from different ethnic backgrounds taunted each other’s …

Buddhist Studies November 18, 2021

The Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje

Master of Mahamudra

Ruth Gamble

Hosted by Cuilan Liu

A scholarly yet accessible biography of the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje, one of the great historical figures of Tibetan Buddhism. Known for his mastery of teachings across sectarian lines, his …

Jewish Studies November 17, 2021

The Zohar

Daniel C. Matt

Hosted by Michael Morales

Emerging some seven hundred years ago in Spain, the Zohar is considered 'the great medieval compendium of mysticism, myth, and esoteric teaching' and perhaps 'the highest expression of Jewish literary …

Ideas Roadshow Podcast November 5, 2021

Quest for Freedom

Quentin Skinner

Hosted by Howard Burton

Quest for Freedom is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and intellectual historian Quentin Skinner, Barber Beaumont Professor of the Humanities at Queen Mary University of London …

Ideas Roadshow Podcast October 26, 2021

The Consolations of History

Teofilo Ruiz

Hosted by Howard Burton

The Consolations of History is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Teofilo Ruiz, Professor Emeritus of History at UCLA. Teo Ruiz is a scholar of the …

Ideas Roadshow Podcast October 25, 2021

Religion and Culture

A Historian’s Tale

Miri Rubin

Hosted by Howard Burton

Religion and Culture: A Historian’s Tale is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary University …

Ideas Roadshow Podcast October 22, 2021

Apocalypse Then

The First Crusade

Jay Rubenstein

Hosted by Howard Burton

Apocalypse Then: The First Crusade is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Jay Rubenstein, Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Premodern World …