Overview
Savannah is a fifth-year PhD candidate in the Medieval Studies program whose interests lie primarily in Middle English and French literature, particularly allegories and dream-visions. She completed her B.A. and M.A. in English at the University of Georgia, and her master’s thesis centered on the role of “Reason” as an allegorical figure in medieval texts.
She was a graduate fellow for the Institute of European Studies for the 2023-2024 academic year, and she has taught courses on medieval dream-visions, allegory, Celtic literature, and the art of memory.
Research Focus
She remains interested in the medieval mind, medieval theories of cognition, and how faith and reason intersect in Christian writings. As her research has developed, however, she has become particularly fascinated by medieval images. This interest includes actual visual images as well as philosophical and theological discourses on images, the social history of iconoclasm, and how images acted in the lives of medieval peoples. She is currently conducting research into medieval image theory, art history, and iconography, and her dissertation will center on the use of the verbal image in medieval allegorical texts. While not her primary concentration, she is also interested in Middle Welsh and Irish literature.