Professor James Schmidt Chosen for Faculty Exchange
History and poli sci prof James Schmidt swaps places with a professor from Italy this summer.
James Schmidt, a professor of history and political science in the College of Arts and Sciences and a University Professors Program professor, was one of two faculty members chosen for this year’s Boston University Faculty Exchange Program to Padua. He is spending a month conducting research at the Università degli Studi di Padova.
A specialist in the history of European and social thought from the 18th century to the present, Schmidt plans to use the time to work on his comparison of Renaissance politics with modern-day politics.
“I’m trying to figure out ways of teaching political philosophy that would bring in elements from other areas,” he says. Schmidt will study representations of virtues and vices from the Renaissance, particularly those by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel and Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s frescoes in Siena.
Francesca Mignoni, a professor who studies the philosophy of religion, is the faculty exchange professor from Padua and has started her work at BU. Garth Green, a CAS assistant professor of philosophy and religion, is the second BU professor taking part in the exchange program in Padua this summer.
Rebecca McNamara can be reached at ramc@bu.edu.