Bartlett is a Renaissance historian, author, and professor at the University of Toronto, where he earned his Ph.D.
degree in 1978.
He is the Director of the Office of Teaching Advancement and has served as the president for the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies.
Bartlett currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at the university as the Professor of Renaissance Studies.
These include courses on the Italian Renaissance and warfare and rivalry of Italian city states prior to unification.
Bartlett is also a member of the Canadian Society of Medievalists.