Kristen has a background in Dante studies and a special interest in Medicean Florence. More generally, she studies relationships between poetry and philosophy, medicine and theology, word and image in the Italian Middle Ages and Renaissance. These things have also brought her to ponder the work and legacy of art historian, Aby Warburg; his methodology and peculiar way of understanding the life of images and other cultural forms.

Her dissertation-in-progress (What Guido Means: Cavalcanti’s Corpus in the Florentine Quattrocento) addresses the afterlife of 13th century poet Guido Cavalcanti in 15th century philosophy, particularly in the milieu of Marsilio Ficino.  

She holds an M.A. in Italian Studies from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in Italian Studies and Latin from the American University of Rome.