Ian P Wei

Dr. Ian P Wei serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Bristol, specializing in the intellectual culture and social history of ideas in twelfth and thirteenth-century Western Europe. His research examines the authority of theology masters at the University of Paris and explores how medieval intellectuals developed epistemological frameworks influencing societal views on money, sex, and politics.

Research interests: Dr. Wei investigates the social embeddedness of medieval knowledge production, with emphasis on institutional power structures at European universities. His work reveals how theological discourse intersected with economic practices and gender relations, particularly through analysis of Parisian academic texts. As co-coordinator of the international 'Ideas and Universities' project since 2004, he facilitates cross-cultural dialogue among 15+ global institutions including Hong Kong, Illinois, and Nanjing to examine historical patterns of knowledge institutionalization.

Scientific awards:

Advising and grants: Dr. Wei has supervised MA/PhD dissertations on theological interpretations of pain, spatial representations in medieval chronicles, royal financial regulation in England, and Bernardus Silverstris' works. His research is supported by the 'Globalising Geographies of Research' project involving 25+ international collaborators, which analyzed transnational academic networks and institutional development patterns across university systems worldwide.

Labs and teams: As a core member of Bristol's Centre for Medieval Studies, he participates in interdisciplinary research on medieval epistemology. He co-leads the 'Ideas and Universities' network coordinating biannual video seminars and international conferences that connect scholars from Bergen, Toronto, Sydney, and Zhejiang to study historical and contemporary university structures.