Michelle Armstrong-Partida

MICHELLE ARMSTRONG-PARTIDA is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Emory University, part of the Emory College of Arts and Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in History (University of Iowa, 2008), an M.A. in History (University of Iowa, 2001), and a B.S. in Marine Biology (Texas A&M University, 1996). Her research focuses on medieval Europe and the premodern Mediterranean, with specialization in gender, sexuality, and interfaith relations among Christians, Jews, and Muslims in Iberia and the Mediterranean.

• Education:
  • Ph.D. in History, University of Iowa (2008)
  • M.A. in History, University of Iowa (2001)
  • B.S., Marine Biology, Texas A&M University (1996)

Her first monograph, Defiant Priests (2017), examines clerical masculinity and concubinage among 14th-century Catalonian priests, challenging assumptions about medieval celibacy. This work earned three prestigious awards. Her current project explores concubinage across medieval Mediterranean societies, supported by the Institute for Advanced Study (2018-2019) and the NEH (2019-2020).

Awards:

• Society for Medievalist Feminist Scholarship Book Award
• American Historical Association Book Award
• American Catholic Historical Association Book Award

Research & Grants: Her work on marginalized marital practices draws on archives in Barcelona, Rome, Venice, and beyond. She co-edits a forthcoming essay collection on women and community in medieval Iberia. Her research highlights the sociosexual dynamics of enslaved and unmarried women in concubinary relationships.