Profs and Pints Baltimore

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Exploring Castles,” a crash course on the design, construction, and use of the castles of medieval Europe, with Victoria McAlister, assistant professor of Digital Environmental Humanities at Towson University, scholar of medieval buildings, and author of the award-winning book The Irish Tower House: Society, Economy, and Environment c.1300-1650.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://profsandpints.ticketleap.com/tower/ .]

Think of Europe in the Middle Ages and huge stone castles come to mind. It’s understandable given how prominently such structures factor into depictions of that time in popular culture. Such a mental image, however, obscures a tremendous amount of variation in castle design and construction, much of it lost to history due to the ravages of time.

You don’t need a time machine and royal lineage to get to know such buildings as they existed in their era. Instead, just come to Baltimore’s Guilford Hall to hear them discussed in depth by Victoria McAlister, a scholar who uses modern technologies such as drones and 3D scanners to virtually reconstruct medieval structures and recently wrote and presented the Great Courses lecture series The Great Castles of Europe.

You’ll learn about a whole range of castle types built throughout Europe between the 11th and the 17th centuries. Not all were made of stone—in fact, many of the castles built by William the Conqueror were constructed with earth and timber. Much of the popular discussion of castle types and architecture obscures complexity and how much the design and appearance of castles featured personal touches.

We’ll pay a visit to the homes of some of the Middle Ages’ most fascinating people. They include Castle Roche in Ireland where, legend has it, Roesia de Verdun threw her architect from a window so he couldn’t build another castle as impressive as hers. In nearby Wales the impressive Caernarfon and Beaumaris castles were built by King Edward I of England with the subjugation of an entire population in mind.

Working from the outside in, Professor McAlister will familiarize you with castles’ architectural features, using as her example the French castle Chateau Gaillard built by Richard the Lionheart. By the end of the talk you’ll know mottes from tower houses, portcullises from posterns, and be equipped with knowledge that will deepen your appreciation of the castles that you might encounter in Europe or on the screen. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Talk begins at 4:30. Attendees may arrive any time after 3 pm.)

Image: Beaumaris Castle in Wales. Photo by Tom Parnell / Wikimedia Commons.

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “The Single Lesson,” on myths and misconceptions about singlehood and research and advocacy efforts focused on the unmarried, with Craig Wynne, a professor of English at the University of the District of Columbia and pioneer in the growing field of Singles Studies.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://profsandpints.ticketleap.com/singlesstudies/ .]

All around us are messages that being “coupled up” is the norm. Shows like The Bachelor, 90-Day Fiancé, and Indian Matchmaking have people rooting and fawning for marriage. J.D. Vance has derided cat-owning single women as a demographic that threatens the fabric of the nation.

Yet, despite its supposed unpopularity, the rate of singlehood is increasing. By 2030, the Pew Research Center has projected, 25 percent of 45- to 54-year-old adults in the United States will never marry.

What’s the real picture when it comes to singles? Is a growing share of the population missing out on marital bliss, or are single people on to something?

Hear such questions tackled by Professor Craig Wynne, co-editor of Singular Selves: An Introduction to Singles Studies and author of How to be a Happy Bachelor.

Dr. Wynne will discuss how stereotypes of singlehood are perpetuated in the media and influence laws, policies, and our daily social interactions in ways that harm not just single people but those who are married, cohabitating, or in a relationship.

His talk will tackle the concepts of “singlism,” the stereotyping and stigma around people who are not married or otherwise unpartnered; “matrimania,” over-the-top societal obsession with marriage and weddings; and “amatonormativity,” the assumption that a romantic relationship must be prioritized above all other kinds.

Finally, Dr. Wynne will discuss the emergence of Singles Studies—a field devoted to granting singlehood validity in an academic context—and look at recent advocacy intended to secure single people equity in a world that still privileges being married or coupled. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Doors open at 5. The talk begins at 6:30.)

Image by Canva.

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Forensic Flaws,” a critical look at how criminal investigations can go wrong, with Dr. Jeff Kukucka, professor of psychology at Towson University and consultant to crime labs, law offices, and government agencies.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://profsandpints.ticketleap.com/forensicflaws/ .]

Although forensic science often plays a crucial role in solving crimes, it isn’t nearly as foolproof as television shows make it seem. In fact, mistakes by forensic scientists have contributed to over 1,000 wrongful convictions in the United States, with the result often being that innocent people get sent to prison while the real perpetrators remain free to victimize others.

Why do these mistakes happen? The simple answer is that forensic scientists are humans prone to the same flaws in their thinking as the rest of us.

Gain an in-depth understanding of how this happens with Professor Jeff Kukucka, a psychologist whose work sheds light on the human element of forensic science and seeks to optimize how crime labs function and minimize the risk of costly mistakes, including wrongful convictions.

Using familiar and interactive examples, Dr. Kukucka will explain how our brains automatically simplify or even distort information in ways that are helpful in our everyday lives—enabling us to navigate the world safely and efficiently—but problematic when it comes to criminal investigations.

He’ll discuss how unreliable “junk science” finds its way into courtrooms, how unconscious bias can lead one medical examiner to judge a death as an accident while another judges the very same death as a murder, and why even experts sometimes miss important information that’s right in front of them.

He’ll also describe his experiences testifying in court and working with government agencies to improve forensic science practices, and he’ll talk about why some crime labs have embraced reforms while others still resist them.

Whether you’re going to jury duty or simply listening to the latest true crime podcast, Dr. Kukucka’s talk will surely change the way you think about forensic science. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Doors open at 5. The talk begins at 6:30.)

Image from Canva.

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “The Green Knight and Medieval Yule,” a look at the Arthurian holiday legend and pre-Christian belief in “green men,” with Larissa “Kat” Tracy, visiting faculty at University of Maryland, Baltimore County and former professor of medieval literature.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://profsandpints.ticketleap.com/gawain/ .]

The fourteenth-century Arthurian tale Sir Gawain and the Green Knight captures the festive spirit of the Christmas season in a distinctly dramatic way, with the arrival at the court of King Arthur of a striking green visitor with holly branch in one hand and an ax in the other. Told in verse form, it’s a story full of references to holiday festivities, hunts, and romantic intrigue, and it’s rooted both in Christianity and pre-Christian ideas of green men with plant features.

Start your holiday season on a magical note by coming to Baltimore's Guilford Hall Brewery for a talk that will immerse you in the strange tale of the Green Knight and the beliefs and symbols it draws upon.

Dr. Larissa Tracy, a medievalist who has extensively researched Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, will discuss how the poem set at Yuletide traces the pre-Christian calendar as Gawain waits a year and a day to face his Otherworldly opponent at the mysterious Green Chapel.

To provide broader cultural context, she’ll discuss how the image of the Green Knight has its roots in the Green Man, a pre-Christian figure that co-existed with Christianity—as seen in the dozens of examples carved into the stonework of Rosslyn Chapel, outside of Edinburgh, Scotland. Scholars have wondered at the seemingly contradictory presence of these images in a Christian site, but the Green Man is not at odds with medieval Christianity. It often figures as a facet of it—an embodiment of similar religious sentiments that intertwined over the centuries.

Whether you are a fan of Arthurian legends, enjoyed The Green Knight film released in 2020, or simply have an interest in how pagan nature beliefs live on in our culture, you’ll be glad you planted yourself down in the audience for this talk. Christmas trees and wreaths will wish they could be there. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Talk begins at 4:30. Attendees may arrive any time after 3 pm.)

Image: A Green Man in the woodwork of England’s Lincoln Cathedral. Photo by Richard Croft / Creative Commons. (Green tint added.)