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Academic Performance Review
During Employment at the University of
Texas in Austin (2006-2008)
L. J. Andrew Villalon, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
History Department
The
following report summarizes academic activity since having begun working
for the University of Texas in the fall of 2006. It is organized
around two headings, “Professional Activity” and “Teaching.”
A. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY:
Book Publication
The Hundred Years War (Part II): New Vistas,
ed. by L. J. Andrew Villalon and Donald Kagay (Brill: Leiden, 2008), 477
pages.
This is volume two of an
academic collection on the Hundred Years War co-edited with Donald J.
Kagay. We received the unofficial go-ahead for a second volume from
Brill’s acquisitions editor, Julian Deahl, shortly after the first volume
appeared in 2005. We already had a start on the process of gathering
articles, since we had several in hand that for one reason or another had
not made it into volume one as well as several other commitments that had
not progressed to a manuscript. Starting from that base, we put together
a collection of fourteen articles including a lengthy, revisionist
analysis of Agincourt, the best documented medieval battle, by Professor
Clifford Rogers of the Military Academy at West Point, currently the
finest medieval military historian in the country. By 2007, we had
received a highly positive reader’s report on the manuscript that we
submitted to the publisher during a meeting of the American Historical
Association in Atlanta. The key passage of that report reads in part as
follows:
“I am pleased to recommend
publication of this second volume of essays edited by Villalon and Kagay.
This is a wide-ranging but coherent collection that explores historical
and literary aspects of the Hundred Years War, and in particular questions
of military strategy and tactics, memory and reputation of ‘heroes’ and of
events, and the wider impact of warfare upon society. The book will
certainly enjoy the same success as the previous volume, and provides an
important forum for North American scholars, both established and new, in
this field. It will primarily appeal to researchers and university
students, but the discussions of key heroic figures and of battles will
also attract the attention of a wider audience. Overall I would rate this
book amongst the top 50% of books that I have read in this field and would
recommend publication with the reservations outlined below.”
The volume that was completed and printed
in the summer of 2008, was complimented as follows in an email by Brill
editor, Marcella Mulder: “Dear Don and Andy,
I hope this message finds you well. I have
good news for you. The advance copy of your book arrived yesterday and it
looks wonderful. You and Gera [the Brill copy editor] really did a
wonderful job again. Congratulations!”
Article Publication
“Cut Off Their Heads, or I’ll Cut Off
Yours”: The Strategy and Tactics of Castile in the War of the Two Pedros,”
in The Hundred Years War (Part II): New Vistas, ed. by L. J.
Andrew Villalon and Donald Kagay (Brill, 2008), 153-84.
A paper on this subject was first
presented in a panel entitled "A Strategy of Unending Conflict: The War
of the Two Pedros” at the 39th
International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University,
Kalamazoo, Michigan (May
2004). A lengthier and substantially reworked version became my
contribution to the Hundred Years War collection that appeared in print in
autumn, 2008.
“Appendix One: The Hundred Years War and
Genealogical Charts,” in The Hundred Years War (Part II): New Vistas,
ed. by L. J. Andrew Villalon and Donald Kagay (Brill, 2008), 403-20.
This is a signed, article length synopsis
of the Hundred Years War prepared for the collection.
[Copies are available upon request.]
Accepted Book Projects
A joint monograph for Brill dealing with
the Battle of Nájera (1367).
Nájera is almost certainly the least
well-known of the great battles of the fourteenth century. Nevertheless,
in its own way, it was as significant as those other major encounters of
the Hundred Years War that involved the Black Prince of England (d. 1376)—Crecy
(1346) and Poitiers (1356). A jointly-written monograph on the subject is
a natural outcome of extensive work on the battle that both I and my
editing partner, Donald Kagay, have done over the course of the last
decade.
