Profs and Pints Baltimore

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Popes and Papal Conclaves,” a look at the funeral of Pope Francis and the secretive process for selecting his successor, with Vanessa Corcoran, medieval historian at Georgetown University and scholar of the history of Roman Catholic rituals and traditions.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-popes .]

The April 21st passing of Pope Francis was followed by a funeral and burial offering insight on the man himself and a successor selection process shrouded in mystery. The papal conclave—the gathering of the College of Cardinals to elect a new pope—has inspired novels, films, and intense speculation, but by design remains something about which most people know little.

Learn how Pope Francis’s funeral broke with tradition and dive into the secretive world of papal elections with Vanessa Corcoran, a scholar of medieval religious history and Catholic traditions such as pilgrimage and devotion to saints.

She’ll discuss the rich history of the conclave, tracing its evolution, rituals, and political intrigue.

She’ll also look at the portrayal of papal elections in the media and pop culture, sorting fact from fiction. She’ll look at films such as The Two Popes, Angels and Demons, and, especially, the 2024 film Conclave, based on a bestselling novel. We’ll examine Conclave’s historical accuracy and creative liberties and how it reflects contemporary ideas about faith, secrecy, and leadership.

Her talk will have much for history buffs, film lovers, and anyone curious about the intersection of religion and media. You'll come away with a deeper understanding of the conclave’s mystique and its powerful presence in our cultural imagination. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Talk begins at 4:30. Attendees may arrive any time after 3 pm.)

Image: From “A Cardinal in Profile,” an 1888 painting by Jehan Georges Vibert (Morgan Library and Museum, New York City).

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “The History of Plastic Surgery,” with Dr. Wendy Chen, plastic, reconstructive, and hand surgeon and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-plastic-surgery .]

Most people misunderstand plastic surgery as vain and aesthetic, but the origins of this fascinating specialty are much deeper than that.

Come gain a rich understanding of the roots, medical impact, and current wide reach of a life-altering medical specialty with Dr. Wendy Chen, a leading educator on plastic and reconstructive surgery who has won awards for her work in clinical, basic science and education research.

She’ll talk about how reconstructive surgery has been around for thousands of years, with evidence of it having been practiced in ancient Egypt and India, and has made advancements in the course of major wars. Those who practice it have been innovators in medicine, playing a major role in breakthroughs and winning the Nobel prize for kidney transplantation.

The need for plastic and reconstructive surgery has stemmed largely from how much our appearance influences how we navigate our worlds and how others regard us. There was a time, in fact, when people in American prisons were offered plastic surgery as an intervention against recidivism. Yet reconstructive surgery also has faced opposition, such as religious bans on its practice stemming from the belief that physical differences are a manifestation of spiritual sin.

Fast forward to now when plastic surgeons treat patients of every age for every kind of ailment, from congenital differences to trauma to cancer. Yes, some plastic and reconstructive surgery is to help people conform to tabloid- and social media-driven narratives of what defines beauty, but the field involves a lot more than injecting Botox and shaping buttocks. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Talk begins at 4:30. Attendees may arrive any time after 3 pm.)

Image: Reconstructive facial surgery as illustrated by Jean Baptiste Marc Bourgery in the late 1840s (Wellcome Collection / public domain).

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “The Vikings of Legend," with Jill Fitzgerald, associate professor of English at the United States Naval Academy and scholar of medieval literature including Viking myths and sagas.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-vikings .]

Vikings are getting a lot of attention these days thanks to contemporary portrayals of them in popular movies and television shows such as The Northman, Vikings: Valhalla, and The Last Kingdom. But who were the Vikings, really?

Learn surprising things about the medieval world and the Vikings who lived and moved in it with the help of Dr. Jill Fitzgerald, who teaches courses on medieval languages and literature at the U.S. Naval Academy.

To enhance our understanding of Vikings she’ll discuss the stories passed down through medieval Iceland sagas of three famous ones:
While Hollywood portrays Vikings as very social creatures, Grettir Ármundson existed as an infamous outlaw and eventually became exiled to the extreme fringe of the Arctic circle. To top off his tough reputation, he was said to have battled the undead.

Skarpheðinn Njálsson lived a violent and tragic life that coincided with the period that saw the first Viking conversions to Christianity and abandonments of their ancient pagan ways.

Egil Skallagrímsson was famed for being a terrifying berserker who served a powerful English king as protector and warrior. What he probably was best remembered for, however, was not his impressive resume of violence but his incredible poetic talents, which at least once saved his life.

To round out the talk, Professor Fitzgerald will talk about an exciting Viking artifact—produced in Norway during Egil’s lifetime—that found its way to Annapolis in the 1950s and is currently housed at the Naval Academy. The oldest weapon in the Academy’s collections, its past was a mystery until now.

You’ll emerge from this talk with a better understanding of the medieval world, our sources of knowledge concerning Vikings, and how sagas and archaeology occasionally intertwine. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Doors open at 5. The talk begins at 6:30.)

Image: Part of a painting of Viking ships on the River Thames by 19th century artist Everhardus Koster.

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Queer Country ,” on the long, often-hidden presence of LGBTQ+ performers in country music, with Tanya Olson, lecturer in English and scholar of gender and sexuality studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-queer-country .]

Although country music is often thought of as conservative, rural, and straight, queer artists have always been part of its story.

Learn about the important role that queer artists, their ideas, and their experiences have played in country music with Tanya Olson, a cultural critic whose recent work explores the intersection of country music, identity, and tradition.

She’ll talk about queer artists across generations, describing how they are hidden and what it means to stand in the circle of tradition without being seen. She’ll explore how queerness shows up in the songs, stories, and sounds of country music even when it isn’t named, and also what’s at stake when those threads are left out of the history we tell.

You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of country music’s past, as well as a sharper eye for who’s been missing from the picture all along. You’ll gain an appreciation for why inclusion in country radio and the Grand Ole Opry matters, as well as an understanding of how a queer presence might strengthen, rather than threaten, country music's legacy.

Olson’s latest book of poetry, Born Backwards, builds on the language and imagery of country music to ask who gets remembered and why. Learning from her will make for a memorable evening. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: Country artist k.d. lang performs in 2008 as part of the Cambridge Folk Festival (Photo by Bryan Ledgard / Creative Commons).