Leslie J. Workman
Encyclopedia
Leslie J. Workman was an independent scholar and founder of academic medievalism
.
, studied at Kings College, University of London
(B.A. in History), and then served in the British Army in Egypt, Palestine, and Sudan from 1945 to 1948. In 1954 he emigrated to the United States
and studied History at Columbia University
and Ohio State University
. Later he taught at Queens College of New York University
, Muhlenberg College
, (Allentown, PA), and Western College for Women
(Oxford, OH). In 1983 he married Kathleen Verduin, a Professor of American Literature at Hope College
, Holland, MI.
studies. He began to organize the first conference sections on the topic in 1971 at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University
(Kalamazoo, Michigan
), founded the leading academic journal, Studies in Medievalism, in 1979, and started the annual International Conference on Medievalism in 1986. In 1998, colleagues and students recognized his extraordinary achievements with a Festschrift, Medievalism in the Modern World: Essays in Honour of Leslie J. Workman.
Publishers in Cambridge, UK. After Workman's death, the publication was edited by Tom Shippey
of St. Louis University. It is currently edited by Karl Fugelso at Towson University
. As was Workman's original intention, the journal welcomes articles on both scholarly and popular works, with particular interest in the interaction between scholarship and re-creation.
, has been serving as editor.
(Notre Dame, IN) in 1986 and 1987. Subsequent conferences were organized through the Newberry Library
and Northeastern Illinois University
(Chicago, IL: 1988), the United States Military Academy
(1989), Castle Kaprun
(jointly with the 5th Symposium on Mittelalter-Rezeption, Austria: 1990), the University of Delaware
(1991), the University of South Florida
(1992), the University of Leeds
(UK: 1993), Montana State University (Bozeman, MT: 1994), the Higgins Armory Museum
(Worcester, MA: 1995), Kalamazoo College
(Kalamazoo, MI: 1996), Christ Church College (Canterbury, UK: 1997), University of Rochester
(Rochester, NY: 1998), Montana State University (1999), Hope College
(Holland, MI: 2000), Buffalo State College
(Buffalo, NY: 2001), the University of Northern Iowa
(Cedar Falls, IA: 2002), St. Louis University (St. Louis, MO: 2003), University of New Brunswick
(Canada: 2004), Towson University
(Baltimore, MD: 2005), Ohio State University
(Columbus, OH: 2006), University of Western Ontario
(London, ON, Canada: 2007), Wesleyan College
(Macon, GA: 2008), Siena College
(Loudonville, NY: 2009), and the University of Groningen
(Groningen, Netherlands: 2010). The 2011 conference will take place at the University of New Mexico
(Albuquerque, NM).
Medievalism
Medievalism is the system of belief and practice characteristic of the Middle Ages, or devotion to elements of that period, which has been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and various vehicles of popular culture.Since the 18th century, a...
.
Biography
Workman received his education at the Russell School, LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, studied at Kings College, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
(B.A. in History), and then served in the British Army in Egypt, Palestine, and Sudan from 1945 to 1948. In 1954 he emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and studied History at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. Later he taught at Queens College of New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.- History...
, (Allentown, PA), and Western College for Women
Western College for Women
Western College for Women was a women's college in Oxford, Ohio between 1855 and 1974.-History:Western College was founded in 1853 as Western Female Seminary. It was a daughter school of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Its first principal Helen Peabody and most of the early...
(Oxford, OH). In 1983 he married Kathleen Verduin, a Professor of American Literature at Hope College
Hope College
Hope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
, Holland, MI.
Achievements
Workman’s original contribution to the academy is the establishing of a network of scholars who studied the reception of medieval culture in postmedieval times. Although without academic appointment since the early 1980s, he managed to convince numerous colleagues of the value of the paradigm of medievalismMedievalism
Medievalism is the system of belief and practice characteristic of the Middle Ages, or devotion to elements of that period, which has been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and various vehicles of popular culture.Since the 18th century, a...
studies. He began to organize the first conference sections on the topic in 1971 at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
(Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
), founded the leading academic journal, Studies in Medievalism, in 1979, and started the annual International Conference on Medievalism in 1986. In 1998, colleagues and students recognized his extraordinary achievements with a Festschrift, Medievalism in the Modern World: Essays in Honour of Leslie J. Workman.
Studies in Medievalism
Workman founded Studies in Medievalism (SiM) in 1979 as the only academic journal dedicated entirely to the study of post-medieval images and perceptions of the Middle Ages. Initially privately published (1979 - 1990), it was adopted by Boydell & BrewerBoydell & Brewer
Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, editions, and translations of material related to the...
Publishers in Cambridge, UK. After Workman's death, the publication was edited by Tom Shippey
Tom Shippey
Thomas Alan Shippey is a scholar of medieval literature, including that of Anglo-Saxon England, and of modern fantasy and science fiction, in particular the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, about whom he has written several scholarly studies. He is widely considered one of the leading academic scholars...
of St. Louis University. It is currently edited by Karl Fugelso at Towson University
Towson University
Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short, is a public university located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S...
. As was Workman's original intention, the journal welcomes articles on both scholarly and popular works, with particular interest in the interaction between scholarship and re-creation.
