Sara McDougall is a professor of history at the

John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts col ...

and is an appointed faculty member at the

CUNY Graduate Center The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and postgraduate university in New York City. Formed in 1961 as Division of Graduate Studies at City University ...

for the fields of Biography and Memoir, French, History, and Medieval Studies. Her research focuses on the topics of the judicial decisions on

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and how medieval law and religion influenced legal outcomes.

Education

Graduating with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, McDougall also completed a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from the same university in 2003, with a minor in music. She was a part of Boston University's College of Arts & Sciences and originally was interested in becoming an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer before switching her focus to history. She went on to earn a Ph.D. from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 2009 and became a Golieb Fellow in Legal History that same year at the

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

. While working on her Ph.D., she spent one summer traveling across France to search through church records alongside her interests in gender, marriage, and legal decisions.

Career

After completing her degrees, McDougall became an assistant professor at the

and later a full professor. For her first publication in 2012, ''Bigamy and Christian Identity in Late Medieval Champagne'', McDougall searched through records in

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

that listed Church investigations of

bigamy In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their mar ...

. She found that while husbands usually had serious punishments if found guilty, most women were merely fined a small amount, which McDougall referred to as a "useful misogyny" at the time. Since men were viewed as the head of household, they were considered responsible for their own actions and the actions of their spouse. In 2020, McDougall acted as the Norman Freehling Visiting Professor for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

's Institute for the Humanities. Her research project for that semester was titled "Surviving Illicit Pregnancy in Medieval Christian France".

Bibliography

* * * Reviews for ''Bigamy and Christian Identity in Late Medieval Champagne'': * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDougall, Sara Living people John Jay College of Criminal Justice faculty Boston University alumni Yale University alumni New York University School of Law faculty University of Michigan faculty American legal historians Women's historians American women medievalists American medievalists Year of birth missing (living people)