Smithsonian Journeys Experts

Jennifer Paxton has taught the history of the British Isles and Ireland for the past seventeen years, first at Georgetown and then at the Catholic University of America, where she is currently the director of the University Honors Program. She earned her B.A. in history at Yale and her Ph.D. in medieval history at Harvard, where she also did course work in the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures. Dr. Paxton has produced  several lecture series for Wondrium (formerly The Great Courses) on medieval British history and  the Celtic World. She lectures regularly on Irish, Scottish, and British history for Smithsonian Associates.