The Year's Work in Medievalism
Workman originally conceived of The Year's Work in Medievalism (YWIM) as a publishing venue not only for the Proceedings of the annual International Conference on Medievalism, but also for comprehensive field bibliographies, book reviews, and announcements of conferences and other events. However, it became mostly an outlet for shorter essays based on conference presentations. By now, 25 volumes should have been published, but only a small number of them actually made it into print. Gwendolyn Morgan, Montana State University, served as general editor for the proceedings series for many years. Since 2011, E. L. Risden, St. Norbert CollegeSt. Norbert College
St. Norbert College is a private Catholic liberal arts college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in October 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Norbertine priest and educator, the school was named after Saint Norbert of Xanten. In 1952, the college became coeducational and today enrolls about 2,175...
, has been serving as editor.
International Conference
Workman founded the annual International Conference on Medievalism (ICOM; known as the General Conference on Medievalism until 1993) with two meetings at the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
(Notre Dame, IN) in 1986 and 1987. Subsequent conferences were organized through the Newberry Library
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...
and Northeastern Illinois University
Northeastern Illinois University
Northeastern Illinois University is a public state university located in Chicago, Illinois. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park with three additional campuses in the metropolitan area. Tracing its founding to 1867, it was first established as a separate branch of a...
(Chicago, IL: 1988), the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
(1989), Castle Kaprun
Kaprun
Kaprun is a small alpine village in the district of Zell am See in the state of Salzburg, Austria. At the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, it is a year round sports centre, with a population of 2,903 ....
(jointly with the 5th Symposium on Mittelalter-Rezeption, Austria: 1990), the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
(1991), the University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
(1992), the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
(UK: 1993), Montana State University (Bozeman, MT: 1994), the Higgins Armory Museum
Higgins Armory Museum
Higgins Armory Museum, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, housed in a steel Art Deco Building, is one of the few museums in the Western Hemisphere devoted to arms and armour. The museum is a public, non-profit museum specializing in the history of arms and armor...
(Worcester, MA: 1995), Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College, also known as K College or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1833, the college is among the 100 oldest in the country. Today, it produces more Peace Corps volunteers per capita than any other U.S...
(Kalamazoo, MI: 1996), Christ Church College (Canterbury, UK: 1997), University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
(Rochester, NY: 1998), Montana State University (1999), Hope College
Hope College
Hope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
(Holland, MI: 2000), Buffalo State College
Buffalo State College
The State University of New York College at Buffalo, referred to as Buffalo State College, often referred to colloquially as Buff State, is a public, liberal arts college in Buffalo, New York, United States and is part of the State University of New York. Buffalo State was founded in 1871 as the...
(Buffalo, NY: 2001), the University of Northern Iowa
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...
(Cedar Falls, IA: 2002), St. Louis University (St. Louis, MO: 2003), University of New Brunswick
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...
(Canada: 2004), Towson University
Towson University
Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short, is a public university located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S...
(Baltimore, MD: 2005), Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
(Columbus, OH: 2006), University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
(London, ON, Canada: 2007), Wesleyan College
Wesleyan College
Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college located in Macon, Georgia, United States.-History:The school was chartered on December 23, 1836 as the Georgia Female College, and opened its doors to students on January 7, 1839. The school was renamed Wesleyan Female College in 1843...
(Macon, GA: 2008), Siena College
Siena College
Siena College is an independent Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Loudonville, in the town of Colonie, New York, United States. Siena is a four-year, coeducational, independent college in the Franciscan tradition, founded by the Franciscan Friars in 1937. It has 3,000 full-time students and...
(Loudonville, NY: 2009), and the University of Groningen
University of Groningen
The University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as well as one of its largest. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated...
(Groningen, Netherlands: 2010). The 2011 conference will take place at the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
(Albuquerque, NM).
Select Publications
- Medievalism. In: The Arthurian Encyclopedia, ed. Norris J. Lacy. New York: Garland, 1985. Pp. 387-91.
- Medievalism and Romanticism. In: Poetica. 39-40 (1994), 1-34.
- Studies in Medievalism, 1979-1999. (Ed.)
Literature
- William CalinWilliam CalinWilliam Compaine Calin is a senior scholar of Medieval French literature and French Poetry at the University of Florida. His work has focused on Breton and Occitan Studies and on Franco-British literary relations....
: "Leslie Workman: A Speech of Thanks," in: Richard Utz and Tom Shippey (eds.): Medievalism in the Modern World. Essays in Honour of Leslie Workman. Turnhout: Brepols, 1998. Pp. 451-52. - Richard Utz: "Medievalism in the Making: A Bibliography of Leslie J. Workman," in: The Year's Work in Medievalism 15 (2001), 127-31.
- Richard Utz: "Medievalism," in: Robert Bjork (ed.): Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), vol. III, pp. 1118-1119.
- Richard Utz: “Coming to Terms with Medievalism: Toward a Conceptual History.” European Journal of English Studies 15.2 (2011): 101-13.
- Kathleen Verduin: "The Founding and the Founder: MedievalismMedievalismMedievalism is the system of belief and practice characteristic of the Middle Ages, or devotion to elements of that period, which has been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and various vehicles of popular culture.Since the 18th century, a...
and the Legacy of Leslie J. Workman," Studies in Medievalism 17 (2009). - Kathleen Verduin: “Remembering Leslie J. Workman (1927-2001),” in: Anne Lair and Richard Utz (eds.): Falling into Medievalism http://www.uni.edu/universitas/spring06/kathleenverduin.htm, Special edition: UNIversitas: The University of Northern Iowa Journal of Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity, 2006.