Karen L. Jolly

Professor & Undergraduate Coordinator
Europe, World Comparative / Transnational, Premodern Worlds, Global Middle Ages, Early Medieval Britain, Cultural Histories

Office: Sakamaki A415
Phone: (808) 956-7673
Email: kjolly@hawaii.edu
Accepting new graduate students? Yes

Curriculum Vitae | Personal Webpage | Blog: Revealing Words: Northumbria in the Tenth Century | Essay: Ask a Historian!

Background

Dr. Jolly received her B.A. in English (1978), an Interdisciplinary M.A. in English, History, and Religious Studies (1981), and a Ph.D. in medieval History (1987), all from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Her research interests began with popular religion in medical remedies and extended into interdisciplinary approaches to magic, science, and religion. Her most recent monograph is The Community of St. Cuthbert in the Late Tenth Century: The Chester-le-Street Additions to Durham Cathedral Library A.IV.19 (The Ohio State University Press, 2012), a cultural study of a viking-era religious community focused on liturgical rituals, bilinguality, and manuscript studies. In 2022-24 she served as the inaugural Jerry H. Bentley Distinguished Professor of World History with the project “Medieval Worlds: Muddling through the Middle Ages.” The project included a creative revamping of World History to 1500, which won a University of Hawai‘i Innovation and Impact Showcase Award for 2023-24 for “Storytelling: An Immersive and Interactive Learning Journey,” and a book in progress on “The Ethics of Teaching Medieval Worlds: Student Engagement and Decentred Perspectives on History.” On the side, she has a historical fiction project exploring the life of Aldred, a 10th-century Northumbrian scribe, which you can follow on her blog. As a kama‘āina settler scholar, Dr. Jolly is actively seeking to develop aloha ‘āina in her research, teaching, and community activities in this Native Hawaiian place of learning. Dr. Jolly offers undergraduate courses on world history to 1500, medieval Europe, the global Middle Ages, and historiography, as well as graduate seminars in world history and medieval studies.

Courses Offered

Dr. Jolly offers courses on Medieval Europe, History of Christianity, World History to 1500, and History/Social Studies education. As a member of the Honors faculty, she will be offering interdisciplinary topical courses.

Representative Publications

• Book in progress: “The Ethics of Teaching Medieval Worlds: Student Engagement and Decentered Perspectives on History,” Arc Humanities Press