Betsy Baker, C’27, Publishes Research Article Based on Work She Conducted at Oxford University
Sewanee senior Elizabeth (Betsy) Baker, a classical languages and rhetoric double major, recently published a scholarly article in the undergraduate medieval studies journal Dies Legibiles. In addition to serving Sewanee as the president of the Order of the Gown, Baker co-directs the Community Engagement House, serves as a tutor for the Center for Speaking and Listening, and is a teaching assistant for the RHET 201 course.
Baker had the opportunity to study abroad in Oxford, where she conducted an independent research project on the Oxford Scholar John Wycliffe and the Reformation. In her article titled “Examining the collaborative presence of academic and popular interests in Lollard homiletics,” Baker considers the Lollard sermons—a collection of religious discourse of the 14th and 15th centuries that followed the teachings of Wycliffe. By challenging medieval Catholic doctrines and promoting vernacular scripture, Lollardy laid the groundwork for the 16th century Reformation. Baker argues that, from a rhetorical standpoint, the Lollards’ “desire to reach unlettered lay audiences beyond the borders of the university” led them to “the use of personal appeal and inclusive phrasing.”
Although this work was done at Oxford, Baker credits Sewanee Teaching Professor of English Stephanie Batkie’s “generous, compassionate mentorship” for giving her the confidence to submit this work for publication.
