The Department of History at SFU offers both M.A. and Ph.D. programs. For more information about these programs, click here.
I am happy to be part of a strong complement of early modernists: Luke Clossey (early modern world), John Craig (British Isles), Emily O'Brien (Italian humanism). We work well together and can advise students interested in early modern history.
My broader field of interest is the religious and intellectual history of early modern Europe, especially the Rennaisance and Reformation. More specifically, I focus on the thought of Erasmus of Rotterdam. I have recently completed a book entitled Herculean Labours: Erasmus and the Editing of St. Jerome in the Renaissance in which I examine editorial influences on Erasmus and the effects of his edition of Jerome's letters on Catholic editors of the second half of the sixteenth century. My research has made me more aware of the complexities of the history of the printed book. I am now moving on to study the confessionalization of humanism in Catholic Europe, primarily through the writings of Peter Canisius, arguably the most prolific Jesuit writer of the sixteenth century.
I am happy to supervise any graduate research in early modern European history (1500-1800), especially if it has to do with continental Europe. I have directed students with interests as diverse as early modern utopias, women and confessionalization, the "craft of dying" literature in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, peasant revolts in the Reformation era, Erasmus' influence on Anabaptism, and the Catholic League in the French Wars of Religion.
Students who wish to pursue a topic related to Erasmus are most welcome. They will have access at SFU to the essential research tools: Allen's edition of Erasmus' letters, the Collected Works of Erasmus, the Amsterdam modern critical edition of Erasmus' writings (ASD), and the so-called LB, a modern facsimile edition of the early eighteenth-century edition of the Erasmian opera. I make sure that the library keeps up to date with the major scholarly literature on Erasmus in particular and the Renaissance and Reformation in general. SFU's interlibrary loan service is very helpful. Students may also find useful sources in Vancouver in the libraries of UBC, Vancouver School of Theology, Regent College, and St. Mark's College. It was my pleasure to supervise a doctoral dissertation that assessed Erasmus' influence on the early Anabaptist theologian, Balthasar Hubmaier. The author successfully defended the dissertation in 2005 and now holds a full-time faculty position at an undergraduate college in the US.
If you are considering studying early modern European history at an advanced level, it is crucial that you have reading proficiency in relevant languages other than English. French, German, and Latin are important and often necessary at least at the doctroal level. Besides having foundational training through undergraduate courses for your graduate research topic, you should also have superior writing and research skills. I expect clear, grammatically correct, and intelligent writing that lays out an historical argument and demonstrates it compellingly.
Feel free to contact me by e-mail.
This page was last updated on 13 June 2008
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