Kelly DeVries, a leading medieval military
historian who has compiled the standard bibliography on medieval warfare,
has recently characterized my work on Spanish military events in the
second half of the founteenth century as follows:
“A nice introduction to the military
history of Pedro I of Castille is L. J. Andrew Villalon, “Pedro the
Cruel: Portrait of a Royal Failure,” in Medieval Iberia: Essays on the
History and Literature of Medieval Spain, ed. Donald J. Kagay and Joseph
T. Snow (New York, 1997), 201-16. “
“The best study [of Nájera] is L. J. Andrew
Villalon, “Spanish Involvement in the Hundred Years War and the Battle of
Nájera,” in Hundred Years War: A Wider Focus, ed. L. J. Andrew Villalon
and Donald J. Kagay (Leiden, 2005), 3-74.”
Consequently, when, as general editor of
Brill’s military series, he received a proposal for a volume on the
subject, his reaction was highly positive.
I think that the Kagay and Villalon volume
is an excellent proposal. A
book on the battle of Najera is very much needed. I think this is a
very misunderstood engagement, mostly because it is almost entirely seen
from the Anglo-French side of things. Don and Andy's perspective from
the Spanish side is certainly necessary to fill this gap in knowledge.
Just looking over some of the most recent works on the early 100 years
war proves this. Cliff Rogers ends his book before having to deal with
the battle -- and in fact told me that he did so so that he would not
have to deal with the Spanish side of the conflict. David Green's
couple of books on the Black Prince are also rather scanty in their
coverage of the engagement. His popular book (Sutton a few years ago)
says very little about the actual battle and his more recent, more
scholarly tome (Longmans) does little more; nor does he look at any
Spanish source material (or very little at least). Richard Barber's bio
on the BP is no better, and Jonathan Sumption's second volume on the
Hundred Years War always lacks a balanced view in my opinion (but I
seem
to be the sole person who thinks his are not very good books -- he is
far too anglo-centric and does not get into any narrative sources that
are outside of the Anglo-French world). So, I think this is a wonderful
opportunity to pull in a really good book. (I also love the fact that
they plan to put translations of the important documents in this
volume.) Don and Andy have done good work for Brill in their editions.
Don, too, has published some very impressive works of late, including a
recent article in the Journal of Military History. I say this is a "go"
all the way."
On the strength of the DeVries
recommendation, we now have a contract for the book from Brill.
A third volume of the Hundred Years War
Collection
At the 2008 Medieval Congress, I spoke with
Julian Deahl about three collections we would like to place with Brill.
Having received a tentative expression of interest on all three, I
contacted a list of possible contributors to a third volume on the Hundred
Years War. Some of these people had already worked on articles for the
collection that did not for make it into volume two, due to problems with
deadlines. Others, in particular a British contingent, I approached for
the first time. In general, the response was enthusiastic and we now have
about a dozen firm commitments as well as a number of other potential
contributors who have expressed interest. Among these are important
British scholars, including Anne Curry, currently one of the leading
historians writing about the conflict.
After having gathered contributors, I
received the following commitment from Julian:
Dear Andy,
thanks for this. It looks fine: of the two
who have yet to send titles (Anne Curry and William Caferro) I would
expect excellent articles. Are you sure enough of this to go to Kelly (or
the wider board)
Best wishes,
Julian
Articles Accepted for Publication (with
revisions)
"Taking the King’s Shilling to Avoid the
Wages of Crime: Royal Pardons for Military Malefactors in the Early
Stages of the Hundred Years War.
The original paper on this subject was
presented, under a slightly different title in May, 2006, at the
International Medieval Congress as part of a panel entitled “Financing
War.” The following October, I presented it for a second time to the
University of Texas History Department’s Luncheon Seminar. Largely on the
basis of suggestions received at that time, I revised and lengthened the
paper and, in March, 2007, submitted it to the Journal of Medieval
Military History. When the editors sent it back with their
suggestions, it underwent an even more substantial revision during the
summer of 2008, after which I resubmitted it to the JMMH. It has now
been accepted and is undergoing a final revision in to satisfy issues
raised by the editors and a reader.
“‘Cardinal Sins’ and ‘Cardinal Virtues’ in
a Late Medieval Churchman: The Case of Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza”
This reworking of several older papers on
Cardinal Mendoza was presented a session in the Texas Medieval Association
(TEMA) Conference held in October 2006, at Baylor University, in Waco,
Texas. After expanding it into an article, I submitted it to the Catholic
Historical Review in the spring of 2007. After a long wait for readers’
reports, the editor finally got back to me announcing a tentative
acceptance, dependent up my meeting the two readers’ critiques.
