Elizabeth McCahill

Elizabeth McCahill is an Associate Professor in the History Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her research focuses on classical scholarship during the 15th-16th centuries, Renaissance humanism, and the interplay between papal authority and Roman cultural identity. She teaches undergraduate courses in Western Civilization, Renaissance history, and gender studies, alongside graduate seminars in premodern European history.

• PhD from Princeton University
• BA from Yale University

Her work examines how early modern scholars used classical texts to shape political and religious narratives, particularly through Ciceronian letter-writing models and papal ceremonial. Recent publications analyze humanist patronage networks and antiquarian practices in Quattrocento Rome.

McCahill is affiliated with the Renaissance Society of America, Roma nel Rinascimento, and Sixteenth Century Studies. She co-organized the 2015 conference "Polymaths and Proofreaders" honoring Anthony Grafton.