Ph.D, Medieval European History, University of Kansas (2004) M.A., European History, Texas A &M University (1998) B.A. History, University of Saint Thomas (1996)
Professor Thibodeaux is a specialist in Medieval European history, with an emphasis on medieval northern France, particularly Normandy. Her research explores the connections between religion and gender, women's agency, and the history of masculinity. Her first book, an edited collection of essays, Negotiating Clerical Identities: Priests, Monks and Masculinity in the Middle Ages (Palgrave, 2010) established the historiography for the field of medieval clerical masculinity. Her second book, The Manly Priest: Clerical Celibacy, Masculinity and Reform in England and Normandy, 1066-1300, (Penn Press, 2015) explores the Catholic Church's imposition of celibacy upon the priesthood through the lens of gender. The Manly Priest won the SMFS Best First Book Prize of 2016. She is also the author of numerous essays and articles on the clerical identity and masculinity in the Middle Ages.
Her current research project, The Rape of Jeanne Corviere, is a microhistory of one woman's pursuit of justice during the time of the Hundred Years War. Drawing on unpublished medieval manuscripts, she shows how a singlewoman began a decade-long lawsuit in an effort to bring her attacker to justice, and, in turn, took on the establishment of medieval Normandy.
Professor Thibodeaux is currently chair of the Department of History, and routinely teaches a wide range of courses in early European history. In her spare time, she enjoys running, writing, and traveling abroad.
Courses taught:
History 154: Western Civilization History 339: Crusades History 354: Medieval Europe History 361: History of Sexuality History 363: Goddesses to Witches: Women in Premodern European History
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