After receiving degrees in French and Classical Studies at the University of Washington, Benjamin has come to the University of Chicago to pursue a PhD and continue his studies in French. His interests in classical philosophy and rhetoric, the Protestant Reformation, and the cultural influence of the printing press have lead him to focus his research upon French Renaissance literature and the Essais of Michel de Montaigne. He is particularly interested in the way in which various forms of skepticism or criticism regarding the cultivation of human knowledge inform Montaigne’s style, self-presentation, and his views on education and religion in the Essais. In addition, he is interested in the reception of Montaigne’s thought, especially in the 19th century among thinkers like Nietzsche and Ralph Waldo Emerson.