Ariel Bates is a PhD candidate studying late medieval and early modern drama. Her research focuses on manuscript and early print history, gender and sexuality, and obscene humor. She holds a BA in English from Florida Gulf Coast University and a master’s in library science from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. In the fall of 2025, she received the King's College Fellowship. Ariel has served as a co-organizer of the Medieval and Renaissance Working Group (Med/Ren) since 2023, and she has a forthcoming book review in Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England.

Ariel's dissertation project examines the role of bawdy humor in late medieval and early modern drama. Moving from medieval cycle dramas through to the early modern professional stage, her dissertation argues that lewd humor plays a key role in constructing the socio-religious fabric of pre and early modern society. With specific attention to the material production and distribution of bawdy drama, her dissertation asks how laughter at the body and bodily functions contributes to hegemonic understandings of gender.