Everything is bigger in Texas, even the universities. But what is it like teaching medieval intellectual history at one of the largest public research institutions in the US? This week, we speak with Dr. Cary Nederman, Professor of Political Science at the Bush School of Texas A&M University. A scholar of medieval and early modern intellectual history, Dr. Nederman shares how he became a political theorist of the Middle Ages more or less by accident and how the study of ideas, especially those of William of Ockham, can shape civic life today. We talk about collaboration in academia, from undergraduates to full professors, how COVID-19 reshaped his teaching, and why modern social media might have more in common with medieval friendship networks than you'd expect.

Feel free to email Dr. Nederman any questions at:

cary-j-nederman@tamu.edu

Please enjoy Dr. Nederman's lecture at the Medieval Institute here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StWlXZZG0CM

Read more about the history of ideas here:

https://www.jhiblog.org/