Happy February! This month's profile is of Professor John Osborne (Art History, Carleton University).

Education  

B.A. Art History, Carleton University (1973); M.A. Medieval Studies, U of Toronto (1974); Ph.D. History of Art, Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London (1979)

You’re arriving at an airport for a research trip and the border control agent asks what you do. How do you answer?

Professor of Medieval Studies

What projects are you currently working on?

Book on “Rome in the 8th century”; co-editing a volume on the Roman church of S. Maria Antiqua

What do you think is the best part of being a medievalist?

Direct encounters with the material culture/physical legacy of the Middle Ages (manuscripts, buildings, etc.),  I still remember the first time I held a medieval manuscript in my hands!

Why did you join the CSM? What other societies do you belong to?

I wanted to help promote medieval studies in Canada.  Others include: Medieval Academy of America, Italian Art Society, International Center of Medieval Art

Where can we find/read some of your work?

Papers of the British School at Rome; Gesta; Byzantion; Early Medieval Europe; Mediaeval Studies; The Burlington Magazine; RACAR; Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte; and of course Florilegium!

Any final thoughts?

Medieval Studies rocks!  I cannot think of any subject that is more fascinating, more challenging, and ultimately more intellectually rewarding.