Janina Ramirez Explained

Honorific Prefix:	Professor
Janina Ramirez
Birth Name:	Janina Sara Maria Maleczek
Birth Date:	1980 7, df=y
Birth Place:	Dubai,^[1] United Arab Emirates
Children:	2
Alma Mater:	St Anne's College, Oxford University of York
Thesis Title:	The symbolic life of birds in Anglo-Saxon England
Thesis Year:	2006
Doctoral Advisor:	Jane Hawkes Mary Garrison
Discipline:	History

Janina Sara Maria Ramirez (pronounced as /pl/; Maleczek; born 7 July 1980), sometimes credited as Nina Ramirez, is a British art historian, cultural historian, and TV presenter. She specialises in interpreting symbols and examining works of art within their historical context.

Education and academic career

Ramirez went to St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School in Slough, Berkshire, where she was head girl.^[2] She gained a degree in English literature, specialising in Old and Middle English, from St Anne's College, Oxford, before completing her postgraduate studies at the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York. She was awarded a PhD on The symbolic life of birds in Anglo-Saxon England,^[3] which led to a lectureship in York's Art History Department, followed by lecturing posts at the University of Winchester, University of Warwick, and University of Oxford.

Until 2021, Ramirez was the course director on the Certificate in History of Art at Oxford University's Department for Continuing Education.^[4] In 2021, Ramirez became Research Fellow in History of Art at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford.^[5]

In January 2024, Ramirez became a Visiting Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Lincoln.^[6]

Personal life

Her grandfather was Polish.^[7] Ramirez and her Spanish husband have two children.^[8] At 14, she played bass in a band with Krissi Murison as lead singer. Ramirez was in a punk band, Role Models, while at Oxford but chose finishing her degree over touring with the band.

Television career

• Treasures of the Anglo-Saxons, BBC Four, August 2010^[9]
• The Viking Sagas, BBC Four, May 2011^{[10] [11]}
• Britain's Most Fragile Treasure, BBC Four, October 2011^[12]
• Illuminations: The Private Lives of Medieval Kings, 3-part series, BBC Four, January 2012^{[13] [14]}
• , 3-part series, BBC Four, February 2013^[15]
• Architects of the Divine: The First Gothic Age, BBC Four, October 2014^[16]
• Saints and Sinners: Britain's Millennium of Monasteries, 3-part series, BBC Four, February 2015^[17]
• The Quizeum, A museum-based quiz panel show, BBC Four, April 2015 ^[18]
• The Search for the Lost Manuscript: Julian of Norwich, BBC Four, July 2016
• An Art Lover's Guide, BBC Four, May 2017^[19]
• In Search of Arcadia, BBC Four, August 2017^[20]
• England's Reformation: Three Books that Changed a Nation, BBC Four, October 2017
• Art on BBC: The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci, BBC Four, May 2018^[21]
• Raiders of the Lost Past with Janina Ramirez, BBC Four, September 2019 – 1 The Sutton Hoo Hoard (broadcast 4 September 2019)
• Handmade in Bolton – presenter, featuring Shaun Greenhalgh and narrated by Waldemar Januszczak, BBC Four, October 2019^[22]
• Lost Worlds and Hidden Treasures, 3-part series, Apple TV, May 2021^[23]

Publications

• Book: Ramirez, Janina. The Private Lives of the Saints: Power, Passion and Politics in Anglo-Saxon England. London. WH Allen. 2015. 978-0-7535-5560-6. 2.
• Book: Ramirez, Janina. Julian of Norwich: A Very Brief History. London. SPCK. 2016. 978-0-281-07737-3. 2.
• Book: Ramirez, Janina. Riddle of the Runes (A Viking Mystery). Oxford. OUP. 2018. 978-0-19-276633-5. 2.
• Book: Ramirez, Janina. Way of the Waves (A Viking Mystery). Oxford. OUP. 2019. 978-0-19-276635-9. 2.
• Book: Ramirez, Janina . 2 . Beowulf . 2019 . . London . 978-0-7181-8973-0 . illus. Martyn Pick .
• Book: Ramirez . Janina. 2 . Goddess: 50 Goddesses, Spirits, Saints and Other Female Figures Who Have Shaped Belief. 2022. London. . 978-1-78800-995-9.
• Book: Ramirez . Janina. 2 . Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It . 2022 . London. . 978-0-7535-5825-6.

External links

• • Janina Ramirez at United Agents
• Janina Ramirez – BBC Blog
  • Dr Janina Ramirez: Art Detective – Laluma Podcast

Notes and References

1. Ramirez . Janina . Janina Ramirez . DrJaninaRamirez . 1279573718696681477 . 4 July 2020 . @DerekGrainge @Moku_O_Keawe Born in Dubai. Make of that what you will........ . en . 14 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200705003829/https://twitter.com/DrJaninaRamirez/status/1279573718696681477 . 5 July 2020 . live.
2. Ramirez . Janina . Janina Ramirez . DrJaninaRamirez . 760565224642637824. 2 August 2016. Wow! My friends keep digging out old school photos of me! This is the Head Boy & Girl of St Bernard's, Slough 1997!. 18 December 2023.
3. The symbolic life of birds in Anglo-Saxon England . 2006-01-01 . English . Janina . Ramirez.
4. Web site: Course details: Undergraduate Certificate in History of Art. Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford. 6 April 2021.
5. Web site: Dr Janina Ramirez . 2022-07-22 . hmc.ox.ac.uk . . UK . en.
6. Web site: Professor Janina Ramirez – Staff Directory . University of Lincoln . 4 March 2024.
7. Ramirez . Janina . Janina Ramirez . DrJaninaRamirez . 747565117328465920 . 27 June 2016 . My Polish granddad settled in Llandovery. Always a wonderful place. Big up Wales and Poland xxxx https://t.co/eLGO0cxSnW . en . 14 June 2021.
8. News: Medieval treasure: Meet Janina Ramirez – the woman making history hip . Hughes . Tim . 8 October 2015 . . 9 August 2017.
9. Web site: Treasures of the Anglo Saxons . . . UK . 26 June 2019.
10. Web site: The Viking Sagas . . . UK . 26 June 2019.
11. Ramirez, Janina. The Sagas of Iceland: Creating Terra Nova. History Today. May 2011. 61. 5. 26 February 2015.
12. Web site: Britain's Most Fragile Treasure . . . UK . 26 June 2019.
13. Web site: Illuminations: The Private Lives of Medieval Kings . . . UK . 26 June 2019.
14. Web site: Auty, Louise. Ramirez 'illuminates' the world of England's long dead kings. Digital Journal. 26 February 2015. 26 January 2012.
15. Web site: Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War . . . UK . 26 June 2019.
16. Web site: Architects of the Divine: The First Gothic Age . . . UK . 26 June 2019.
17. Web site: Saints and Sinners: Britain's Millennium of Monasteries . . . UK . 26 June 2019.
18. Web site: The Quizeum, Series 1, Episode 6 . . . UK . 26 June 2019.
19. Web site: An Art Lovers' Guide: How to get off the beaten track in Amsterdam. Radio Times. 26 June 2019.
20. Web site: In Search of Arcadia . 9 August 2017 . . 9 August 2017.
21. Web site: Art on the BBC: The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci . . . UK . 26 June 2019.
22. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m00095hs/handmade-in-bolton BBC: Handmade in Bolton
23. Web site: Lost Worlds and Hidden Treasures. . . 3 September 2019 . 31 March 2022.