Ever since the pioneering medievalist Margaret Wade Labarge joined the Department of History in 1952, Carleton University has been committed to teaching the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Early Modernity. More than sixty years after Labarge first joined our university, the study of the medieval and early modern world continues to thrive. At a time when things medieval and early modern pervade the popular imagination, Carleton University maintains a strong disciplinary core in Medieval and Early Modern Studies, populated by almost twenty scholars passionate about teaching and researching the Late Antique, Medieval and Early Modern periods. As John Osborne (Professor Emeritus, Art History) has noted about the field, “Canadians should be very proud that the notion of ‘medieval studies,’ as we understand it today […] should have been largely created and matured in this country”. [1] Likewise, for over thirty years, Carleton had been home to the Carleton Centre for Renaissance Studies, led by Donald Beecher (English). This research centre has actively promoted the Canadian study of the Renaissance throughout its existence and its publication stream has ensured that Canadian scholarship and texts have made their way into print.
[1] John Osborne, “Some Reflections on Medieval Studies in Canada,” Florilegium 20 (2003): 11-13.