Making Waves in the Medieval Mediterranean Sea
Listen in to a conversation with Dr. Thomas Burman, former director of Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame (2017-2025), about how modern research on Mediterranean cultures is reshaping our understanding of the medieval world, exactly how far the Mediterranean world reaches, and what goes into creating textbooks for the next generation of students.
Experience the Episode
Presented by Medieval Institute
Listen in to a conversation with Dr. Thomas Burman, former director of Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame (2017-2025), about how modern research on Mediterranean cultures is reshaping our understanding of the medieval world, exactly how far the Mediterranean world reaches, and what goes into creating textbooks for the next generation of students.
Meeting in the Middle Ages is hosted by Will Beattie and Ben Pykare, both Ph.D. candidates at Notre Dame’s Medieval Institute. The podcast is sponsored by the Medieval Institute of the University of Notre Dame and supported by the Medieval Academy of America’s Graduate Student Committee through their Community Building Award.
MoreMeet the Speaker: Thomas Burman
Thomas Burman is a former director of the Medieval Institute (2017-2025) and current history professor at the University of Notre Dame. His research and teaching focus on the intellectual and cultural interactions between Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the medieval Mediterranean world. He is author of Religious Polemic and the Intellectual History of the Mozarabs, c. 1050-1200 and Reading the Qur’an in Latin Christendom, 1140-1560, and co-author with Brian Catlos and Mark Meyerson of The Sea in the Middle: The Mediterranean World, 650-1650. Currently he is completing a book entitled Beyond the Mediterranean: The Intellectual Venture of Ramon Martí (fl. 1250-84).
Book: The Sea in the Middle: The Mediterranean World, 650–1650
The Sea in the Middle presents an original and revisionist narrative of the development of the medieval west from late antiquity to the dawn of modernity. This textbook is uniquely centered on the Mediterranean and emphasizes the role played by peoples and cultures of Africa, Asia, and Europe in an age when Christians, Muslims, and Jews of various denominations engaged with each other in both conflict and collaboration.