Eleanor Janega

Eleanor Janega is an American broadcaster and medievalist. Her scholarship focuses on gender and sexuality; apocalyptic thought; propaganda; and the urban experience, in the late medieval period.

Biography

Despite her initial interest in pursuing Chinese history in college, particularly the 17th century transition from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing dynasty, upon encountering professors Barbara Rosenwein and Theresa Gross-Diaz at Loyola University Chicago, she says, "It was over," and her career studying Medieval history had begun.

Janega gained her undergraduate degree in History (with honours) from Loyola University Chicago, and holds an MA (with distinction) in Medieval Studies and a PhD in history, both from University College London. Her doctoral thesis was titled Jan Milíč of Kroměříž and Emperor Charles IV: Preaching, Power, and the Church of Prague.

She is a guest teacher in the London School of Economics Department of International History, and teaches a standalone online course on Medieval Gender and Sexuality.

Janega co-hosts the Going Medieval documentary strand on the History Hit streaming service. She also co-hosts the Gone Medieval podcast, and has appeared as a talking head on radio and television.

Selected publications

• The Middle Ages: A Graphic History. London: Icon Books. 2021. ISBN 9781785785917.
• The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society. London: WW Norton. 2023. ISBN 9780393867817.
• Janega, Eleanor (2019). "Suspect Women: Prostitution, Reputation, and Gossip in Fourteenth-Century Prague" (PDF). In Mielke, Christopher; Znorovszky, Andrea-Bianka (eds.). Same bodies, different women : 'other' women in the middle ages and the early modern period. Budapest: Trivent. doi:10.22618/TP.HAA.20192. ISBN 978-615-81222-2-1. S2CID 243529846.
• "Opinion | Don't kid yourself. The Black Death's aftermath isn't cause for optimism about covid-19". Washington Post. 14 April 2020. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
• "Morality tales". Red Pepper. No. 233. ISSN 1353-7024. Retrieved 30 September 2022.