Overview
Ryanne Berry is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in Medieval Studies with a minor in Religious Studies. Her research focuses on devotional literature and practices in late medieval England, with particular attention to how the Passion narrative is represented, reconstructed, and refigured in the form of prayer, lyric, and visionary writing. She also works on the devotional culture of the Low Countries, in particular the writings of Hadewijch of Antwerp and the Modern Devotion. Overall, her work is driven by questions of temporality, materiality, and language in vernacular religious writing.
Research Focus
Ryanne earned her B.A. in English and Religion from Oberlin College, where her senior thesis investigated the role of the body in the writings of Hadewijch of Antwerp, Margaret Ebner, and Mechthild of Magdeburg. In 2023, Ryanne earned an M.A. in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Columbia University. Her master’s thesis argued for the presence of a “negative poetics” in Julian of Norwich’s Showings that guides the soul toward God. As a Ph.D. student, Ryanne continues to explore how medieval practices of reading and writing function as devotional acts.
- Devotional culture of late medieval England and the Low Countries
- English and continental mysticism
- Visionary literature
- Prayer and Religious lyric
- Vernacular theology
- Medieval practices of reading and writing
- Material culture
Courses Taught:
MEDVL 1101: Aspects of Medieval Culture: Heaven and Hell, Fall and Spring 2024
MEDVL 1101: Aspects of Medieval Culture: Dreams and Visions, Fall 2025 and 2026