Ellen Thorington
Associate Professor of French
Department:
Modern Languages and Classics
Professor Thorington joined the faculty at Ball State University in 2003 after receiving her doctorate in Romance languages and literatures from Princeton University. Although specialized in French, her work is interdisciplinary and focused on the Middle Ages. She holds an MA degree in medieval studies from the University of Connecticut and loves it when her literary research leads her to explore art historical, musical, theological sources and cultural perspectives. Her research interests are in medieval French literature, poetics, digital humanities, and women writers. Her current book project focuses on Christine de Pizan and Marie de France. She is currently writing a book entitled, “Proverbs and Old Wives’ Fables: Women as Figures of Wisdom in Old and Middle French Literature”.
At Ball State, Professor Thorington takes great joy in her teaching of French and Francophone language, literature, and culture from introductory French to advanced literature and culture courses. Dr. Thorington has also worked in the Honors College teaching the Honors Sequence and offering colloquia such as “Arthur through the ages”. She enjoys working with students in the classroom and on an individual basis and has served as a mentor for honors fellows and in Ball State’s Teacher Scholar program.
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS
Book:
Greco, G. and E. Thorington, eds., (2012). Dame Philology’s Charrette: Approaching Medieval Textuality through Chrétien’s Lancelot (Essays in Memory of Karl D. Uitti). MRTS. Tempe, AZ: AZ State UP, 2012.
Recent Articles:
Thorington, E.M. “Giving birth to the Word in Harley 4431: Motherhood and Textual Genesis in Christine de Pizan’s Proverbes moraux and Enseignemens,” in C. Le Ninan and D. Demartini, eds., Genèse(s) et filiation(s) chez Christine de Pizan. Paris: Garnier, 2021, 153-170.
Thorington, E. M., (2018) “Christine and the Canon: Great Books and Worthy Women,” in A. Tarnowski, ed., Approaches to Teaching Christine de Pizan. New York: MLA, 2018, 164-71.
Thorington, E. M., (2018) “‘Fortune ce mestier m’aprist’: Christine de Pizan as Writer, Teacher and Voice of Wisdom,” in M. Bailey et al, Women and Work in Premodern Europe: Experiences, Relationships & Cultural Representation. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge, 2018, 103-23.
Thorington, E. M., (2016), “Figures de la Sagesse et de l’autorité féminine : l’exemple des Enseignements de Christine de Pizan,” Le Moyen Français 78-79 (2016) : 223-39.
Thorington, E. M., (2014), “Le Lait de Sagesse : Les Enseignemens moraux de Christine de Pizan comme legs civique,” in I. Ortega and M.-J. Filaire-Ramos eds., Le legs des pères et le lait des mères ou comment se raconte le genre dans la parenté du Moyen Âge au XXIe siècle. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2014. 45-63.
Full list available on request.
Related Links
https://ballstate.academia.edu/EllenThorington