James Blasina received a B.A. (Hon) in History and B.Mus. from Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He completed his Ph.D. in Musicology at Harvard University in May 2015 with Thomas F. Kelly, Suzannah Clark, and Beverly Kienzle. His dissertation, entitled “Music and Gender in the Medieval Cult of St. Katherine of Alexandria, 1050-1300,” examines the early composition and transmission of liturgical chant for St. Katherine in the late Middle Ages, particularly in the context of gender and the Crusades. His current teaching and research interests include chant and liturgy, gender studies, the Middle Ages, boy bands, musical theater, and popular music in the former Yugoslavia. 

 

Prior to Swarthmore College, James taught as a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University and as a lecturer at the College of the Holy Cross. In addition to his scholarly interests, he is is a pianist, choral singer and director, and an avid hiker and cook.