Note to students: After you’ve watched the videos below, please compose a detailed question for Dr. Wranovix and another for Dr. Tran. Please submit your questions at the bottom of this page by Wednesday, June 17th at 11:59pm (please still do this if you’ve missed the deadline; you will earn partial credit for a late submission).
The instructor of your section will select two student questions to bring into our full-group discussion on Thursday evening.
Social Distancing in 1348 and 2020: How Stories Keep Us Connected
Matthew Wranovix, Ph.D.
Matthew Wranovix is a historian of medieval and early modern Europe who specializes in the history of religion. More broadly, he is interested in the circulation, reception, and transformation of ideas. He has written, for example, on clerical education, the circulation of books, and the construction of personal and institutional libraries by members of the secular clergy in fifteenth-century Germany as well as on the legend of the Magi, the wise men from the East who make a brief, tantalizing appearance in the Gospel of Matthew. Recently he has begun to explore medieval attitudes towards games of chance and games of skill in literature, law, and art.
At the University of New Haven, Dr. Wranovix serves as both the Honors Program Director and as a Lecturer in the department of History. He teaches courses that stress the history of ideas. For example, he has taught a course about how Greek, Roman, and medieval ideas affected the expectations and behavior of Christopher Columbus and another that traced concepts of crime and punishment from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Enlightenment. He also uses Reacting to the Past’s innovative pedagogy, which transforms the classroom into an elaborate, historically rigorous role-playing game. The immersive, competitive environment fostered by this method encourages students to engage with big ideas and classic historical texts in a new way.
Resilience and Shaping the Narrative
Alvin Tran, Sc.D., MPH
Alvin Tran, Sc.D., MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy. His research focuses on the intersection of body image, disordered eating behaviors, health policy, and racial and sexual minority health. At the University of New Haven, Dr. Tran will be leading the WeEmbody (or WE) Lab, which is a research working group of public health professionals and students.
Dr. Tran is a member of the Academy for Eating Disorders and currently serves as a co-chair for the organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. He is an advocate for the prevention of eating disorders and was the 2018 recipient of the SPARK Impact Award for Activism and Issue Advocacy by the City of Boston.
Prior to pursuing his doctoral training in public health, Dr. Tran was a Health Care Reporter for Kaiser Health News (KHN) in Washington, D.C. At KHN, he covered a variety of health topics, including the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, palliative care, and medical education and training. Dr. Tran’s work appeared in The Washington Post, National Public Radio, and PBS NewsHour.
