Sharon Kinoshita

Last updated
Professor
Sharon Kinoshita
OccupationProfessor of Literature at UC Santa Cruz
Academic work
Discipline Medieval studies, Medieval French, Comparative Literature
Sub-discipline Medieval French literature, Old French Literature, Postcolonial theory
Institutions UC Santa Cruz

Sharon Kinoshita is a professor of medieval literature, and co-director of the UCSC Center for Mediterranean Studies at UC Santa Cruz. [1] In 2016, she published a new translation of Marco Polo's 'Description of the World', from the Franco-Italian 'F' version of the text. [2] In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the Medieval Academic of America. [3]

Contents

Expertise

Kinoshita has published extensively on a range of Mediterranean medieval topics, including medieval French literature, Marie de France, [4] the values of feudal society, [5] the mid-12th century chanson de geste 'Prise d'Orange', the crusades, feminist criticism, Chrétien de Troyes, courtly love, and the writing and life of Marco Polo.

Kinoshita's 2006 book, Medieval Boundaries, was awarded an Honorable Mention as a contender for the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for French and Francophone Studies by the Medieval Language Association. [6] [7] The book explores representations of cultural contact between “France” and the Islamic and Byzantine worlds. [8]

In 2021, Kinoshita delivered the Medieval Academy of America plenary at the International Congress on Medieval Studies Kalamazoo virtual conference, on “Marco Polo and the Diversity of the Global Middle Ages”. [9]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Polo</span> Venetian merchant (1254–1324)

Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo, a book that described to Europeans the then-mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China under the Yuan dynasty, giving their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan, and other locations throughout Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie de France</span> Medieval French poet

Marie de France was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court of King Henry II of England. Virtually nothing is known of her life; both her given name and its geographical specification come from manuscripts containing her works. However, one written description of her work and popularity from her own era still exists. She is considered by scholars to be the first woman known to write francophone verse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medieval literature</span> Literary works of the Middle Ages

Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages. The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works. Just as in modern literature, it is a complex and rich field of study, from the utterly sacred to the exuberantly profane, touching all points in-between. Works of literature are often grouped by place of origin, language, and genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Middle Ages</span> Period of European history between AD 1000 and 1350

The High Middle Ages, or high medieval period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 1500.

<i>The Travels of Marco Polo</i> Travelogue written by Rustichello da Pisa from stories told by Marco Polo

Book of the Marvels of the World, in English commonly called The Travels of Marco Polo, is a 13th-century travelogue written down by Rustichello da Pisa from stories told by Italian explorer Marco Polo. It describes Polo's travels through Asia between 1271 and 1295, and his experiences at the court of Kublai Khan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borzuya</span> Persian physician

Borzuya was a Persian physician in the late Sasanian era, at the time of Khosrow I. He translated the Indian Panchatantra from Sanskrit into Pahlavi. Both his translation and the original Sanskrit version he worked from are lost. Before their loss, however, his Pahlavi version was translated into Arabic by Ibn al-Muqaffa under the title of Kalila wa-Dimna or The Fables of Bidpai and became the greatest prose of Classical Arabic. The book contains fables in which animals interact in complex ways to convey teachings to princes in policy.

<i>Alexander Romance</i> Account of the life and exploits of Alexander the Great

The Alexander Romance, once described as "antiquity's most successful novel", is an account of the life and exploits of Alexander the Great. The Romance describes Alexander the Great from his birth, to his succession of the throne of Macedon, his conquests including that of the Persian Empire, and finally his death. Although constructed around an historical core, the romance is mostly fantastical, including many miraculous tales and encounters with mythical creatures such as sirens or centaurs. In this context, the term Romance refers not to the meaning of the word in modern times but in the Old French sense of a novel or roman, a "lengthy prose narrative of a complex and fictional character".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinadan</span> Fictional character

Dinadan is a Cornish knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition of the Prose Tristan and its adaptations, including a part of Le Morte d'Arthur. Best known for his humor and pragmatism, he is a close friend of the protagonist Tristan. Dinadan is the subject of several often comedic episodes until his murder by Mordred and Agravain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etel Adnan</span> Lebanese-American writer and artist (1925–2021)

