James Simpson (born 16 March 1954 in Melbourne) is an Australian-British-American medievalist who served as the Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English at Harvard University until his retirement in 2022.
He then worked at Harvard University (2003-2022) where he was appointed "Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English" (2004-2022).
"[7] His early work focused on literary criticism and historical contextualization of poetry, especially the late 14th century English poem, Piers Plowman[8] and Medieval Humanism from the 12th to the late 14th centuries (e.g. Alan of Lille's Anticlaudianus and John Gower's Confessio Amantis[9]).
In 2002, "The Oxford English Literary History: 1350–1547 : reform and cultural revolution"[10] was awarded the British Academy Sir Israel Gollancz Prize.
Permanent Revolution: the Reformation and the Illiberal Roots of Liberalism[13] defines the English Reformation as a long period of revolution, with all the cultural features of revolutionary movements, and asserts that Liberalism was the answer to the violence-producing pressures produced.