Department
Department of English
Email Address
francisker@trinity.edu

Dr. Francis (they/she) is an intellectual and cultural historian of the Middle Ages (c. 500 CE- 1500 CE) with particular expertise in Middle English, Anglo-Latin, Old French, and Old Norse literature of the twelfth-fifteenth centuries. Their research unfolds at the intersection of literary studies, the history of science, gender and sexuality studies, and queer and trans studies. Dr. Francis' monograph-in-progress, Arcane Desires: Medieval Literary Magic and Transgressive Fictions, contends that writers of romance exploited the tightly-interconnected relationship between demonic magic and sodomy in canon law to envision queer and trans possibilities in later medieval literature. Prior to joining Trinity, Dr. Francis was a member of Boston University's Society of Fellows and a Visiting Fellow in Medieval Studies at Harvard University.

As a graduate of a small liberal arts college herself, Dr. Francis is very eager to work with student organizations and/or individuals interested in conducting undergraduate research; please don't hesitate to reach out!

Education

  • Ph.D. The University of California, Los Angeles
  • M.A. The University of California, Los Angeles
  • A.B. Bryn Mawr College

Selected Publications

  • “Sexing the Body, 1300-1580,” The Bloomsbury Handbook of the History of World Sexualities, ed. Nina Kushner and Nicole von Germeten. London: 
    Bloomsbury Publishing (Forthcoming Fall 2026). Invited contribution.
  • “Assassins Creed: Nottingham, or The Medievalism of Ubisoft’s Ludic Outlaw,” The Bulletin of the International Association for Robin Hood Studies Vol. 5 No.2 (Spring 2025).
  • "Alchemy, the Liber aureus, and the Erotics of Knowledge." Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality 57, No. 2 (2022): 141-164.
  • "’An Evill Race:’ Utopia, Spenser, and the Dangers of Cultural Hybridity.” Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol. 53 (2022): 147-164.
  • “Fetishizing the Past: Troilus and Criseyde, Sadomasochism, and the Historophilia of Modern BDSM.” Painful Pleasures: Sadomasochism in the Middle Ages, ed. Christopher Vaccaro (Manchester: Manchester University Press. July 2022).

Subjects Taught

  • Medieval Manuscript Lab
  • Queer and Trans Medieval Literature
  • History of Sexuality
  • Global Medieval Medicine
  • Classical Reception in the Middle Ages
  • Arthurian Fanfiction
  • Medieval Latin
  • Texas Medievalisms
  • Chaucer
  • British Literature pre-1800

Community Service & Involvement

  • President, Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship (2025-2027)
  • Co-President, Society for Queer and Trans Medieval Studies (2020-present)

Teaching and Expertise

  • Medieval Literature and Culture
  • History of Science
  • Book History
  • Medievalism
  • Gender and Sexuality Studies
  • Queer and Trans Theory
  • Video Game Studies
  • Speculative and YA Fiction

Honors & Awards

Grants and Fellowships

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Boston University Society of Fellows
  • Visiting Fellowship in Medieval Studies, Harvard University
  • Collegium of University Teaching Fellowship, UCLA                        
  • Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Romani Fellowship, UCLA
  • Lenart Graduate Research Travel Fellowship, UCLA
  • Late Antiquity, Medieval and Renaissance Consortium (LAMAR) Summer Research Fellowship, UCLA
  • Graduate Summer Research Mentorship, UCLA
  • Graduate Research Mentorship, UCLA
  • Ahmanson Research Fellowship for the Study of Medieval Manuscripts
  • Late Antiquity, Medieval and Renaissance Consortium Fellowship, UCLA

Awards

  • Best Graduate Essay Prize, Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship
  • Charles E. and Sue K. Young Graduate Award, UCLA
  • McPherson Award for Excellence, Bryn Mawr College