Etel Adnan was a Lebanese-American poet, essayist, and visual artist. In 2003, Adnan was named "arguably the most celebrated and accomplished Arab American author writing today" by the academic journal MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Majorcan cartographic school</span> Medieval naval group

"Majorcan cartographic school" is the term coined by historians to refer to the collection of predominantly Jewish cartographers, cosmographers and navigational instrument-makers and some Christian associates that flourished in Majorca in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries until the expulsion of the Jews. The label is usually inclusive of those who worked in Catalonia. The Majorcan school is frequently contrasted with the contemporary Italian cartography school.

William of Rennes, OP was a French friar in the Dominican Order, was a poet, theologian and expert on canon law. William was a Breton born in Thorigné in the thirteenth century.

Aiol and Mirabel is an Old French chanson de geste. Originating probably in the late twelfth century, the oldest copy in Old French dates from circa 1280. It was translated into Middle Dutch, Italian, and Spanish. The narrative recounts the adventures of the young knight Aiol who attempts to restore his father's fiefdom, and along the way marries a Saracen princess.

Maurice Samuels is the Betty Jane Anlyan Professor of French at Yale University. He graduated with a BA in 1990 from Harvard University, where he also earned his MA (1995) and PhD (2000). Before moving to Yale in 2006, Samuels taught at the University of Pennsylvania. He specializes in the literature and culture of nineteenth-century France and in Jewish Studies, and is the author of books and articles on these and other topics. He is the inaugural director of the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism.

Janet Bately is a British academic, the Sir Israel Gollancz Professor Emerita of English Language and Medieval Literature at King's College London since 1977. She has a bachelor's degree from Somerville College, Oxford and began her academic career as a lecturer at Birkbeck College. Her research interests include Old English and Middle English literatures, the court of King Alfred the Great, and early modern bilingual dictionaries.

Ardis Butterfield is a scholar of medieval music and literature. She is the Marie Borroff Professor of English, and Professor of Music and French at Yale University United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bettina Bildhauer</span>

Bettina M. Bildhauer is Professor of German at the University of St Andrews. She is an expert on medieval German literature in its cultural and multilingual context, and on modern perceptions of the Middle Ages.

Margaret Alison Stones, FSA, is a British/American medievalist and academic. She has held the position of professor emerita of history of art and architecture at University of Pittsburgh since 2012. Her work has been published in national and international academic journals and she has contributed to international exhibitions.

Seeta Chaganti is a medievalist and professor of English at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on Old and Middle English poetry and contemporary material culture.

Suzanne Conklin Akbari is a medievalist, recognised for her global and comparative approach to medieval literary history. She was a Professor in English and Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto from 1995 until 2019, when she joined the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

References

  1. "Senate Faculty". humanities.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  2. Cruse, Markus (2016). "16.11.23, Kinoshita, trans., intro., The Description of the World / Marco Polo". The Medieval Review. ISSN   1096-746X.
  3. "Fellows of the Medieval Academy - The Medieval Academy of America". www.medievalacademy.org. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  4. Whalen, Logan E. (2013-02-01). "13.02.08, Kinoshita and McCracken, Marie de France: A Critical Companion". The Medieval Review. ISSN   1096-746X.
  5. Boyd, Matthieu (2013). "Marie de France: A Critical Companion by Sharon Kinoshita, Peggy McCracken (review)". Arthuriana. 23 (2): 72–73. ISSN   1934-1539.
  6. "Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for French and Francophone..." Modern Language Association. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  7. Rappaport, Scott; Writer 459-2496, Staff. "Literature professor Sharon Kinoshita receives MLA prize". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2024-04-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. McLoone, Katherine (2007). "Medieval Boundaries: Rethinking Difference in Old French Literature by Sharon Kinoshita (review)". Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies. 38 (1): 249–251. ISSN   1557-0290.
  9. Chris (2021-05-06). "MAA News – MAA@Kzoo". The Medieval Academy Blog. Retrieved 2024-04-01.