Amy Leonard

Associate Professor of History
Age: 48
Hometown: Gainesville, Fla.
Education: B.A. Barnard College, Columbia University, History; M.A. University of Wisconsin, Madison, History; Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, History
Areas of Research: German reformation and gender
Time at Georgetown: 15 years
Courses Taught: “European Civilization,” “Reformation, Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe,” “Witches and Witchcraft,” “Pop Culture in Early Modern Europe,” “Sex and Celibacy, “War in Society in Early Modern Europe,” “Holy Roman Empire,” “Martin Luther”

What do you think the most fascinating question is in your field?
I’m interested in looking at it from a gender/women’s perspective. But I think, in general, whenever I teach the Reformation, the question is: How important was it for where we are today? It’s seen as one of these major epochal moments for the modern era and bringing in secularization and the separation of church and state, and did it really do that, or not? And I think those are important questions.

How did you narrow your focus to what you study today?
In high school, I took a class that taught me about Luther and the Reformation, and I knew nothing about it before, so that just fascinated me. At first, it was complete curiosity. Then, I went to a women’s college and was a feminist — am a feminist — and so, learning about women fascinated me. It seemed ideal to put those two together to see what happened to women in the 16th century with the Reformation. I wrote a book on nuns, because they were women who were educated and could write their own records, so I could see what was happening and get their own voices. Originally, I think the main question — and I hope this is true for everybody in what they do — it should start with curiosity and interest. And that’s where it came from.

What would you say the most memorable encounter is that you’ve had with a student?
Oh God, so many! I get great encounters every semester, so I don’t know if I want to narrow it down. Students are individuals to me, and I do take you as individuals in each class, but it’s more just that each semester and each class brings new things that I learn. For it just to be one memorable moment, to my mind, kind of denigrates the whole experience.

If you could teach one course that you’ve never taught, what would it be?
I would love to do a class on the history of Christianity, from the beginning to today. Yeah. I’d have to do a lot of work on that, because I know it much better until about the 19th century — then I’d have to do a lot of research. Also, if I did Christianity, I’d want to do East and West, and I don’t know if I know the East as well. But that I think that would be a fun class.

What’s something you wish more students would take away from your courses?
Many things … depends on the class. I’d say if I’m doing a general intro history class where they’re not going to be history majors, I would want them to see is to enjoy history, to appreciate history not just for — and not all Georgetown students are like this — but not just for the grade. Not just for, “How is this going to be useful for me,” more just this fascinating mosaic of people and events and stuff and that there’s a way to think as a historian, there’s a methodology. But there’s also just this pleasure that I want them to get from learning about the past and how bizarre it is and how interesting it is and how horrible it is, but how wonderful it is. And I think sometimes — I understand how difficult it is because they have all these requirements — they’re so focused on, “What do I need to know for the test,” when I would like them to see the grandeur of all this past, which is the way I see it. But of course, you know, it’s my field. I’m not blaming them for that, but it is something that I wish they would appreciate history as much as I did.

Does Georgetown’s Jesuit identity affect the way you teach at all?
Yes. I think, for one thing, it means that students come in with a certain level of understanding appreciation for religion that you can’t expect a more secular school, and I like that. I like the Jesuit way of teaching the whole person. I like the idea of social justice, the embrace of the spirit as well as the mind and the body. All that I think — and especially because I teach the 16th century, you know, I teach the Reformation — it’s very to have this example as a thing that began then. And we hear, we see, the long development of this order that started in 1540 and now is still around, but it’s very different now. An example of history around them is very useful, so I love teaching at a Jesuit institution, especially Georgetown. I think it definitely informs my work and it informs my students.

Do you have a favorite historical fact?
That “hocus pocus” comes from hoc est corpus meum.

What does that mean?
Ha ha, now I’ll have to explain it to you. Medieval Mass was in Latin, and people don’t know Latin by the time we get to, let’s say, the 12th century, so they’re not understanding what the priest is saying at all. The priest has his back to the congregation as he’s … you know. During the Eucharist, he says the word from the Bible, from the Last Supper, “This is my body.” So Christ says, “Hoc est corpus meum,” so “This is my body.” And that is the moment of transubstantiation, the moment when the wine and the wafer turn into the body and blood of Christ — this is Catholic theology here, Catholic dogma. As he says, “Hoc est corpus meum,” with his back to the congregation, and it turns into the body and blood. The congregation doesn’t know Latin; they don’t know what it is. It becomes to them, “Hocus pocus,” so it becomes magic. It’s an arbitrary thing to pick out, but it’s one of the things I love teaching my students, because it sort of shows and explains. And Luther comes along and says “It’s not magic — it’s a miracle,” and they’re completely misunderstanding the Mass and all this. But you can see easily how this could happen, and in popular culture, the slippage between doctrine and how they understand it. It was magic, the priest goes “poof!” and turns it into the body and blood of Christ.

Interview by David Chardack