Beverly Burd Stubbee

 

weijohn@grinnell.edu
Unit (Dept., Office, Center, etc.): 
History
Position: 
Assistant Professor
Education / Degrees: 
Princeton, B.S.E.
Yale, Ph.D.
Courses Taught: 
HIS 100: Making History: Peter Abelard and His World
HIS 233: Medieval Europe, 500-1350
HIS 234: Europe in Renaissance and Reformation, 1350-1650
HIS 335: Crusades and Crusaders
HUM 140: Medieval and Renaissance Culture, 1100-1650

Assistant Professor

John Wei came to Grinnell in August 2008 after receiving his Ph.D. earlier that year from Yale. A medievalist, his research focuses on twelfth-century law and theology (in particular, canonical collections, Gratian, the decretist summa 'Reverentia sacrorum canonum', the school of Laon, and penance). His broader fields of interest include European cultural history, the history of philosophy, textual criticism, and the history of Christianity. The only aspects of the Middle Ages he really dislikes are the lower standards of hygiene and lack of electrical appliances, flaws - he would like to point out - that were not unique to the Middle Ages, but were endemic to pre-industrialized societies.

John's extremely exciting but - strangely enough - largely readerless studies on medieval theology and canon law include the following masterpieces of scholarly writing:

  1. “Gratian and the School of Laon.” Traditio 64 (2009): 279-322.
  2. “Penitential Theology in Gratian’s Decretum: Critique and Criticism of the Treatise Baptizato homine.” Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte 126, Kanonistische Abteilung 95 (2009): 78-100.
  3. “The Collectio Sancte Genoveve and Peter Abaelard’s Sic et non.” Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte 125, Kanonistische Abteilung 94 (2008): 21-37.
  4. “A Reconsideration of St. Gall, Stiftsbibliothek 673 (Sg) in light of the Sources of Distinctions 5-7 of the De penitentia.” Bulletin of Medieval Canon Law, n.s. 27 (2007): 141-80.
  5. “Divine Simplicity and Predestination in the Second Half of the Twelfth Century.” Recherches de théologie et philosophie médiévales 73.1 (2006): 37-68.
  6. “Two Letters of Honorius III to Catalonia.” Ausa 22.155 (2005): 83-92.

Given the widespread interest in and great contemporary relevance of these topics, it is unsurprising that his past and ongoing research has received funding from a number of outside sources. Most recently, he has been the recipient of a:

  1. 2010 NEH Summer Stipend
  2. 2006-2007 Fulbright Dissertation Research Fellowship

In his spare time, John likes to read, play Scrabble/Scrabulous, travel, experiment (often unsuccessfully) with cooking, and try out new activities. He is currently interested in experimenting with an iPad, but is still waiting for someone to give one to him.