The Department of History sends its heartiest congratulations to Austin Powell (Ph.D. 2020), on his recent appointment as a tenure-track assistant professor of history at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Austin wrote his doctoral dissertation, entitled “Charisma, Community, and Authority: Dominican Epistolary Practice in Italy, 1300-1500”, under the direction of Professor Katherine L. Jansen. Since then he has been a postdoctoral scholar and then lecturer at the University of California, Davis, and an editorial assistant at Speculum, the leading journal of medieval studies in North America.
At Wofford, Austin will teach survey and upper level courses in medieval history. This fall he will also teach a section of Wofford’s Liberal Arts Seminar (required of all incoming freshmen), for which he is preparing a topic on classical rhetoric and oratory. In it, he explains, “students will explore the historical context in which the art of rhetoric developed, debate philosophical questions the ancients themselves grappled with, and consider moral issues related to rhetoricians’ power over their audience”. He also looks forward to participating in future in Wofford’s four-week January term, including study abroad opportunities such as taking students to Italy, and teaching manuscript studies.
Austin reflects: “I'm looking forward to working at Wofford because of its commitment to the liberal arts and its promotion of experiential teaching methods. Further, because of Wofford’s small class sizes, I’m excited for the opportunity to get to know my students better as individuals and guide them in their studies and in their pursuit of independent research.”
Professor Jansen adds: “I am extremely proud of Austin for landing this position, which looks like a perfect fit for him. The History Department at Catholic University, the experience of researching and writing of his excellent dissertation, and all the opportunities at UC Davis have prepared him well and I wish him all the best!”