Susanne Hafner (Fordham University), for the project Arthur in Modena. 

Susanne Hafner is an Assistant Professor of German and Medieval Studies at Fordham University. Her areas of expertise are Arthurian literature, Medieval German literature, and codicology. Her book-in-
progress is an ecocritical reading of the so-called “Arthurian portal,” the Porta della Pescheria, on the northern wall of Modena’s Romanesque cathedral. In order to explain what King Artur from Britania is doing on the Duomo’s exterior, she will delve into Modena’s classical heritage, the importance of San Geminiano, the city’s patron saint, and – most of all – Modena’s traumatic history of reoccurring and devastating floods. The result will be a new and cohesive reading of the portal as the hyperlocal expression of a medieval community’s fear of foreigners and the constant threat of natural disaster. The Research Grant from the Ragusa Foundation will allow her to conduct archival and archaeological research on site in Modena.