Jonathan Combs-Schilling

Jonathan Combs-Schilling is an Associate Professor of Italian and Associate Director of the Center of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at The Ohio State University. He is affiliated with the Department of French and Italian within the College of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on Medieval and Renaissance Italian culture (13th–16th centuries), with expertise in Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, classical and Italian pastoral/epic traditions, neo-Latin poetry, travel literature, and literary depictions of the sea.

Dr. Combs-Schilling holds a PhD in Italian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley (2012), and a BA in Italian from Columbia University (2002), where he graduated summa cum laude. His current monograph project, The Edge of Pastoral: Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, explores how these foundational authors transformed post-classical pastoral traditions through epistolarity, genre innovation, language use, and political engagement.

He teaches undergraduate courses on Dante’s Comedy, Italian travel narratives, romance literature from the Middle Ages to modernity, and the historical evolution of “Italian” culture. Graduate seminars include Dante Studies, Latin Petrarch, Boccaccio’s Decameron, and Renaissance and Apocalypse (1494–1527). His research intersects with interdisciplinary themes like boundary crossing between France, Provence, and Italy, as well as historical and current migration studies.

Dr. Combs-Schilling’s work appears in journals such as Modern Language Notes and Dante Studies, and his scholarship spans authors from Dante to Tasso. He is actively involved in the Center of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, where he contributes to its mission through leadership and research collaboration.

Advising and grants: No listed advisees or grants are mentioned in the provided text. Office hours are held on Mondays 4–6pm (Spring 2025) via Zoom for appointments.