Articles (in preparation)
"The Finest Film Never Nominated for an
Academy Award: The Strange History of Paths of Glory”
This article has grown out of my work on
the First World War. Having written it during the winter break of 2006-7,
I submitted it to the journal Film and History in March, 2007.
There, it got lost in the transfer of that journal from Penn State to its new home at the
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Sometime after the move, the new
editorial staff contacted me to find if I wanted to resubmit. I have held
off doing so for two reasons: first, I am engaged in a substantial
rewrite of certain parts of the article based on new information gathered
during the autumn semester of 2007, as part of the Student Research
Apprenticeship program. (That rewrite will take place during the current
academic year.) Secondly, I am seriously contemplating sending the
rewritten article to the Journal of Military History instead of
Film and History.
“Portrait
of a King or Apology of a Traitor? Pedro López de Ayala's Crónica del
Rey Don Pedro I”
This
article is being reworked in light of the readers’ comments and some new
ideas of my own. In all likelihood, it will become my contribution to a
proposed collection on the chroniclers of war which Don Kagay and I have
discussed with Brill.
Book Reviews (2006-2008)
1. Gutierre Diaz de Gamez, The
Unconquered Knight: A Chronicle of the Deeds of Don Pero Nino, Count of
Buelna, trans. and selections by Joan Evans (The Boydell Press, 2004)
reviewed for the De re militari website.
URL:
http://www.deremilitari.org/REVIEWS/Gamez_UnconqKnight.htm
2. Niccolo Machiavelli, The Art of War,
translated, edited, and with a Commentary by Christopher Lynch (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2003) reviewed for the De
re militari website.
URL:
http://www.deremilitari.org/REVIEWS/Machiavelli Art Lynch.htm
3. David Murphy, Condottiere 1300-1500: Infamous Medieval Mercenaries,
illustrations by Graham Turner (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2007)
reviewed for the De
re militari
website.
URL
http://www.deremilitari.org/REVIEWS/Murphy_Condottiere.htm
4. (In preparation for the De re
military website) The Medieval Hero on Screen, Representations from
Beowulf to Buffy, ed. by Martha W. Driver and Sid Ray, Foreword by
Jonathan Rosenbaum (London: McFarland and Company, 2004).
5. (In preparation for
the De re military website)
Medieval Ships and Warfare, ed. by Susan Rose in The International
Library of Essays on Military History (Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2008).
Paper Presentations
1. "Taking the King's Shilling to Avoid
the Wages of Crime: The Use of Royal Pardons as a Recruiting Tool in the
Hundred Years War" presented to the History Department Luncheon Seminar
(October 2006).
2. “Cardinal Sins and Cardinal Virtues in
Late Medieval Spain: The Case of Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza," presented
in a session of the Texas Medieval Association (TEMA), Baylor University
(October 2006).
3. "The War of the Two Pedro's and the Rise
of a Leading Trastamaran Noble House or Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza's
Decision to Switch Sides," presented at the 42nd International Congress on
Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan ( May
2007).
4. The War of the Two Pedros (1356-1366):
The Effects of Conflict on Castilian Nobles and Noble Houses," presented
at the annual meeting of the Texas Medieval Association (TEMA), Texas A&M
University, (October 2007).
5. "1555, "A Very Good Year" for San Diego
de Alcalá: Achieving Sainthood by Increments," presented at the annual
meeting of the Sixteenth Century Society and Conference (SCSC),
Minneapolis, Minnesota (October 2007).
6. "Battle Seeking or Battle Avoiding?
Applying the "Gillingham Paradigm" to the War of the Two Pedros
(1356-1366) and the Castilian Civil War (1366-1369)," for presentation at
the 43rd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan
University, Kalamazoo, Michigan ( May 2008).
7. "1346: It was a Very Good Year--for
English Military Pardons," in preparation for the 19th meeting of the
Texas Medieval Association (TEMA) (Lubbock, Texas, October, 2008).
