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  • Axis-Based Research

    UCLA’s world-class research hub promotes and sustains transdisciplinary studies of the periods from the 3rd to the 17th century CE across the globe. More than a half-century after its founding, the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CMRS) is now known as CMRS Center for Early Global Studies (CMRS–CEGS).

    Find Out More
  • Publications at CMRS-CEGS

    The volumes published under the CMRS-CEGS aegis include the highly-regarded journal Viator, the graduate student journal Comitatus, the Cursor Mundi book series, and the proceedings from many of our conferences.

    CMRS Publications
  • Student Support

    CMRS-CEGS supports graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in their academic and research activities through fellowships, travel grants, research assistantships, research funds, publication projects, and classes.

    Awards & Fellowships
  • Race in the Global Past through Native Lenses

    Congratulations to our director, Zrinka Stahuljak, as she and Professor Shannon Speed (Director of UCLA American Indian Studies Center) have received a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to support their project called “Race in the Global Past through Native Lenses.”

    Read more

News at CMRS-CEGS

  1. California Medieval Seminar Celebrates 30th Anniversary

    California Medieval Seminar Celebrates 30th Anniversary

    On Saturday, May 3rd, faculty and graduate students gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the California Medieval Seminar (CMS). Presenters from art history, archaeology, and medieval...

  2. Call for Presenters, Works-in-Progress (WIP) Sessions

    Call for Presenters, Works-in-Progress (WIP) Sessions

    The CMRS Center for Early Global Studies (CMRS-CEGS) will host WIP sessions to promote intellectual exchange and collegiality within our scholarly community. These sessions are open to...

  3. Introducing Diego Pirillo, Charles Speroni Endowed Chair

    Introducing Diego Pirillo, Charles Speroni Endowed Chair

    This Spring quarter, we are pleased to introduce Professor Diego Pirillo as the 2025 Charles Speroni Endowed Chair in Medieval Renaissance Literature and Culture. This endowed visiting...

  4. In Memoriam of Marianna D. Birnbaum

    In Memoriam of Marianna D. Birnbaum

    We were saddened to hear that Professor Emerita Marianna D. Birnbaum passed away on February 26, 2025. Marianna was a long-time member of CMRS-CEGS and an active...

  5. Fowler Museum Special Event: Fire, Tradition, and Cultural Survival in the Central Andes

    Fowler Museum Special Event: Fire, Tradition, and Cultural Survival in the Central Andes

    CMRS-CEGS is pleased to share the Fowler Museum Special Event: Fire, Tradition, and Cultural Survival in the Central Andes April 6, 2025 | 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM...

  6. CMRS-CEGS announces sponsorship of 5 panels at upcoming annual meeting of RSA Boston 2025

    CMRS-CEGS announces sponsorship of 5 panels at upcoming annual meeting of RSA Boston 2025

    We are proud to share that UCLA CMRS Center for Early Global Studies (CMRS-CEGS) is sponsoring five panels at the upcoming annual meeting of the Renaissance Society...

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Upcoming Events

  1. 2025 Summer Tangut Workshop

    2025 Summer Tangut Workshop

    Monday, Jul 21 @ 10:00 AM - Wednesday, Jul 30 @ 12:00 PM
  2. On Land and Across the Sea: Boccaccio’s Other Wor(l)ds. Junctions and Interweavings Conference

    On Land and Across the Sea: Boccaccio’s Other Wor(l)ds. Junctions and Interweavings Conference

    Friday, Oct 3 - Saturday, Oct 4
  3. A photo of “Post-Classical Libraries”

    “Post-Classical Libraries”

    Friday, Oct 17 - Saturday, Oct 18
  4. California Medieval Seminar (Fall 2025)

    California Medieval Seminar (Fall 2025)

    Saturday, Nov 8 @ 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
  5. A photo of New Book Salon

    New Book Salon

    Thursday, Nov 13
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The CMRS Center for Early Global Studies is hostin The CMRS Center for Early Global Studies is hosting a summer language workshop on Lesser Taught Research Languages. This year, it is featuring Tangut. It will take place over five sessions (July 21-30) and will be led by Dr. Nikita Kuzmin. 

Sign-up is free and open to the public!
Register to attend by July 14: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-tdsv4yjDBq4XrN2qU4A4mTWC9qsZieeXIauj41HsOW2BRg/viewform?pli=1

For questions, please contact Prof. Sixiang Wang (Asian Languages & Cultures, UCLA); six@ucla.edu
On Friday and Saturday, May 30-31, CMRS-CEGS hoste On Friday and Saturday, May 30-31, CMRS-CEGS hosted the conference, “Status: Developing a Category of Analysis for the Early Global World.” Historians and art historians focusing on early modern East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East gathered to explore how pre- and early modern societies (200-1800 C.E.) developed, defined, and recorded social status. Through case studies, scholars examined how categories of rank and recognition have influenced life across cultures over time. Thank you to all who attended.

