Courtney J Wells

Courtney J Wells serves as Associate Professor and Chair of French, Francophone, and Italian Studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where he has been faculty since 2012 after previously teaching at Wartburg College (2010-2012). He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Romance Studies from Boston University and his B.A. from the University of Dallas.

Professor Wells specializes in medieval French literature with research spanning medieval lyric poetry, Catalan and Italian troubadour traditions, oral and written transmission of medieval texts, verse and prose romance, and medieval literary theory. His scholarship explores the role of langue d'oïl and langue d'oc as international literary languages in medieval Catalonia and Italy, modern receptions of medieval literature, contemporary Catalan and Occitan culture, and Dante's Divine Comedy.

His academic work demonstrates a strong focus on digital humanities approaches to medieval studies, particularly through his 'Occitan Manuscripts Online' project and annual bibliographies of Occitan literature. Wells is currently preparing his book manuscript 'Strange Territory: The Troubadour Lyric in Medieval Catalonia and Italy' for publication and has co-edited 'Temps novel: Renewed Approaches to Troubadour Lyric and the Materiality of Old Occitan Texts in Honor of Wendy Pfeffer.'

As medieval bibliographer for the journal Tenso, Wells has compiled comprehensive annual bibliographies since 2012. His editorial leadership includes guest editing multiple special issues of Tenso on 'The Troubadours in Italy,' 'The Multilingualism of the Occitan-Catalan Cultural Space,' and 'From Song to Book: The Role of the Crown of Aragon in Troubadour Manuscript Culture.'

Wells' scholarly output reflects sustained engagement with medieval Occitan literary culture across Europe, combining traditional philological approaches with contemporary digital methodologies to advance understanding of cross-cultural transmission in medieval literature.