Two Seton Hall professors are in the process of forming a new medieval club on campus.
The club is spearheaded by professors Angela Weisl, chair of the English department, and Laura Wangerin, assistant professor of history. Both professors teach a wide variety of medieval courses such as Medieval Literature, Medieval Women and High Middle Ages. The club aims to feature various games, movie nights, banquets, museums trips and much more.
On Feb. 26, the Medieval Club had their first meeting to gauge interest in the club Dr. Wangerin said. At the meeting, they had pizza, cake and various Medieval-themed board games. “We had people playing Hnefatafl which is a Viking board game of strategy as well as the group playing Carcassonne which is a medieval-themed strategy game,” Wangerin said.
The club follows the establishment of the Medieval and Renaissance minor, Weisl explained. “We started thinking it would be nice to have some student organization that lined up with that,” Weisl said. She also said the club would allow students to explore topics and activities that do not necessarily fit in with the specific courses.
Wangerin added that the club itself has an emphasis on both fun and education. “The goal of the club is to explore both Medieval society, aspects of that and Medievalism, how the modern world interprets Medieval society,” she explained. Wangerin said additional activities that they would like to have are calligraphy workshops, field trips to the Medieval Times and guest lecturers.
In regards to why students should join the club, Weisl said that there are no other clubs on campus based on specific historical periods. Aside from this, the variety of activities the club plans to offer sets them apart she said. Students can have a good time while also learning more about the period in history she added.
Brian Pulverenti, a senior classical studies and English major with a minor in medieval studies, said he joined the club because of his passion for the time period. “I joined the Medieval Studies club because I am fascinated by the subject matter and I knew that the club would allow me to meet others who share my interest,” Pulverenti said. He said the club has something to offer everyone and that he will be attending future meetings.
The next meeting will be on March 26, at 6 p.m. in Fahy 123. There will be Renaissance writing games with Dean Peter Shoemaker of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Students interested in joining the club can either attend the next meeting or contact Weisl.
Daniel D’Amico can be reached at daniel.damico@student.shu.edu.
