Yvonne Seale has been a member of the Geneseo faculty since 2016.
Professor Seale is a historian of medieval women and the social history of religion, with a particular focus on the history of the Premonstratensian Order in twelfth- and thirteenth-century France. At Geneseo, she teaches courses on medieval and digital history, and is a Faculty Affiliate with the Center for Digital Learning.
Her writing has appeared in publications such as the Journal of Medieval Monastic History, Medieval People, Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique, and The Public Domain Review. Her edition of the thirteenth-century cartulary of Prémontré, co-edited with Heather Wacha, is forthcoming in 2023 with the Medieval Academy of America.
She is the recipient of the Teaching Association for Medieval Studies Teaching Award for College Educators, 2019-2020.
You can follow Professor Seale on Twitter @yvonneseale or read about her latest research at her blog. Use the links below to learn more about her publications, or to see which classes she's teaching this semester.
Student Drop-In Hours (Spring 2023)
My office hours are 10-12, 1:30-2:30, W, or by appointment.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
Ph.D. in History, The University of Iowa (2016)
M.Litt. in Medieval History, University of St Andrews, Scotland (2008)
B.A. (Hons.) in History, Ancient History, and Archaeology, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland (2006)
Select Publications
“Communities of Medieval Women Religious and Their Landscapes,” in Janet Burton and Kimm Curran, eds., Medieval Women Religious, c.800- c.1500: New Perspectives, Studies in the History of Medieval Religion 52 (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2023), 166-181.
“The Cartulary of Prémontré: People, Places, and Networks from Medieval to Digital”, in Medieval People: Social Bonds, Kinship and Networks 36 (2022), 353-372. Co-written with Heather Wacha.
"Spare No Scrap. A Piece of Binder’s Waste as Evidence for Institutional Development at the Abbey of Prémontré in the Thirteenth Century" in Revue d'Histoire Ecclésiastique, 116:1/2 (May/June, 2021), 5-31. Co-written with Heather Wacha.
"History in Ruins: The Changing Fates of One of France's Grandest Castles," in History Today 69:9 (September 2019), 76-83.
"The Multi-Cultural Middle Ages: An Annotated Bibliography for Teachers" in The Once and Future Classroom: Resources for Teaching the Middle Ages Vol. 14:1 (Fall 2017).
"Well-Behaved Women? Agnès of Baudement and Agnès of Braine as Mediators and Patrons of the Premonstratensian Order", in the Haskins Society Journal: Studies in Medieval History, Vol. 28 (2016), 101-117.
"George Washington: A Descendant of Odin?", in The Public Domain Review, February 8, 2017.
"Imagining Medieval Europe in the College Classroom," in Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching, Vol. 23:1 (Spring 2016), 95-105.
"De Monasterio Desolato: Politics and Patronage in an Irish Frontier Convent," in The Journal of Medieval Monastic Studies, Vol. 4 (2015), 21-45.
"Précis of the 2014 Barry Prize Winner: Loughsewdy alias Plary: a Cistercian Nunnery Reconsidered", in Eolas: The Journal for the American Society of Irish Medieval Studies Vol. 8:1 (2015), 135-41.
"Family and Finances in Fifteenth-Century Dublin" in History Ireland Vol. 22:3 (May/June 2014), 16-19.
Classes
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HIST 112: S/Hist Matters:Pre-Mod Judaism
This course will introduce students to the field of global history through focus on historians' approaches to broad themes, problems, or questions. Specific topics will be selected by the instructor, but generally engage with historians' approaches to "real world" problems and issues with particular attention to regional and global interconnections, cross-cultural encounters, and/or comparative perspectives. All courses will include seminar style discussion, a mix of primary and secondary source readings, short analytical papers, and essay exams. May be taken twice for credit under different subtitles.
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HIST 240: S/StEurHis: Med Christianities
A study of a particular topic in European history. Topics could be defined by time, space, or theme. Early modern Europe, the Mediterranean world, and imperialism are possible topics areas that might be offered.
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HIST 441: Women in Medieval World
What was it like to be a woman in medieval Europe? This class will explore women's social, economic, and political roles in the Middle Ages, and consider the ways in which women's lives and histories have been ignored, distorted, reclaimed and re-evaluated over time. Focuses on the years 1000-1500, and draws on readings from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim contexts. Prerequisite: HIST 302 (HIST 301 also recommended).