Dr. Christopher Hill, a specialist in the origins of the common law, has agreed to join the Alexander Hamilton Institute as a resident fellow.

Dr. Hill earned his PhD from The University of Texas at Austin in 2008 and has advanced degrees in both medieval and modern European history. He has taught at the University of Texas and Hamilton College, where he received the Sidney Wertimer Award for excellence in teaching in 2010. A legal historian by training, he is particularly interested in the relationship between religion and law during the high Middle Ages and the impact that relationship had on the idea of individual liberty in the development of English common law. An ardent critic of political orthodoxy in academe, he wrote while a graduate student a novel satirizing political correctness on a fictional college campus. The book, Virtual Morality, won the Editors’ Book Award from Pushcart Press in the year 2000. His reviews have appeared in the Wall Street Journal. He is currently researching the history of the concept of liberty as a Bakwin Fellow at the AHI. He and his wife, Stephanie, live with their three children in Waterville, NY.

“Chris Hill, is an outstanding teacher and scholar whose wide-ranging interests are a perfect fit for the AHI, observed Professor Ted Eismeier of the Hamilton College Department of Government. “As the AHI continues to expand its national reach, Chris will be a great asset in programming and management.”  “The AHI is thrilled with Chris Hill’s acceptance of our offer and very thankful to those Hamilton College alumni and foundations who stepped forward in recent weeks with substantial donations to make his residency possible,” said AHI co-founder Robert Paquette.  “We envision several major projects for Chris when the academic year begins in the fall, and the AHI will also support his budding scholarship on an important topic in medieval history.”