Research: My motto is: "The Middle Ages Aren't Old." I am a scholar of medieval Europe by training, firmly grounded in contemporary global concerns. I study how the past shapes the present and how the present shapes our views of the past. My projects typically connect small things to big ideas: a single word choice to ethnic nationalism, an epigraph to colonial memory, a reader's note in a book to social power relations. My most recent book, Holy Digital Grail: A Medieval Book on the Internet, was supported by fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies.

Teaching:  My favorite recent courses are Race in the Middle Ages, Global Medievalism, and Global Literary Theory. Students are often unsure what to expect when they sign up for one of my classes: they come with some curiosity and leave with even more. My pedagogy is informed by the principles of Intergroup Dialogue, which distinguishes dialogue from discussion and debate. In my classes, students learn how these principles make for both effective scholarly writing and strong social relations. All of my courses include research, so that students learn how to ask meaningful questions that can lead to new knowledge.

Mentoring:  In Comparative Literature, I work with students interested in translation, postcolonial studies, digital humanities, critical theory, and all aspects of medieval literature. In the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, I work with students committed to addressing racial underrepresentation in higher education. My MMUF advisees come from the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and interdisciplinary programs; they prepare to earn PhDs and become professors. As a Senior Fellow with the Society of Fellows, I worked with postdoctoral fellows on a wide variety of early career issues. Currently, as Senior Advisor in the Dean of Faculty Office in Arts and Sciences, I am engaged with campus-wide efforts to increase diversity, improve inclusivity, achieve equity, and foster an anti-racist culture.