Alexandra Montero Peters

Dr. Alexandra Montero Peters is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Texas State University, specializing in medieval Mediterranean intellectual exchange between Iberia, North Africa, and the Near East. Her work examines how textual and intellectual traditions traversed religious, cultural, and racial boundaries through Arabic and Castilian manuscripts. She will join Northwestern University in Fall 2025. Previously, she taught at Bowdoin College.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Medieval History, University of Chicago (2022)
• M.A. in Medieval History, University of Chicago
• B.A. in Medieval Studies and History, University of Chicago

Research focuses on Alfonso X el Sabio's 13th-century Libro de los Juegos, medieval race-craft, and interfaith intellectual networks. She investigates how Castilian rulers used representations of Black peoples and Mongols in art to articulate political power. Her current book project explores Alfonso X's engagement with Islamic traditions.

Publications emphasize manuscripts as sites of cross-cultural dialogue. Recent works include a Brill chapter reinterpreting Mongol depictions in the Libro de los Juegos and an article on Blackness in Alfonsine art, both forthcoming in 2024. Her research is supported by AAUW, Erasmus+, SSRC-Mellon Mays, and Mellon Mays Fellowships.

Teaching includes courses on medieval race, Spanish history of three religions, and reframing medieval power. She has presented at prestigious venues like the Medieval Academy of America (2025) and the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean (2024).