Western Massey Fellows 2024-25

Professor Jane ToswellJane Toswell

Jane Toswell teaches Old English, medieval studies, medievalism, and speculative fiction in the Department of English and Writing Studies. As a researcher she is something of a magpie, having recently published major studies of Longfellow’s medievalism, the role of women in the rediscovery of Old English texts in the Victorian era in England, vernacular psalters in early medieval Britain, Jorge Luis Borges, and the medieval university as it survives in the modern university.

Toswell is currently on sabbatical as a Western Massey Fellow, and is completing her monograph Medieval Canada, exploring how medievalism shapes Canadian society through literature, architecture, heraldry, and governance and institutional structures, and even sports such as hockey. 

She is also working on Navigating the Canadian University, a book inspired by her Western course This University, which examines how universities function across the country. Her time at Massey College provides opportunities to engage with scholars from diverse fields and broaden these projects.

"Massey College is an exhilarating place. In one day, I examined medieval manuscript fragments, watched a Junior Fellow curate an exhibition on queerness in the Book Arts, and had lunch with graduate students whose insights on sexual violence in universities directly informed the chapter I was writing. That evening, I enjoyed a three-course meal with a colleague I had long owed hospitality. Massey is lively and engaged, with staff who are genuinely superb at organizing engaged and relevant events (dialogues, talks, symposia), and with a superb community of people who genuinely enjoy talking about ideas."
- Jane Toswell, Western Massey Fellow 2024-25

David SandomierskiAssistant Professor David Sandomierski

David Sandomierski is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, specializing in legal education. His scholarship investigates how law schools shape legal professionals and engaged citizens, exploring their structures, values, and pedagogical approaches. Sandomierski is also a Teaching Fellow with the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Western.

At Massey, Sandomierski is advancing his SSHRC-funded study The Architecture of Law Schools, brings legal and architecture scholars together to analyze what law school buildings communicate about legal professionalism and education.

David holds an SJD from the University of Toronto and degrees in common and civil law from McGill University.

"Massey College is an enriching intellectual environment that sparks creative thought through spontaneous connections with scholars across disciplines. I have deepened ties within my own field through the Massey Law Society and Massey's mentorship program. I've learned a great deal from Junior Fellows from across the university, and from other visiting scholars, through lunchtime and hallway conversations. Massey’s curated events encourage deeper inquiry into pressing public issues. Massey has also been a vital incubator for my interdisciplinary project on law and architecture, allowing me to expand its scope through new connections. It is a truly inspiring and generative space for a sabbatical, and I know the influence of the Massey community will resonate throughout my academic career."
- David Sandomierski, Western Massey Fellow 2024-25