Sarah Davis-Secord

Sarah Davis-Secord is an Associate Professor in the History Department at the University of New Mexico (UNM), where she has taught since 2012. She specializes in medieval Mediterranean history with emphasis on Sicily, intercultural exchange, and Muslim-Christian-Jewish relations through courses on medieval minorities, travel narratives, and Mediterranean civilizations.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame, where her dissertation earned the Philip Gleason Prize and Frederic C. Lane Dissertation Grant.

Dr. Davis-Secord's research examines how communication and travel connected Greek Christian, Muslim, and Latin Christian communities across medieval Sicily, challenging traditional period boundaries between Byzantine, Muslim, and Norman eras. Her work consistently explores themes of cultural hybridity, religious identity, and human mobility in the premodern Mediterranean world.

Analysis of her 2017-2023 publications reveals sustained scholarly engagement with gender dynamics in crusade literature, Muslim women's experiences under Christian rule, Norman political economy, and medieval migration patterns. These works demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches bridging historical, anthropological, and religious studies frameworks while contributing to global medieval scholarship through her co-authored textbook.

Her significant scholarly recognition includes:

• 2023 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship
• 2023 Institute for Advanced Study Residential Fellowship
• 2019 Dionisus A. Agius Prize from the Society of Medieval Mediterranean Studies
• University of Notre Dame's Philip Gleason Prize for Best Dissertation
• Medieval Academy of America's Frederic C. Lane Dissertation Grant

Dr. Davis-Secord actively mentors graduate students while leading major research initiatives including a forthcoming handbook on medieval migration studies. Her current NEH-funded project expands her migration research beyond the Mediterranean context, reflecting her commitment to innovative methodologies in premodern historical scholarship.