Bianca Lopez

Bianca Lopez is the W.R. Nicholson Endowed Associate Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Southern Methodist University (SMU), Department of History. She also holds a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Center for Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti. Her research focuses on medieval Christianity, Marian devotion, and the intersection of plague, religion, and society in late medieval Italy. Lopez earned her Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis (2016) and a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz (2007).

Her major works include Queen of Sorrows: Plague, Piety, and Power in Late Medieval Italy (2024), exploring how plague shaped Marian cults, and the forthcoming Devotion to the Virgin Mary, 1300–1550. She has received prestigious awards such as the Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship and Fulbright Grant. Lopez teaches courses like HIST 1311 (Western Civilization to 1527) and HIST 2351 (Life in the Medieval World, 1095-1350).

Her research projects include investigations into the Holy House of Loreto’s devotional economy and the role of grief and piety during plagues. Lopez’s interdisciplinary approach combines archival studies with cultural and economic history, emphasizing how marginalized communities shaped religious practices.

• Awards:
  • 2015-2016 Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
  • 2013-2014 Fulbright Research Grant
  • 2012 Sidney E. Mead Prize
• Key Themes in Publications:
  • Marian shrines and pilgrimage
  • Plague’s sociocultural impact
  • Gendered holiness in medieval hagiography