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William Robins is an Associate Professor of English Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto, where his research focuses on Late-Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Italian Renaissance, particularly the circulation of literary texts across national borders and the transformation of these texts through various media and linguistic communities. His work examines how cultures interpret and re-shape historical narratives and employ insights from the past to understand contemporary issues. His key research projects include an extensive analysis of Boccaccio's Decameron and its intertextual networks in 14th to 15th-century Europe, which has seen contributions in publications such as Speculum, as well as a comprehensive study on the influence of Apollonius of Tyre on the literary and socio-cultural practices of medieval Renaissance Italy, with support from an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). He also directs graduate programs in Book History and Print Culture, and he founded the Canada Chaucer Seminar. Besides his research, Robins places a strong emphasis on teaching, having received the Outstanding Teaching Award from the Faculty of Arts and Science in 2014. As President of Victoria University, he fosters collaboration among students, faculty, and the broader community, advocating for the values of liberal education and humanistic inquiry.
Department of Sociology