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Gaining Critical Skills

Thomas Maurer and Michael Lovell, two of Marco’s graduate students in history

Research conducted in important archives and libraries is fundamental to making new discoveries in the humanities. At Marco, our graduate students apply their codicological training and, at the same time, gain critical skills overseas during the summer. In 2019, Thomas Maurer and Michael Lovell, two of Marco’s graduate students in history, both received DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) awards which took them to Germany. Maurer, who studied in Eichstätt, remarked that his experiences allowed him to see the past as physically tangible.

“Visiting Germany is a reminder that the Middle Ages were more than a metaphysical concept,” Maurer said.

Maurer investigates Pseudo-Joachite commentators who wrote prophetic texts about Italian cities. Lovell’s area of research in the Carolingian period requires advanced German-language skills. Lovell also used the opportunity to conduct research in Berlin, thereby making terrific progress in his dissertation project on Frankish intellectuals who defined a rational, ethical program. Both Lovell and Maurer are now intending to pursue additional grant opportunities for return trips.