Travis Bruce (on sabbatical)

Travis Bruce is a specialist of medieval intercultural relations. His research focuses on communications networks in the Western Mediterranean from the 11^th to the 14^th century. His first book, La taifa de Denia et la Méditerranée au XI^e siècle, examined relations between the 11^th-century Hispano-Muslim kingdom of Denia and the Christian and Muslim ports of the Mediterranean. The project drew on written sources in Latin, Arabic, and Judeo-Arabic, and material sources such as ceramics and archaeological data. His new project examines relations between the ports of Pisa and Tunis during the 13^th-14^th centuries. This study specifically looks at relations between Italian and North African merchants, and will lead to a larger project on the role of translators as cultural facilitators between various Mediterranean communities. Before coming to McGill, Travis was an assistant professor of history at Wichita State University, and completed doctoral degrees at the Université de Toulouse and Western Michigan University.