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Richard Tristano, Ph.D.
Office location:
Saint Mary's Hall #237
Mailing Address:
Saint Mary's University
of Minnesota
700 Terrace Heights #1505
Winona, MN 55987-1399
507-457-1734
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Richard Tristano is a tenured Professor of History at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, where he has taught since 1991. He teaches most of the pre-modern history courses in the department. These include courses on the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, and Early Modern Europe.
His research interests have included American religious history but have focused recently on early modern Ferrara. This interest began with a study of Ferrara during the reign of Borso d’Este (1450-1471). They moved to Matteo Maria Boiardo, the premier cultural star of the Ferrarese court, his historical works and the role of chivalry in Ferrarese courtly culture. He is now working on the practice of historical writing at the Ferrarese court in the sixteenth century. Another significant interest is the thought of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, who operate Saint Mary’s University.
Honors include participation in two NEH Summer Seminars/Institutes and a Newberry Library short-term fellowship. He holds the Brother J. Robert Lane Endowed Chair in Humanities from 2006-2009. He served as Chair of the History Department (1996-2001) and Associate Dean for General Education (2000-2002).
Richard and his wife, Barbara, a professional classical flutist, have two children and a Lab, Bruno, of whom he is very fond. Tristano is totally devoted to the music of Gioachino Rossini and every one of his 39+ operas. He is also a recent convert to the music of Louis Prima.
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Scholarly and Creative Interests
Renaissance
Reformation
Early Modern Europe
Middle Ages
Church History
Renaissance Ferrarese/Estensi History
Courses Taught Recently at SMU
Europe and the World
The Middle Ages
Historical Thinking
Cross Cultural Encounters
The Renaissance
The Reformation
Early Modern Europe
Historical Research and Writing I
Historical Research and Writing II
Professional Organizations
American Historical Association
Renaissance Society of America
Society for Italian Historical Studies
Education
Ph.D., New York University, 1983
M.A., New York University, 1975
B.A., Manhattan College, 1973
Teaching Experience
1991 to Present: Associate Professor, Department of History, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
1986-1991: Instructor, Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, GA
Other Professional Experience
2002: Chaired session,“Figuring Power: Borso d’Este and the Myth of Phaethon,” Renaissance Society of America, Annual Meeting, Scottsdale, AZ
2000-2002: Associate Dean of General Education, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, Winona, MN
1996-2001: Chair, History Department, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, Winona, MN
1995: Organized session at American Catholic Historical Society Meeting, Atlanta, GE
1994: Chaired session of American Boiardo Quincentennial Conference, New York, Columbia University
Honors
Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, Newberry Library Short-term Fellowship: “History 'Without Scruple': The Enlightenment Confronts The Middle Ages in the Renaissance,” Summer 2000
Summer Seminar at the American Academy, Rome, Italy, "Marvels of Rome," Summer 1999, Drs. Dale Kinney and Birgitta Lindros Wohl, Directors
National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute: Culture in Crisis: Italy, 1492-1527, Dr. Albert Ascoli, Director, 1993 |
Selected Presentations
“How Ronald Witt Has Reconceptualized Ferrarese Courtly Culture.” Renaissance Society of America, Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 2006
“Shifting Paradigms: Reading Renaissance Ferrarese Courtly Culture through the History of Chivalry.” Renaissance Society of America, Annual Meeting, New York, New York, 2004
“Figuring Power: Borso d’Este and the Myth of Phaethon.” Renaissance Society of America, Annual Meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2002
"How the Romans Viewed Christians, and who Do We Americans Resemble More,?" Winona County Historical Society, March 28, 2001
"The 'Istoria imperiale' of Matteo Maria Boiardo and Fifteenth-Century Ferrarese Courtly Culture," New College Conference on Medieval-Renaissance Studies, Sarasota, Florida, March 9, 2000
"Nero: Madman or Lover..." Winona County Historical Society, March 23, 1999
"The Restoration of Tradition: Some Thoughts on the Stone-Campbell Movement by a Roman Catholic Historian," The Restoration Forum, Nashville, Tennessee, November 2, 1998
"Why Do We Study the Middle Ages?" Paper read at the 33rd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 9, 1998
Publications
“The Istoria imperiale of Matteo Maria Boiardo and Fifteenth-Century Ferrarese Courtly Culture,” in Phaethon’s Children: The Este Court and its Culture in Early Modern Ferrara, ed. D. Looney and D. Shemek, Tempe, AZ: Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 2005
"Holy Family Parish: The Genesis of an African American Catholic Community in Natchez, Mississippi," Journal of Negro History 83 (1998): 258-83
"Microhistory and Holy Family Parish: Some Methodological Considerations," U.S. Catholic Historian 14 vol.3, Summer, 1996
"The Proverbial Camel's Nose: The Role of History in an Interdisciplinary Core Curriculum," in Approaches to Liberal Learning ed. Mark W. Barber, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota,1997
"Vassals, Fiefs, and Social Mobility in Ferrara During the Middle Ages and Renaissance," Medievalia et Humanistica vol. XV (1987): 43-64
The Origins of the Restoration Movement: An Intellectual History (Atlanta: Glenmary Research Center, 1988) |
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