Emily O'Brien

Emily O'Brien is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Simon Fraser University (SFU). Her research focuses on Late Medieval and Renaissance Italy, particularly fifteenth-century humanism, the papacy, and political history. She holds a Ph.D. in History from Brown University and has taught at Harvard University before joining SFU in 2005. Her work centers on figures like Pope Pius II (Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini), exploring themes of papal imagery, conciliar crises, and the reception of classical texts like Cicero's works.

Education:

• B.A., University of Toronto
• Ph.D., Brown University

Teaching Interests: Courses include Late Medieval and Renaissance Europe, Renaissance Italy, historical writing, and the history of Rome. She currently teaches HIST 220 (Late Medieval/Renaissance Europe) and LS 800 (Reflections on Reason and Passion).

Research Awards:

• Small SSHRC Research Grant (2016, 2009)
• Best Unpublished Manuscript Prize (2006)
• Simon Fraser University President’s Research Grant (2005)

Current Projects: Editing Latin-English editions of Renaissance humanist texts, including Poggio Bracciolini's Facetiae, and studying the Renaissance reception of Cicero.