We look forward to seeing you at our future events.
On Saturday, May 3rd, faculty and graduate student On Saturday, May 3rd, faculty and graduate students gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the California Medieval Seminar (CMS).

Presenters from art history, archaeology, and medieval history shared pre-circulated papers exploring aspects of the medieval past. Attendees then engaged in discussion, offering constructive feedback to help refine the presenters’ works in progress.

Patrick Geary, the CMS founder and former CMRS-CEGS director, and Piotr Górecki, who recently concluded his term as CMS director, joined us for the occasion. Special thanks to Steering Committee members Tom Barton (USD), Heather Blurton (UCSB), Rowan Dorin (Stanford), and Alison Perchuk (CSU Channel Islands), who presented Geary and Górecki with commemorative books filled with images and reflections from three decades of Seminar participants.

Following the presentation, participants gathered on the patio for a celebratory reception. Geary and Górecki led the cake cutting, marking the 30th anniversary of the California Medieval Seminar with toasts, singing, and shared reflections on the Seminar’s legacy.

Thank you to all who attended. We look forward to seeing you at the next Fall Seminar, on Saturday, November 8th.

Please note that advance registration is required. To register or inquire, contact us at cmrs@humnet.ucla.edu. Speaker details and paper topics are announced via email. Let us know if you want to be added to the distribution list. Calls for presenters are issued quarterly, typically two months before each meeting, and papers are accepted on a first-come basis.

Learn more about the California Medieval Seminar and explore past papers at: https://cmrs.ucla.edu/research/california-medieval-seminar/
Research and Conservation of Peruvian Material and Research and Conservation of Peruvian Material and Visual Heritage: Keys to Studying Interculturality
Speaker: Juan Carlos Rodríguez-Reyes

Date: Wednesday, May 14th
Time: 5:00 PM PT
Location: Fowler A222, UCLA

This event is co-sponsored by the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA Center for 17th- & 18th-Century Studies, and CMRS Center for Early Global Studies. 

Please register at the following link:
👉 [https://forms.gle/edwCPJLVu7eZ9hWt7]
The CMRS Center for Early Global Studies invites y The CMRS Center for Early Global Studies invites you to “Status: Developing a Category of Analysis for the Early Global World.” This symposium brings together historians and art historians of early modern East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East to discuss the question of “status” as a socio-analytical category. The symposium will begin on Friday, May 30th, and conclude on Saturday, May 31st
 
Status: Developing a Category of Analysis for the Early Global World
Day 1: May 30th , 3:00 – 6:00 PM 
Day 2: May 31st , 9:30 – 5:30 PM
RSVP to attend in Royce 306

This symposium invites participants to develop status as a category of analysis for the pre- and early modern world by investigating categories of social practice that were current in this past. Interested participants should be prepared to share a specific, concrete case study from their area of research between the 3rd and 19th centuries (roughly 200 C.E. – 1800 C.E.) that sheds light on how societies ordered individuals and communities in different contexts. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeEtwJJcwWWYg8hvSjwmUa44o4zoDLz_lNmKSbgCmwNEkixiw/viewform
Medieval Texts Reading Group Friday, May 16, 3 - 5 Medieval Texts Reading Group
Friday, May 16, 3 - 5 PM
Kaplan 193

This year's third meeting, led by Matthew Fisher (English), will discuss the short Middle English poem Wynnere and Wastoure. Join us for a discussion about over-using, under-using, not using, prematurely using, belatedly using, and strange medieval food stuffs. No preparation is necessary (other than a brief skim of the text) and no expertise or medieval knowledge is required – only enthusiasm! No registration required.

https://tinyurl.com/MTRG-2024-2025

For questions, contact Matthew Fisher (fisher@humnet.ucla.edu), Basil Arnould Price (basilprice@ucla.edu), or Erica Weaver (ericaweaver@humnet.ucla.edu).
 
This event is co-sponsored by the UCLA CMRS Center for Early Global Studies
The inaugural Bruin Giving Day is upon us, and the The inaugural Bruin Giving Day is upon us, and the UCLA community is already hard at work making a difference across the campus. On this community-oriented day of giving, consider supporting the UCLA CMRS Center for Early Global Studies with a gift in any amount. 

