Tanner has established herself as an international expert on medieval life – especially the roles of women. She has written multiple books on the topic, won prestigious awards, and recorded four podcasts for the Teaching Medieval Women, a K16 collaboration in the U.K. In 2024, she won the Ohio Academy of History Teaching Award, which recognized her for the “intellectual rigor of her classes and her deep concern for her students,” who consistently praise her as an “inspiring, caring and engaged instructor.”
Her primary academic interest centers around how noble and royal women and men exercised power, particularly in the tenth through mid-thirteenth centuries, in northern France, Belgium and England. This has led her to study lordship, feudalism, administration, law and custom, as well as emotions and rituals.
***
What do you do at Ohio State Mansfield?
I am a history professor who teaches ancient, medieval and early modern history of the people who lived around the Mediterranean Sea and Europe, or c. 2500 AD to 1700 AD. In addition to the introduction to medieval history, my teaching focuses on religious history (ancient Christianity, the crusades, the Reformations), social history (medieval women, magic and witchcraft, creating medieval monsters), and political history (Roman Empire, Tudor-Stuart).
My research routinely brings to me England, Belgium, and France to transcribe documents in the archives and collaborate with historians and archeologists in the Global Flanders project. I also present papers at international medieval conferences such as the Battle Conference, Gender and Medieval Studies, and International Medieval Congress, as well as conferences here in the U.S.
What drew you to Ohio State Mansfield?
The faculty and staff are what drew me to Ohio State Mansfield. They were and are inspiring scholars, teachers and professionals who care deeply about student success. They are also lots of fun.
What are you most proud of with your time at Ohio State Mansfield?
I think the things I’m most proud of are: creating the Traditions, Cultures and Transformations GEC theme; working with my colleagues to renovate Bromfield Library into a state of art Information Commons; and collaborating to get the Ecolab established.
What does it mean to be a Buckeye?
For me, it’s helping students increase their skills and knowledge so that they can succeed in their careers and be thoughtful citizens.
What advice do you have for students?
First, be an active learner. Active learning is thinking, discussing, investigating and creating on your own and with classmates, guided by your professors. Second, take risks. Know that you will fail (little and big). Failures and challenges are key to your growth, not an assessment of your worth or ability. Risk-taking also means trying all sorts of new things – extracurricular events, leadership positions, and clubs as they are an important element of college learning. Finally, be committed – you need to devote a significant amount of time to succeed at college. It’s tough but necessary to manage your time well.
What do you do outside of work?
I love cooking, music, dancing, reading (especially mysteries and S.F.), travelling and hanging out with my family and friends.
Name one thing about yourself that not many people know?
Until I got my first job as a professor, I spent much of my free time dancing – ballet, modern, jazz, hula, belly-dancing and dancing to rock ‘n roll.
