We are very happy to welcome the medievalist Jonathan Hsy to our faculty. We asked Professor Hsy to say a few words about himself, and he writes:
I received an MA from Stanford and my PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, and I’m excited to be joining the English department at GW this fall. I specialize in late medieval literature, and my research and teaching areas include Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gow
er, and their contemporaries; medieval romance; sociolinguistics; and material culture. My current research investigates multilingualism and commerce in medieval England and France, but my interests extend into later fields and periods, including early print culture, postcolonial theory, and the history of the English language. I am presently working on a book project, tentatively entitled Polyglot Poetics: Merchants and Literary Production in Late Medieval London. I am also writing articles on medieval sea travel, mixed-language poetry, and French music manuscripts. In my work, I often ask how the study of pre-modern literature and historical language contact helps us to rethink the ways different languages interact in our own era of globalization.
Professor Hsy is currently teaching “Medieval Literature” and “Intro to British Literature.” We know that our students will enjoy his presence; he is a wonderful teacher and astute researcher.