Visit https://bruingivingday.ucla.edu/pages/humanities-landing-page-1 to learn more and make your mark!
CMRS-CEGS was pleased to host the New Book Salon, CMRS-CEGS was pleased to host the New Book Salon, with Roberta Morosini (UCLA), who presented her recent book, “Dante, Moses and the Book of Islam: Visualizing the Qur’an from Byzantium to Filippino Lippi’s Adoration of the Golden Calf.” She was joined by Roberto Tottoli (University of Naples “L’Orientale”), along with colleagues, Massimo Ciavolella (UCLA), Marino Forlino (Scripps College), Akash Kumar (UC Berkeley), and M. Rahim Shayegan (UCLA).
 
At the forefront of the discussion was the question, “What does a flying bull with a half moon on its belly in Filippino Lippi’s 1502 painting, ‘The Adoration of the Golden Calf’, have in common with Muhammad, as a character of Dante’s ‘Comedy’?” Morosini argued that both figures share the same legend, a celestial delivery of the “bull law,” the Qur’an, and Moses’s Tablets of the Law. Her presentation was followed by an engaging discussion among scholars and participants, and a reception afterward to continue the conversation. 
 
We thank all who attended and contributed to the discussion. If you have a recently published book and would like to be featured in a future New Book Salon, please contact us. We look forward to continuing these conversations.
We are pleased to share the Higher Ed Geek podcast We are pleased to share the Higher Ed Geek podcast episode featuring Director Zrinka Stahuljak and PhD candidate Elizabeth Landers discussing their work on innovative Kudu, a first-of-its-kind AI-assisted, human-guided textbook developed for Comp Lit 2BW. 

In the episode, Stahuljak and Landers explore how Kudu fosters an integrated learning environment centered on increasing accessibility, enhancing writing instruction, and promoting student-centered engagement.

Watch or listen to the full episode below 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akd0BEtqzRA&list=PLSN8tM7GFYuGLGzkYR8TJZjmVmaCOjLIH&index=2
This past Monday, April 7th, CMRS-CEGS welcomed Sh This past Monday, April 7th, CMRS-CEGS welcomed Shawon Kinew (Harvard University) as this year’s Hammer Art History Lecturer, who gave an engaging talk on Melchiorre Cafà’s wood sculpture of St. Paul, Malta’s patron saint.
 
Referencing the biblical moment when Paul survived a venomous snakebite after a shipwreck, Kinew illustrated how the snake symbolizes threat and transformation. Cafà’s sculpture presents Paul as both savior and villain, while its 'healing' wooden medium introduces additional layers of meaning surrounding medicine, poison, and spiritual remedy.
 
Thank you to all who joined us. We look forward to welcoming you again at next year’s lecture.
CMRS-CEGS is pleased to have hosted this year’s CMRS-CEGS is pleased to have hosted this year’s Annual William and Lois Mathews Samuel Pepys Lecture, “Striving for Expertise,” by Carla Pestana, UCLA Distinguished Professor and Joyce Appleby Endowed Chair of America in the World. In her lecture, Pestana emphasized Pepys’s lifelong quest for expertise, focusing on his career in the Navy, where he meticulously collected data, organized information, and strove to surpass his colleagues. 
 
After the lecture, CMRS-CEGS associates, affiliates, faculty, grad students, and supporters reconvened for dinner, where the Dean of Humanities, Alexandra Stern, gave a celebratory toast. The night concluded with a reading from Pepys’s Diary.
 
Thank you to all who joined us. We look forward to welcoming you again next year!
Hammer Art History Lecture, "St. Paul Among the Sn Hammer Art History Lecture, "St. Paul Among the Snakes: A Maltese Artist Goes Home, c. 1660," by Shawon Kinew (Harvard University).

Monday, April 7, 5 - 6 PM in Royce 314

Register to attend at cmrs.ucla.edu/events

Abstract: At the end of the 1650s, Melchiorre Cafà, a Maltese sculptor, was newly established in Rome. Rome was the most significant site for sculptural production in Europe at that time. It was also a Golden Age of sculpture as artists vied for papal commissions and pushed the limits of their medium. They transformed hard stone into weightless apparitions. But, in his early days in the Caput Mundi, Cafà returned home conceptually. He carved in the humble material of wood the patron saint of his island, St. Paul, to be sent back to Malta. Today the sculpture is at the center of local devotional practices, still carried in processions celebrating the Apostle’s shipwreck in Malta. Our time is connected to Paul’s and to Cafà’s in this living tradition. A study of Cafà’s St. Paul is one of Mediterranean cultural continuities and a meditation on the ethnographic gaze of the art historian.
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The CMRS Center for Early Global Studies is part of the Humanities Division within UCLA College.
302 Royce Hall, 10745 Dickson Plaza | Los Angeles, California 90095-1485 | P: 310-825-1880 | F: 310-825-0655 | E: cmrs@humnet.ucla.edu

The CMRS Center for Early Global Studies acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to the honuukvetam (ancestors) ‘ahiihirom (elders), and ‘eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present, and emerging.

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