معرفی
Arthur Bahr is Professor of Literature in the Department of Literature at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), within the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. A leading scholar in medieval manuscript studies, he directs MIT's Ancient and Medieval Studies program (AMS@MIT) and has held pivotal administrative roles including Chair of the Committee on the Undergraduate Program (2019-21) during the pandemic, Curriculum Chair of Literature, and Co-Chair of Ancient and Medieval Studies. His work bridges philological rigor with innovative theoretical frameworks, examining how medieval manuscripts' physical forms generate literary meaning.
Bahr's research centers on medieval manuscript materiality, investigating how textual compilations—particularly London-based collections and the Pearl-Manuscript (British Library MS Cotton Nero A.x)—create meaning through fragmentation, scribal intervention, and visual arrangement. He pioneered the speculative criticism approach, arguing that material contingencies (like accidental page alignments) produce legitimate interpretive pathways. His current project provocatively links parchment sheets to ice rinks, drawing on his expertise as a national figure skating judge to explore performance, inscription, and erasure across both domains. This reflects his signature method: finding resonance in seemingly disparate systems through formalist-materialist synthesis.
His 2025 monograph Chasing the Pearl-Manuscript and related articles reveal consistent engagement with manuscript geometry, narrative circularity, and speculative reconstruction. Across publications, Bahr demonstrates how medieval compilations function as dynamic assemblages where textual, visual, and material elements interact to create meanings exceeding authorial intent—particularly evident in his analyses of Sir Gawain, Pearl, and Cleanness.
His scholarly impact is recognized through:
- MacVicar Faculty Fellowship (MIT's highest teaching honor, 2015)
- Fulbright Fellowship (Iceland)
- Hayes Career Development Chair (2012-15)
- Levitan Award for Teaching Excellence (2012)
- Newhouse Center Fellowship (Wellesley College, 2014-15)
As an educator, Bahr transformed MIT's curriculum during the pandemic through APART (Academic Policies and Regulations Team) and Task Force 2021, while founding AMS@MIT's Latin program and interdisciplinary course Empire. He co-founded FORMER—a transnational collective of medievalists exploring literary form—with scholars from Columbia, UC-Davis, and Amherst. His administrative leadership extends to designing MIT's Compass Course on 'Love, Death, and Taxes,' demonstrating his commitment to making medieval thought relevant to contemporary humanistic inquiry.
Beyond academia, Bahr serves as a national figure skating judge for U.S. Figure Skating, connecting his scholarly interest in performance to athletic practice. His AMS@MIT initiative has revitalized medieval studies at MIT through speaker series, Latin instruction, and collaborative teaching.
