Phyllis Jestice
Associate Professor and Chair
PhD, Stanford, 1989
Liberal Arts Building 459
601-266-5844
phyllis.jestice@usm.edu
Dr. Jestice's research field is the history of religion in medieval Europe. She has published a monograph, Wayward Monks and the Religions Revolution of the Eleventh Century (Brill, 1997), an Encyclopedia of Irish Spirituality (ABC-Clio, 2001), as well as several articles on topics in the religious history of Europe. Jestice's work has also broadened to embrace comparative religious history, most notable in editing a three-volume encyclopedia, Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia (ABC-Clio, 2004). In her spare time she also translates from both German and French; she has published translations of Whalen Lai and Michael von Brück's Christianity and Buddhism (Orbis, 2001) and Gerd Althoff's Otto III (Penn State, 2003).
Current projects include two translations (one of the modern martyr Pierre Claverie [Orbis] and the other of a handbook on the crusades [Routledge]). Teaching interests have also led Jestice not only to introduce a course on premodern warfare (complete with catapult-building contest) but to write the chapters on naval warfare for Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World and Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World (2003 & 2005). Dr. Jestice's current research is a study of the growing popularity of pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the eleventh century, considering its implications for the concept of "Christendom" in western Europe and its role as a forerunner of the crusade movement. She is a recipient of the 2005 USM Excellence in Teaching Award.
Curriculum Vitae | Website
Department of History
http://www.usm.edu/history
601.266.4333 • history@usm.edu