Thomas F. Madden | |
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Madden, 2012
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Born | 1960 |
Residence | St. Louis, Missouri |
Nationality | US |
Alma mater | University of New Mexico, University of Illinois |
Occupation | Historian |
Employer | Saint Louis University |
Known for | Crusades historian, Venice historian |
Title | Professor of History, Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, SLU |
Website | http://www.thomasmadden.org |
Thomas F. Madden (born 1960) is an American historian, a former Chair of the History Department at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and Director of Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. A specialist on the Crusades, he has often commented in the popular media after the events of September 11, to discuss topics such as how Muslims have viewed the medieval Crusades and their parallels to today's interventions in the Middle East. He has frequently appeared in the media, as a consultant for various programs on the History Channel and National Public Radio. In 2007, he was awarded the Haskins Medal from the Medieval Academy of America, for his book Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice, also a "Book of the Month" selection by the BBC History magazine. In 2012, he was named a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
Madden received his bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1986, and his Masters (1990) and PhD (1993) degrees in History from the University of Illinois.
Madden is active in the Society for the Study of the Crusades in the Latin East, and organizes panels for the Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Saint Louis, Missouri. He is the Director of the Crusades Studies Forum and the Medieval Italy Prosopographical Database Project, both housed at Saint Louis University.
Madden has written numerous books and journal articles, including the "Crusades" entry for the Encyclopædia Britannica. His research specialties are ancient and medieval history, including the Fourth Crusade, as well as ancient and medieval Italian history. His 1997 revision of The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople (originally authored by Donald Queller) was a selection of the History Book Club. He is also known for speaking about the ways that the history of the Crusades is often used for manipulation of modern political agendas. His book, The New Concise History of the Crusades has been translated into seven foreign languages.