Elizabeth Anderson received a B.A. (2000) and M.A. (2003) from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2011 in Italian Language and Literature. Her dissertation, “To Love and Be Loved: Petrarchan Friendship in the Canzoniere and Triumphs” relies heavily on Augustine’s doctrine of friendship. For Augustine, God is the origin and end of friendship, leaving no room for rejection of another, which would be tantamount to rejecting God and oneself. As an independent scholar, Elizabeth continues to research a constellation of questions surrounding friendship in Medieval and Early Modern Italian literature. She lives in Milwaukee, WI, with her husband, their three strapping young boys, and their old chocolate lab named Virgil.