MEDhis is a consortium of scholars in the field of Mediterranean studies whose research centers on the social, cultural, artistic, and archaeological analysis of Western Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Byzantine interaction in medieval and early modern times, and in which the Mediterranean is accorded its widest possible geographic definition. MEDhis is particularly interested in methodological and historiographical concerns related to all forms of exchange and its dynamics within the Mediterranean, the transmission of knowledge in the formation and transformation of its political, ideological and aesthetic languages, the role of institutions in the development of societies, and the agency of artifacts in religious, political, social, and economic contexts.

The participating scholars subscribe to the argument that cross-cultural research has the possibility to open new doors to a broader understanding of both the past and the present. Just as the cultures of the Mediterranean have been inextricably interrelated since the Middle Ages, so to comprehend them today, they must be examined as part of a greater overall milieu. Each scholar within the MEDhis consortium contributes research that makes comparisons across societies, religions, chronologies, or geographies in order to shine a light on patterns of similarities while revealing significant distinctions. By hosting research seminars and encouraging scholarly interchange, MEDhis aims to contribute to the breaking down of artificial barriers constructed by disciplinary or dialectical differences.

                                                          Al-Idrisi (1154), Bodleian Library, University of Oxford