Lisa Lampert-Weissig

Lisa Lampert-Weissig is a Professor in the Literature Department at the University of California, San Diego, holding the Jerome and Miriam Katzin Chair in Jewish Civilization. Her expertise lies in European Medieval Studies, with a focus on late medieval English literature and medieval Jewish-Christian relations. She explores themes of marginalization through figures like the Wandering Jew, vampires, and werewolves, analyzing these across medieval and modern texts in multiple languages (including Yiddish and Latin). Her interdisciplinary approach integrates gender and sexuality studies, evident in her graduate seminar Encounters in the Archive, which examines historical records of marginalized figures such as Eleanor Rykener and Cecily Chaumpaigne.

Her research emphasizes archival recovery and its transformative potential for understanding historical injustices and contemporary identities. She co-founded New Chaucer Studies: Pedagogy and Profession, a Diamond Open Access journal, and her work bridges medieval scholarship with modern creative responses. Key interests include medieval legal records, transhistorical gender dynamics, and the intersection of labor and identity.

Her endowed chair reflects recognition of her contributions to Jewish Civilization studies. Teaching and research synergize in her courses, combining primary sources with theoretical frameworks from queer theory and feminist historiography.