Thomas More Studies

Dr. Gerard Wegemer is a professor of literature at the University of Dallas and the founding director of the Center for Thomas More Studies. Among his publications are Young Thomas More and the Arts of Liberty (2011), Thomas More on Statesmanship (1996) and Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage (1995). He co-edited The Essential Work of ThomasMore (2020) and A Thomas More Source Book (2004) with Dr. Stephen W. Smith, and is currently serving as an editor for Moreana and developing materials for www.essentialmore.org. He has graduate degrees in political philosophy and literature from Boston College, Georgetown University, and the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Stephen Smith serves as dean of the humanities and holds the Temple Family Chair in English Literature at Hillsdale College. He earned a B.A. in the program of liberal studies from the University of Notre Dame, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in literature and philosophic studies from the University of Dallas. With Gerard Wegemer, he is co-editor of A Thomas More Sourcebook (CUA Press) and The Essential Works of Thomas More (Yale University Press). He has published essays and reviews in Moreana, Sixteenth Century Studies, Ben Jonson Journal, and Wall Street Journal. He has lectured extensively on More, Shakespeare, and the still vital importance of the humanities.

Dr. Elizabeth McCutcheon, Professor Emerita and long-time chair of Graduate Studies at the University of Hawaii, served as president of the Amici Thomae Mori for many years. She has served as an editor of Moreana since 1976 as well as an editor of Cithara and for the Neo-Latin Society. Among her many publications on Thomas More and his circle is My Dear Peter: The Ars Poetica and Hermeneutics for More’s Utopia. She completed her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and was honored for her work when chosen to receive the Guggenheim Award in Humanities for English Literature. She is currently editing a collection of essays about Margaret More as well as an edition of her writings. 

Dr. Seymour Baker House, Professor of Ecclesiastical History, completed his doctorate at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, his masters at Concordia University in Montreal, taught at Otago University in New Zealand, at Université Catholique in Angers, France, and now as full professor and retired dean of Mount Angel College in Oregon. He joined the editorial board of Moreana in 1992. Dr. House now holds the Dwyer Chair for the Humanities. 

Dr. Travis Curtright serves as Chair of the Humanities and Liberal Studies Program at Ave Maria University, as well as Professor of Humanities and Literature and director of Shakespeare in Performance. Since 2017, he has been editor-in-chief of Moreana: A Journal of Thomas More and Renaissance Studies. Dr. Curtright completed his education at the University of Dallas, earning his doctorate in literature. He also has professional training from the American Shakespeare Center and studied improv at Chicago’s The Second City. He has written The One Thomas More and Shakespeare’s Dramatic Persons, edited Thomas More: Why Patron of Statesman?, and co-edited Shakespeare’s Last Plays: Readings in Literature and Politics, as well as publishing numerous articles in academic periodicals on Shakespeare and More.

Dr. Veronica Brooks is the Educational Outreach Director for the Center for Thomas More Studies. She is also a lecturer in Politics at Hillsdale College, where she teaches political theory. In 2019 she wrote her dissertation on the political philosophy of Thomas More, with chapters on The Life of Pico, Utopia, Richard the Third, and The Epigrams. She has published in Moreana and spoken on More at conferences. Her research interests focus on More and early modern political theory.

Louis W. Karlin (A.B., Columbia 1985; J.D., UCLA 1988) is an appellate attorney in Los Angeles, California, and a Founding Fellow of the Center for Thomas More Studies.  He has argued in the United States and California Supreme Courts, as well as in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the California Court of Appeal.  He is co-author with David R. Oakley of Inside the Mind of Thomas More: The Witness of His Writings (2019), co-editor with H.A. Kelly and G.B. Wegemer of Thomas More’s Trial by Jury: A Procedural & Legal Review with a Collection of Documents (2011), and has published numerous articles, including “What Bolt Got Right and Mantel Got Wrong,” in Thomas More: Why Patron of Statesmen? (2015).  He has presented programs on continuing education for lawyers throughout the United States based on More’s writings and trial.

Kate Stearns (MA, ABD) has served since 2017 as managing editor of CTMS publications, including the 1500-page The Essential Works of Thomas More (Yale University Press, 2020). Currently she is completing her doctoral dissertation and is an assistant professor of English at LeTourneau University.

Tamara Kuykendall is the Office and Business Manager of the Center for Thomas More Studies. She joined the Center in the summer of 2001, shortly after its founding, and has served in various capacities since, with a particular focus on conferences, website, and administrative matters. She graduated from the University of Dallas with a B.A. in English and Master of Theology degree.

Dr. Nicolas McAfee is the Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at the Center for Thomas More Studies. He completed his doctoral studies in political philosophy from the University of Dallas in 2022. His research centers on the politics of William Shakespeare and Thomas More, and he is the author of Political Wisdom in Late Shakespeare: A Way out of the Wreck (Lexington, forthcoming). He and his wife live in Irving, Texas.

Dr. Rebecca West is a lecturer at Hillsdale College, where she teaches courses in English literature, Latin, and Old Norse. Member of Phi Beta Kappa and a graduate of the University Scholars program at Baylor University, she completed her Ph.D. in Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She has presented and published on topics including musical terminology in medieval English lyric, the idea of kingship in “Viking” England, and early modern family letter-writing. In 2023 she joined the Center for Thomas More Studies as an editor and translator for the correspondence project.

Dr. Erik Ellis is assistant professor of education at Hillsdale College, where he teaches courses on the history and philosophy of classical education. As a University Scholar, he studied Classics and History at Baylor University, where he also took an MA in History. After five years as a Latin teacher, he returned to graduate study and received master’s and doctoral degrees in Classics and Medieval Studies from the University of Notre Dame. He has published academic articles and popular essays on classical education, Christian humanism, and liturgical theology and is the chief editor of CTMS’ new edition of More’s correspondence.  In addition to his academic work, he collaborates with schools and non-profits to cultivate and renew the study and use of classical languages and sacred choral music.