Caroline Walker Bynum, FBA (born May 10, 1941, in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

)Caroline Walker Bynum short CV
at

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

website (retrieved June 29, 2009). is a Medieval scholar from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. She is a University Professor ''emerita'' at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and Professor ''emerita'' of Western Medieval History at the

in Princeton, New Jersey. She was the first woman to be appointed University Professor at Columbia. She is former Dean of Columbia's School of General Studies, served as president of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

in 1996, and President of the

Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until c. 1980) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes ...

in 1997–1998.

Education and career

Bynum attended

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and h ...

before completing a bachelor's degree with high honors in history at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1962, and master's and doctoral degrees from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in 1969. Her honors include the Jefferson Lecture, a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

, and fourteen honorary degrees including degrees from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1992,

in 2005, the

and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

in 2007. She taught at Harvard University from 1969–1976, the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

from 1976–1988, Columbia University from 1988–2003, and the

from 2003–2011. In 2015, she was the Robert Janson-La Palme Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Art and Archaeology at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. Bynum's work has focused on the way medieval people, especially women, understood the nature of the human body and its physicality in the context of larger theological questions and spiritual pursuits. Bynum's work centers around late-medieval Europe. Her focus on female piety has brought increased attention to the role of women in medieval Europe.

Works

* ''Dissimilar Similitudes: Devotional Objects in Late Medieval Europe'' (New York: Zone Books, 2020). * ''Christian Materiality: An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe'' (New York: Zone Books, 2011) * ''Wonderful Blood: Theology and Practice in Late Medieval Northern Germany and Beyond'' (Philadelphia, 2006), winner of the American Academy of Religion's 2007 Award for Excellence, the 2009 Gründler Prize, and the Haskins Medal of the

in 2011. * ''Metamorphosis and Identity'' (New York: Zone Books, 2005) * ''The Resurrection of the Body in Western Christianity, 200–1336'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 1995; revised and expanded 2017); received the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize from

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, and the Jacques Barzun Prize of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. * ''Fragmentation and Redemption: Essays on Gender and the Human Body in Medieval Religion ''(New York: Zone Books, 1990), winner of the Trilling Prize for the Best Book by a Columbia Faculty Member and the Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in the Analytical-Descriptive Category from the

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholars in the field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a professional and learned society for scholars involv ...

. * ''Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), winner of the Governor's Writer's Day Award of the State of Washington and the Philip Schaff prize of the American Society of Church History. * ''Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984) * ''Docere verbo et exemplo: An Aspect of Twelfth-Century Spirituality''. Harvard Theological Studies 31 (Missoula: Scholars Press: 1979)

Awards and prizes

* Distinguished Teacher Award from the University of Washington (1981) * Berkshire Prize (1985) * MacArthur Fellowship (1986–1989) * Governor's Writers Day Award (1988) * Philip Schaff Prize (1989) * Trilling Prize (1992) *Membership to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

(1993) *Membership to the

(1995) * Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize (1995) * Barzun Prize (1996) * Columbia University, Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching (1997) * Jefferson Lecturer (1999) * Harvard University, Centennial Medal of the Harvard Graduate School (2001) * Mark van Doren Teaching Award of Columbia College (2002) * American Society of Church History, Distinguished Career Award (2005) * Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion (2007 and 1992) * Gründler Prize (2009) * Haskins Medal (2011) *

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

(2012) * Knight Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(2013) * Hebrew University, Doctor Honoris Causa (2015) In 2016 Bynum was elected a Fellow of the Ecclesiastical History Society. In July 2017, Bynum was elected a

Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

(FBA), the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the hu ...

for the humanities and social sciences.

References

* ''Women Medievalists and the Academy'', Edited by Jane Chance, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2005, pp. 995–1006.

External links

Caroline Walker Bynum
at

website (retrieved September 29, 2015).
"From the Medieval to the Modern: A Conversation with Caroline Walker Bynum"
at

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

website (retrieved June 29, 2009).
"Visual Matter: The Materiality of Late Medieval Devotional Images – A presentation by Caroline Walker Bynum"
at the University of Minnesota (retrieved November 19, 2012).

Retrieved April 19, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bynum, Caroline Walker 1941 births Harvard University alumni Institute for Advanced Study faculty Living people MacArthur Fellows Presidents of the American Historical Association University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Columbia University faculty Fasting researchers 21st-century American historians American women historians Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Women medievalists 21st-century American women Members of the American Philosophical Society