Brian Christopher Hardison is a Public Relations Specialist and Language Access Liaison for the Seattle Department of Transportation. He is a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at the University of Washington where he is currently finishing his dissertation. He received an MPhil in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic from the University of Cambridge in 2013 after graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. with Honors in English from the University of Washington in 2012.

Brian’s research interests lie chiefly in the area of Anglo-Latin literature and culture with an emphasis on the intersection of educational practices, reading traditions, and textual transmission prior to the Norman Conquest. His most recent scholarly projects have focused on the manner in which non-biblical texts were used within pedagogical contexts in Anglo-Saxon England most particularly with regard to the seventh-century school of Theodore and Hadrian at Canterbury. In addition, Brian is interested in issues related to textual criticism, manuscript studies, paleography, and ancillary fields.

The recipient of numerous awards, most recently the Chester Fritz Fellowship for International Research and Study, Brian has presented papers on his work to the Society of Textual Scholarship, the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, and others. Moreover, he recently served as a member of the local arrangements committee for the Sixth International Piers Plowman Society Conference.

As a compliment to his scholarly work, Brian was formerly the key project coordinator for the University of Washington Classics, Medieval, and Early Modern Studies Graduate Research Cluster. He previously served as a graduate student representative on the College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Council. From 2014–2016, Brian served as the Graduate Student Organization representative to the English Department Graduate Studies Committee as well as the convenor for the Graduate Student Patristics Reading Group. Prior service, during his time at Cambridge, includes serving as the MPhil representative to the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic Graduate Joint Academic Committee and the MPhil representative to the Faculty of English Graduate Consultative Committee.

In his off time, Brian, an avid baker and cook, can regularly be found preparing elaborate meals for his partner and friends. A violinist, he enjoys early music and plays with the New Baroque Orchestra. Brian is also quite fond of Merchant-Ivory adaptations of the works of E.M. Forster, the novels of Trollope, a good glass of champagne, and planning his next trip to the UK.