Dyan Elliott

Dyan Elliott, Peter B. Ritzma Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History at Northwestern University, is a distinguished historian specializing in medieval Western Europe. Her research explores the intersections of gender, spirituality, and sexuality, with a focus on how societal margins illuminate central norms.

She has authored influential works such as Spiritual Marriage (1993) and Fallen Bodies (1999), and her forthcoming The Bride of Christ Goes to Hell (2012) examines metaphor and embodiment in female piety. Currently, she investigates the concept of scandal and its ideological implications for church history.

• Research Support:
  • American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)
  • Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton)
  • National Humanities Center
  • Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio
  • Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanities in Bogliasco

• Key Awards:
  • 2006 Otto Gründler Award

Contact: d.elliot@northwestern.edu