Bio

I'm very excited to teach history again at MSU Denver & looking forward to all the new faces in my World History and Medieval World courses!

A bit about that career and some personal top-lines: in the history of Medieval Europe, my area of interest and research encompasses monastic Latin sermon studies (6th-13th Centuries), with special attention to the Crusades, Middle East, and intellectual history of the Church. I'm also an avid comic book reader, Sci-Fi/Fantasy fan (Doctor Who, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, & most of the superhero films, to name a few film favorites), and family man (love my wife, Jocy, two kids, Allegra & Julian, and dog, Ginger)!

My educational background includes degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder (Ph.D), the University of Denver (M.A.), and the University of California at Santa Cruz (B.A.). Besides working at Metro State, I've taught at CU Boulder and Santa Clara University. On the publishing side, please see links below to my research in intellectual history, and I'm currently preparing two monographs entitled "Sacred Topography in Sermons of the First through Third Crusades, 1095-1192: Volume 1: Places: Jerusalem and the Holy Sites; Volume 2: Peoples: Jews and Muslims."

I'm also a member of a variety of professional associations, including the Medieval Academy of America, the American Historical Association, the Archaeological Institute of America, and the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East. On this front, one of the historical and literary associations with which I've been the most active during the last twenty years is the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association (RMMRA), where I've served as a member of the board (2010-2013), Treasurer (2013-2016), and recently completed my term as President for the 2019-2021 term.

My research interests include the Crusades, Church history, Norse & Celtic mythology, fantasy literature, and Arthurian literature (with a healthy dose of appreciation for the SFF literary greats such as Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, Herbert, Moorcock, Pratchett, & Tolkien, and, lately, George R.R. Martin).

Lastly, my latest research presentation was at the RMMRA's annual meeting (virtual) in June 2021, where I delivered the following paper: "The Levantine Slave Trade during the Crusades: Church Perspectives, c. 1095-1291."

Ok, that’s the crop for now -- I’m really looking forward to getting to know each of you this semester, and I hope that you’ll come to view our brief journey together as one where there are no bad questions and conversation about history is always welcome!

I may be reached at: [email protected]

Research Interests

Currently preparing two monographs entitled "Sacred Topography in Sermons of the First through Third Crusades" (Vol. 1, "Places: Jerusalem and the Holy Sites," and Vol. 2, "Peoples: Jews and Muslims"). My research interests include the Crusades, Church history, scholasticism, sermon studies, Norse mythology, fantasy literature, and Arthurian romance.

Teaching Interests

My teaching philosophy is one that prioritizes the teaching of history with attention to student engagement by multiple approaches to learning (class participation, essay writing, diagnostic quizzes, and entertaining classroom meetings) for the following subject areas: Medieval Europe, Medieval World, World History to 1500, World History since 1500, Medieval Literature, and the eras of the Crusades.

Office Hours

By Appointment (in asynchronous semester modality, please reach out via email with any questions).