Participant Info

First Name
Alexandra
Last Name
Garnhart-Bushakra
Country
United States
State
Affiliation
Carnegie Mellon University
Website URL
https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/history/people/affiliated/garnhart-bushakra.html
Keywords
High Middle Ages, Western Europe, Mediterranean, Latin East, crusades, Christianity, twelfth century, historiography, medieval
Availability
1
Additional Contact Information
PhD
PhD

Personal Info

Photo
About Me

Dr. Garnhart-Bushakra is an early-career historian whose research focuses on the crusades, masculinity, horror and memorialization in poetry, and the Classical legacy during the twelfth century.  Recently, she completed a postdoctoral lectureship and taught introductory courses on world history and Western civilizations at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  Alexandra now serves as the academic program manager for the Department of History at Carnegie Mellon University, where she oversees undergraduate curriculum and enrollment, as well as a lecturer of medieval Europe and the Mediterranean.  Since joining CMU, she has taught courses on topics such as religious studies, crusading and chivalry, premodern science and natural philosophy, illuminated manuscripts, and the medieval Mediterranean world.

She earned her B.A. in history (honors) and Classical studies from Whitman College and her M.A. in history from UT-Knoxville.  She also holds a doctorate in history from UT-Knoxville, where her dissertation received the Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies’ 2019-20 Jimmy and Dee Haslam Dissertation Prize and the Department of History’s 2022-21 Award for Excellence in Gender Studies.  While an instructor, she earned her home department’s Susan Becker Award and the UT Graduate Student Senate’s recognition for excellence in teaching.  Most recently, CMU’s Dietrich Student Advisory Board recognized her for supporting the college’s students and contributing to their growth and learning.  Beyond her research, Alexandra is interested in humanities-related outreach, such as judging for History Day competitions, and she has previously served on the UT Chancellor’s Commission for Women.

Recent Publications

Garnhart-Bushakra, Alexandra.  Review of The Damietta Crusade, 1217-1221: A Military History, by Laurence W. Marvin (Oxford University Press, 2025) in Journal of Military History 83, no. 3:  725-727.

Garnhart-Bushakra, Alexandra.  Review of Emotions in Crusading Context, 1095-1291, by Stephen J. Spencer (Oxford: University of Oxford Press, 2019).  Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies 52 (2021):  285-288.

Access through Project Muse:  https://muse.jhu.edu/article/837151.%C2%A0%C2%A0.

Media Coverage
Country Focus
France
Expertise by Geography
Mediterranean, Western Europe
Expertise by Chronology
Medieval
Expertise by Topic
Gender, Literary History, Pedagogy, Religion