Dr. Ryan Gaston

Dr. Ryan Gaston is cultural historian specializing in early modern Europe. His areas of specialization include Spanish political culture, and gender and sexuality. Gaston presently teaches both halves of the World History and Western Civilization courses, as well as courses in the Atlantic World and Early Modern Europe. His present research explores the relationship between gender and politics in the formation of imperial reform policy during the reigns of the Spanish monarchs, Philip III (1598-1621) and Philip IV (1621-1665). Recent archival research has also prompted Gaston to pursue an interest in the historical understanding of disability, deriving from the pages of Don Quixote and other sources an understanding of early modern Spain's view of disability and prompting questions about popular notions of disability throughout history.