David Maxwell (historian)

Professor David Maxwell
Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History University of Cambridge
Incumbent
Assumed office 2011
Preceded by	Jonathan Riley-Smith
Personal details
Born	David James Maxwell (1963-12-08) 8 December 1963 (age 61) Bushey, Hertfordshire, England
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Alma mater	University of Manchester St Antony's College, Oxford

David James Maxwell (born 8 December 1963) is a British historian and academic, specialising in the missionary movement and Christianity in Africa.[1] He is the Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge and professorial fellow of Emmanuel College.

Early life

Maxwell was born on 8 December 1963 in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England.[2] He studied history at the University of Manchester, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1986.[2][3] He went on to undertake postgraduate research in African History at St Antony's College, Oxford, and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 1994. His doctoral thesis was titled "A social and conceptual history of North-East Zimbabwe, 1890–1990".[4][5][6]

Academic career

Maxwell began his academic career not as a lecturer but as a teacher. Between his bachelor's degree and doctorate, he taught for three years in a rural secondary school in Manicaland, Zimbabwe.[4]

While completing his doctorate, Maxwell was a fellow of the Social Anthropology Department, University of Manchester.[4] In 1994, he joined Keele University as a lecturer in international history.[3] In 2007, he was promoted to professor of African history.[4] He was an elected member of the Senate of Keele University for the 2009 to 2010 academic year.[7] In 2011, he left Keele to join the University of Cambridge.[8] At Cambridge, he is the Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History and is a professorial fellow of Emmanuel College.[4]

Maxwell was editor of the Journal of Religion in Africa from 1998 to 2005.[2] He was vice-president of the African Studies Association of the UK from 2012 to 2014 and president from 2014 to 2016.[2][9] He is a member of the editorial board of The Journal of Ecclesiastical History.[10]

Honours

In 1996, Maxwell was the recipient of the Audrey Richards prize for the best doctoral thesis in African Studies.[5]

References

1. "Religious Encounters and the Making of Modern Africa". University of Copenhagen. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
2. 'MAXWELL, Prof. David James', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 30 Aug 2017
3. "Professor David Maxwell". Faculty of History. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
4. "Professor David Maxwell". Emmanuel College, Cambridge. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
5. "Audrey Richards prize for the best doctoral thesis in African Studies". African Studies Association of the UK. 5 June 2014. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
6. Maxwell, David (1999). Christians and chiefs in Zimbabwe: a social history of the Hwesa people c. 1870s – 1990s. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 280. ISBN 9780748611300.
7. "MEETING OF SENATE". Keele University. 7 October 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
8. "Goodbye to Three Professors". Keele University. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
9. "ASAUK COUNCIL 2012–2013". African Studies Association of the UK. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
10. "Editorial Board". The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. Retrieved 8 June 2014.