SJ Murray on the Classics

David Volodzko speaks with Sarah-Jane Murray about how medieval politics changed the way people at the time told stories, how politics influence narrative structure generally, theoretical frameworks in medieval narratives, the ethics of interpretation, postmodern hermeneutics, storytelling as the foundation of civilization, the universality of story design, and more.

Murray is a professor at Baylor University and an expert in medieval literature who translated the Ovide Moralisé and is the author of From Plato to Lancelot: A Preface to Chrétien de Troyes, Basics of Story Design: 20 Steps to an Insanely Great Screenplay, and the children’s book Ralph’s Christmas Quest. She is also an Emmy-nominated filmmaker whose films—such as Primary Concern, a documentary about America’s looming healthcare crisis—have appeared on PBS and Netflix. In 2023, she founded The Greats Story Lab at the intersection of film, education, and emerging technologies.