Papers (accepted for presentation)
1. "Leonor de la Vega and the Exercise of Female Power in Late Medieval
Castile in preparation for the 44th meeting of the Medieval Congress
(Kalamazoo, Michigan, May, 2008).
2. Enrique II of Castile, A Fourteenth
Century “Battle-seeker”?: Applying the Gillingham Paradigm to Warfare in
Late Medieval Spain, in preparation for the Medieval Congress at Leeds,
England (July 2009).
3. Edward III’s Military Pardons in the
Opening Stages of the Hundred Years War and Some Problems of Doing English
Military History through the Calendar of Patent Rolls,” in preparation for
a by-invitation “Conference on England’s Wars, 1272-1399” at the
University of Reading, England” (July 2009).
4. The Presidential Lecture in preparation
for delivery to the 20th meeting of the Texas Medieval Association (TEMA)
(Austin, Texas, October, 2009)
Conference Attendance (2006-2008)
1. Texas Medieval Association (TEMA)
Conference, Baylor University,
Waco, Texas (October 2006).
2. American Historical Association,
Atlanta, Georgia (January 2007).
3. Rocky Mountain Council of Latin
American Studies (RMCLAS), Santa Fe, New Mexico (February 2007).
4. The 42nd meeting of the Medieval
Congress, Kalamazoo, Michigan, (May 2007).
5. Texas Medieval Association (TEMA)
Conference (Texas A&M University,
College Station, Texas (October
2007).
6. Sixteenth Century Society and
Conference (SCSC), Minneapolis, Minnesota (October 2007).
7. Rocky Mountain Council of Latin
American Studies (RMCLAS), Flagstaff, Arizona (April 2008).
8. The 43rd meeting of the Medieval
Congress, Kalamazoo, Michigan (May 2008).
9. Texas Medieval Association (TEMA)
Conference (Texas Tech, Lubbock, Texas (October 2008).
Miscellaneous
Appointed to the editorial board of an
encyclopedia of medieval military history being produced by Clifford
Rogers of the United States Military Academy for Oxford University Press
Elected Vice President of TEMA for the 2008
and President for 2009.
Arranged for the Texas Medieval Association
(TEMA) to meet in Austin in October, 2009. Currently serving as
Arrangements Chairman.
Attended the College/University Educators
Program sponsored by the United State Marine Corps at Quantico, Virginia
(July 2008).
B. TEACHING
Courses Taught at the University of Texas
1. World War I (HIS 362G)
2. Medieval Warfare (HIS 362K)
3. Genealogy and History (HIS 350L)
4. Western Civilization in Medieval Times
(HIS 309K; AHC 310)
5. Introduction to Spanish History and
Culture (HIS 306N; EUS 301)
New Courses Prepared for the University of
Texas
1. Medieval Warfare
2. Genealogy and History
3. Colonialism and the European Age of
Expansion (currently in preparation)
Work with Graduate Students
Christopher Hill (Member of the Doctoral
Committee for the Dissertation Defense,
April 2008)
Roger Martínez (Member of the Doctoral Committee
2007-2008; Dissertation Defense, April 2008)
Elizabeth Dickenson (Currently serving on her
doctoral committee, 2007- )
Undergraduate Special Topics Courses and
Research Apprenticeship Program
Participated in the Student Apprentice
program working on a project dealing with the historical background for
the film Paths of Glory with history major, William Matthew Kennedy
(Autumn 2007).
Special topics course on World War I
aircraft, Weimar period art, and the rise of Nazism for senior history
major John Torres (Spring 2008).
Special topics course on World War I for
William Matthew Kennedy (Autumn 2008).
Direction of Undergraduate Student Theses
Senior thesis director for history major,
Ashley Keller, in the Bridging Disciplines Program. Her thesis compares
treatment of South American Indian Populations in the Spanish colonial and
modern periods (2008-2009).
Senior
thesis director for Vanessa Cooper’s Plan II thesis dealing with the
historical development and role of soccer in Spain. (2008-2009).
Senior thesis director for Vanessa Cooper’s
Plan II thesis dealing with the historical development of computer war
games (2008-2009).
Miscellaneous
Recipient of a Texas
Blazers Faculty Excellence Award (Spring, 2007).
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