Elza C. Tiner, Ph.D.
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Professor of English and Latin
Lynchburg College
Carnegie 233
434.544.8270
Tiner@lynchburg.edu
Degrees/Certifications
- Ph.D. in Medieval Studies - Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, 1987
- M.L.S. (Licentiate in Mediaeval Studies) - Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto, 1985
- M.A. in Medieval Studies - Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, 1980
- B.A. in English - Seton Hall University, 1979
Experience
I joined the faculty of Lynchburg College in 1989, where I teach medieval English literature and Latin, and serve as Program coordinator for the minor in Latin and advisor to the Latin Club. I also teach and advise in the Medieval and Renaissance Studies minor program.
I am drawn to the study of both Latin and Middle English literature through a fascination with theatre and dance, especially the ways in which narrative and lyric poetry can be performed for audiences through storytelling, recitation, and acting. Students in my classes often perform at the annual Medieval and Renaissance Evening sponsored by the minor program in Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
Professional/Research Interests
My research interests include both literary studies and pedagogy. Research in progress focuses on classical and medieval Latin texts as sources for both composition and critical theory in Middle English literature.
Currently I am examining Latin sources for the legend of the Fall of the Angels as related to early English biblical drama, and most recently, Vergil's Aeneid as a source for Boethius' conception of time in his Consolation of Philosophy, which is similar to the representation of time in English biblical plays. For the former research project I have been appointed a Visiting Scholar at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto, for the summers of 2012 and 2013. At the American Classical League Institute, Minneapolis, June 27, 2011, I presented a paper on teaching Latin with student research on the history of the arts and sciences from Latin texts. Presentation Slides: "'Quomodo Scimus?' II, Teaching Reading, Writing, and Speaking in Latin Through Research on the History of Disciplines (PDF)was presented again in Charlottesville, Va. on September 10, 2011, by invitation from the Classical Association of Virginia.
A larger ongoing project is identification of medieval universal chronicles as potential models for the sequencing of the York, Chester, N-Town, and Towneley plays.
The recently published papers on teaching Elementary Latin demonstrate how students research classical texts as they learn the language. My book Teaching with the Records of Early English Drama, for the series Studies in Early English Drama, ed. Alan Somerset, University of Toronto Press (2006) is a collection of essays by prominent scholars in Medieval and Renaissance Drama on classroom use of historical documents published by the Records of Early English Drama (REED), a project based at the University of Toronto, with the goal to compile, edit, and publish documents relating to drama and entertainment in England prior to 1642.
Publications, Presentations, and Research
- "Quomodo Scimus? II: Teaching Reading, Writing, and Speaking in Latin through Research on the History of Disciplines." Classical Outlook 88.4 (Summer 2011): 118-121.
- Review: Minkova, Milena, and Terence Tunberg. Latin for the New Millennium. Levels 1 and 2. Mundelein: Bolchazy-Carducci, 2009. Level 1, Level 2, and Student Workbooks. Classical Outlook 88.3 (Spring 2011): 100-101.
- "Quomodo scimus?" Reading, Writing, and Speaking from Primary Sources in Elementary Latin." The Classical Outlook 87 (2010): 100-103.
- "Aristotle in Late Medieval England: Giles of Rome on Rhetoric and Acting" Research Opportunities in Medieval and Renaissance Drama 47 (2008): 82-106.
- "Going to HEL: REED and Diachronic Linguistics." Teaching with the Records of Early English Drama. Ed. Elza C. Tiner. Studies in Early English Drama 7. Ed. Alan Somerset. University of Toronto Press, 2006. 176-193. On teaching the History of the English Language (HEL) from REED documents that provide evidence of surviving Middle English dialect features.
- "Professional Players in Stratford on Avon, 1587-1602." Inside Shakespeare: Essays on the Blackfriars' Stage. Ed. Paul Menzer, Selinsgrove: Susquehanna University Press, 2006. 86-92.
- "English Law in the York Trial Plays," on the legal procedure in the trials of Jesus leading up to the crucifixion in the York Plays, in The Dramatic Tradition of the Middle Ages, Ed. Clifford Davidson (New York: AMS Press, 2005). 140-149.
Other publications include articles about medieval poet John Lydgate as a songwriter and biographies of patrons of traveling companies for the following REED collections: Cambridge (ed. Alan Nelson); Cumberland/Westmorland/Gloucestershire (ed. Audrey Douglas and Peter Greenfield); Coventry. (ed. Reginald Ingram); Devon (ed. John Wasson); York (ed. Alexandra Johnston); and in progress, for Warwickshire/Staffordshire (ed. Alan Somerset). I have also published papers on applications of classical and medieval rhetoric to modern composition.
Visiting Appointments and Honors
In 1993 I was invited to lecture on classical and medieval rhetoric in Richard Marius' expository writing course at Harvard University. I have also been appointed a Senior Fellow, Centre for Research in Early Theatre, Victoria University, University of Toronto, Summer 1995; and Visiting Fellow, Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, during my sabbatical, Spring 1996.
In 2003 I was awarded the Faculty Scholar Leave grant for research. In 2005 I received the T. A. Abbott Award for Faculty Excellence at Lynchburg College, and from 2005-2008 held the John Mills Turner Distinguished Chair in the Humanities.
Courses: 2011-2012
- ENGL 606 Introduction to Graduate Studies in English (Fall 2011)
- ENGL 306 Medieval Literature (Spring 2012)
- LATN 101 Elementary Latin I (Fall 2011)
- LATN 201 Intermediate Latin I (Fall 2011, Spring 2012)
- LATN 102 Elementary Latin II (Spring 2012)
Professional Affiliations
American Classical League
American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages
American Philological Association
Classical Association of Virginia
Medieval Academy of America
Medieval and Renaissance Drama Society
Modern Language Association
National Council of Teachers of English
Phi Kappa Phi (Academic Honor Society)
Phi Sigma Iota (International Foreign Language Honor Society)
Personal Information
For fun, I enjoy traveling, dancing, writing academic articles, essays, and poetry, listening to country music, taking long walks, and tracking down solutions to research problems in the library. My astronomer husband, Dr. Harold Butner, provides unique opportunities for interesting vacations through his observing trips to international telescopes. The photo below--symbolic of our lives--is a scene from the beach park near our former apartment in Hilo, Hawaii, home of several telescopes on Mauna Kea, where Harold worked from 2003-2005. He is now teaching astronomy and physics at James Madison University. I leave you to guess which dog is the one about to go off the raft.
