An Interview with CJ Jones, the New Robert M. Conway Director of the Medieval Institute
CJ Jones joined Notre Dame and became a Faculty Fellow of the Medieval Institute in 2012 and was appointed Robert M. Conway Director in 2025. Their vision for the Medieval Institute includes enhanced student experiences, international collaboration, and continued support for interdisciplinary research.
Professor Jones earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory from the University of Pennsylvania and holds an appointment as Professor of German Studies. Their interdisciplinary research draws together history, literature, music, liturgy, and manuscript studies to explore how religious women negotiated gendered and religious structures of authority. Their work has been supported by the DAAD, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study, and the National Humanities Center.
Jones is the author of two monographs on the medieval Dominican order—Ruling the Spirit: Women, Liturgy, and Dominican Reform in Late Medieval Germany (Penn Press, 2018) and Fixing the Liturgy: Friars, Sisters, and the Dominican Rite, 1256-1516 (Penn Press, 2024)—and has translated an important chronicle of the order's fifteenth-century reform movement as Women's History in the Age of Reformation: Johannes Meyer's Chronicle of the Dominican Observance (PIMS, 2019). Their publications also include co-edited volumes and special issues along with numerous articles and essays on late medieval religious culture in Central Europe, and their current research examines small-format manuscripts for worship to uncover how Catholic monks and nuns individualized and optimized the books guiding their community prayer lives. Jones is also the general editor of two book series: Medieval German Texts in Bilingual Editions and Liturgie und Volkssprache/Liturgy and the Vernacular.
We sat down with Prof. Jones to talk about their new appointment at the Medieval Institute, their dedicated career in Medieval Studies, and what they wish to see for the next years of the Medieval Institute.
What excites you about the Middle Ages and your profession?
Studying the Middle Ages shapes my actions in the world today. I often come across sources that make me wonder, what on earth were these people doing, and why? Many medieval historians wonder this too, and then we ask ourselves the natural follow-up, what on earth are we actually doing? Through curiosity and historical rigor—reading sources carefully and thoroughly, checking for bias, and testing ideas—we can let the past teach us and then use this knowledge for good in the present.
Here’s a personal example. My spiritual experience of singing has been deepened by medieval writers. I have sung in choirs since I was young, and I am passionate about sacred music. Although I love the challenge of singing a vocal line alone, singing together with others moves me deeply in a way that solo singing never has. I wrote my dissertation on voice in medieval German mysticism and studied how medieval writers theorized why singing together fosters experiences of the divine. This research taught me to think very deeply about how singing in choirs opens me to powerful feelings of fellowship and communion.
This approach to inquiry also extends deeply into my scholarly work. For example, after studying medieval theologies of song, I wanted to understand how communities built institutional structures to support people’s spiritual lives. This research led to my first monograph, Ruling the Spirit: Women, Liturgy, and Dominican Reform in Late Medieval Germany (2017), which explores how Dominican sisters rooted divine experience in strict observance of religious rules and statutes. To understand how mysticism blossomed out of the Dominican order’s rules, I asked, what were the contexts and circumstances constraining how these rules were written and enforced? What were their unintended consequences, or where were the rule’s blind spots? What sort of person were these rules intended to form?
These questions guided me too when I took on my first role within the Medieval Institute. I became the Director of Graduate Studies in 2019 and completely revised the Graduate Handbook, which describes the requirements for our Ph.D. program. I wanted to improve our students’ training and experience, so I put my research to work and asked, what are the contexts and circumstances constraining the MI’s course of study? What are the Handbook’s unintended consequences and blind spots? What sort of person are these rules intended to form? The lessons we learn from the Middle Ages help us build communities where all can flourish.
Through curiosity and historical rigor—reading sources carefully and thoroughly, checking for bias, and testing ideas—we can let the past teach us and then use this knowledge for good in the present.
What drew you to directorship of the Medieval Institute?
Its welcoming community! In 2012, I moved to South Bend from Philadelphia, where I had enjoyed a vibrant and close-knit community of medievalist friends. Moving halfway across the country can be lonely, but the Medieval Institute met me with warmth and intellectual curiosity. This fellowship has profoundly shaped the scholar I have become, and I want to pay it forward by cultivating an environment where everyone can thrive.
Communities flourish in shared spaces and I plan to start some informal social venues. Keep your eye out for invitations to no-advance-prep theory reading lunches and off-campus evening gatherings! Of course, the MI will continue to support formal academic programs and initiatives in old and new ways. I look forward to your input and collaboration as we build up our common home.
What role do you see the Medieval Institute playing both at Notre Dame and in the global medieval studies community?
Both roles involve partnering with others to build nourishing spaces for medievalist scholars. At Notre Dame, the Medieval Institute partners with other campus entities, such as the Center for Italian Studies and ND Rome, to promote visionary endeavors that elevate our scholarship. These shared projects advance Notre Dame's Strategic Framework and Provost John McGreevy’s urge to “think like an institution.” As director, I will foster existing partnerships and seek out new collaborations to maximize the impact of our resources for our medievalist community.
Globally, the MI promotes rigorous study of the Middle Ages by opening our intellectual community to scholars from around the world and partnering with institutions that have complementary strengths. Many academic institutions, both in the US and abroad, face declining resources and faculty. These cuts shrink medievalist communities and reduce available training in research skills. The MI offers world-class instruction in paleography and codicology, and co-taught summer schools and graduate workshops cultivate a new generation of scholars with international training and experience. Welcoming external scholars into our inner networks invigorates our shared intellectual life. By partnering with other institutions, we strengthen the entire field.
Tell us about your vision for the Institute.
My vision for the coming years rests on two pillars: international opportunities and experiential learning.
International partnerships will make us stronger. I am exploring new joint Ph.D. agreements with universities in Europe. I am collaborating with ND Rome on initiatives to promote Notre Dame’s medievalist strengths in the Eternal City. I am working to bring international postdoctoral scholars here to benefit from and enrich the Medieval Institute’s intellectual community. We have so many opportunities to extend the MI’s international reach!
My vision also involves expanding hands-on training and experiences. My own students gained profound understanding of monastic spirituality during a trip to Germany where we sang the liturgy of the hours with communities of nuns. I want to create more opportunities for hands-on teaching, both in the skills of rigorous historical research and through participatory activities. Our students learn paleography and codicology by working firsthand with medieval manuscripts themselves. They can also learn about medieval scribal activity by trying to write Gothic lettering with quills or sewing together a quire. There are many forms of knowledge, many paths to learning, and many ways of touching the past—some literally!
Ultimately, I envision the Medieval Institute as a welcoming and lively home for all medievalists. A home where students and emerging scholars find support and professional mentorship. Where faculty find intellectual inspiration and dialogue. Where international scholars find research collaborators, unique scholarly resources, and training opportunities. Where we strive together to achieve our shared goals. I am greatly excited to serve the field of Medieval Studies at Notre Dame and globally, and I look forward to partnering with all of you to foster the Medieval Institute’s flourishing community.
Originally published by at medieval.nd.edu on August 17, 2026.