Bracy V. Hill
Senior Lecturer in History
Areas of Specialtization
English Dissenting Religion (1375-1750), English Transatlantic Religion & Culture (1600-1750), Hunting Cultures and Religion, American & Texas History
Education
B.A., Missouri State University
M.A., University of Notre Dame
Ph.D., Baylor University
Biography
I joined the History Department in 2012 after teaching courses in the Religion Department, in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, and Truett Seminary. I embarked on my present career in higher education after teaching Latin, Ancient History, and the history of religion for seven years in secondary education.
Academic Interests & Research Narrative
My current research and teaching interests cover diverse topics, but especially focus on the relationship of humanity to its natural and social environments. In public appearances, classes, and publications, I explore the intersections of hunting and blood sport and religion from the Early Modern Era forward. I focus on people who live “on the edge” or exist in the midst of society as nonconformists. In addition to studying hunters who live in liminal spheres, I also have published studies of the medieval Lollards and their Middle English sermons, as well as work on the historiography of British Dissenting historians of the eighteenth century.
Selected Publications
Books
Bracy V. Hill II and John B. White, eds., God, Nimrod, and the World: Exploring Christian Perspectives on Sport Hunting. Mercer University Press, Sports & Religion Series (2017)
Articles
Suffering for Their Consciences: The Depiction of Anabaptists and Baptists in the Eighteenth-Century Histories of Daniel Neal, Baptist History & Heritage 49, no.3 (Fall 2014): 39-67.
Baptizing Wyclif: A Medieval Ancestor in the Baptist History of Thomas Crosby, Baptist History & Heritage 49, no. 1(Spring 2014): 13-26.
Faithful Accounts?: The Hampton Court Conference and the King James Bible in Early Eighteenth-Century Dissenting Histories, Reformation 16 (2011): 113-143.
Apocalyptic Lollards?: The Conservative Use of The Book of Daniel in the English Wycliffite Sermons, Church History and Religious Culture 90, no. 1 (2010): 1-23.
Prima Facie Biblicists? A Search for a Hermeneutic in Early Pentecostal Pacifism in Sighs, Signs & Significance: Pentecostal & Wesleyan Explorations of Science & Creation (Cleveland, TN: SPS, 2008).
Articles in The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization. Edited by George T. Kurian (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2011). Fox, George (1624-1691): 2.974-975; Lollards: 2.1381; More, Thomas (1478-1535): 3.1579-1580: Simons, Menno (1496-1561): 4.2163-2164: Wyclif (Wycliffe), John (d. 1384): 4.2544-2545: Yoder, John Howard: 4.2552-2553.
Dissertation
“The Language of Dissent: The Defense of Eighteenth-Century English Dissent in the Works and Sermons of James Peirce”
Reviews
Review of Curtis W. Freeman, Undomesticated Dissent: Democracy and the Public Virtue of Religious Nonconformity (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017) in The Journal of Church and State 60, no. 2 (1 March 2018): 338-340.
Review of Frank Van Nuys, Varmints and Victims: Predator Control in the American West (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2015) in Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences 27, no. 2 (Fall 2017): 152.
Review of John A. Grigg, The Lives of David Brainerd: The Making Of An American Evangelical Icon (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009) in The Journal of Religion 92, no. 3 (July 2012): 431-433.
Review of Scott Culpepper, Francis Johnson and the English Separatist Influence (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2011) in Themelios: An International Journal for Students of Theological and Religious Studies 37, no. 2 (July 2012): 345-347.
Review of Mark Valeri, Heavenly Merchandize: How Religion Shaped Commerce in Puritan America (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2010) in The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 63, no. 1 (January 2012): 170-171.
Review of Chris Beneke and Christopher S. Grenda, eds., The First Prejudice: Religious Tolerance and Intolerance in Early America (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011) in The Journal
of American History 98 (December 2011): 811-812.
Review of Gary W. Jenkins, John Jewel and the English National Church: The Dilemmas of an Erastian Reformer (Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2006) in The Journal of Church and State 50, no. 1 (Winter 2008): 169-171.
Review of Geoffrey Ralph Breed, Particular Baptists in Victorian England and their Strict Communion Organizations (Didcot, England: Baptist Historical Society, 2003) in American Baptist Quarterly 26, no. 2 (Summer 2007): 299-300.
Selected Activities
Awards
- Robert L. Reid Teaching Award, 2017 & 2019: For teaching excellence in the Humanities, Baylor University
- Norman W. Cox Award, The Baptist History and Heritage Society, 2014. For “Suffering for Their Consciences: The Depiction of Anabaptists and Baptists in the Eighteenth-Century Histories of Daniel Neal,” Baptist History & Heritage (Fall 2014).
Fellowships
- Bryce C. Brown Research Fellowship, Summer 2017 (Mayborn Museum,) Project: “Scattering the Morning Dew: An Exploration of Hunting in the Lone Star State"
- Faculty Research Fellow, Baylor Institute for Oral History, 2015-2016, Project: “Texas, God, and Game: A Texas Heritage of Hunting, Sport, and Religion”
Public Appearances
I enjoy being a guest on an array of podcasts and discussing history with the public.
- The MeatEater Podcast, “Ep. 119: Walking the Edge,” w/ Steven Rinella (2018)
- Dr Taylor Marshall Show, “Ep. 153: Hunting & Christianity: What Does the Bible Say?” w/ Dr. Taylor Marshall (2018)
- Reformed Forum, “Christian Perspectives on Sport Hunting” w/ Dr. Camden Bucey
- The Reverend Hunter Podcast, “Episode 15: Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord” w/ Dr. Tony Jones (2020)
- BaerTalk, “What Is The Christian Attitude Toward Hunting? With Dr. Bracy Hill & Dr. Jeremy Stirm” w/ Dr. David Baer (2021)
Presentations
- “A Squirrel’s Tale: The Squirrel in the History of American Hunting,” The Heritage of Hunting in America: Past, Present, Future; Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS—April 18, 2019
- “Hunter, Founder, and Tyrant: Identifying Nimrod in Eighteenth-Century Britain,” Phi Alpha Theta 2016 Biennial Convention; Orlando, FL—January 6-10, 2016
- Panel Chair/Organizer, “God, Nimrod, and the World: Perspectives on Sport Hunting,” Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture: “The Spirit of Sports”; Baylor University, Waco, TX—November 6, 2015
- “The Magic of the Historian: Making Men Disappear, Resurrecting the Forgotten—The Story of an Early Modern Mariner,” Trinity School at Greenlawn; South Bend, IN—October 19, 2015
- “Finding Founders: Accounting for an Ancestor in Thomas Crosby’s ‘The History of the English Baptists’ (1738-1740),” Phi Alpha Theta 2014 Biennial Convention; Albuquerque, NM—January 2-5, 2014
- “Wyclif was a Baptist?: Wyclif and the Lollards in Polemical Eighteenth-Century British Histories,” Annual Conference of the Texas Medieval Association (TEMA); Baylor University, Waco, TX—September 30, 2011
- “The Last Translation: The Hampton Court Conference and the King James Bible in Eighteenth-Century Dissenting Histories,” at Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion, The King James Bible and The World It Made, 1611-2011, Baylor University, Waco, TX—April 7-9, 2011
- “Revealing a Hidden ‘Fanatick’: Exposing the Past of an Eighteenth-Century ‘Arch-Heretick,’” at American Academy of Religion, Southwest Commission on Religious Studies (AAR/SWCRS); Dallas, TX—March 6, 2011
- “James Peirce and his New Trinity: The Roles of Scripture, History and Reason in the Reformulation of Dissent,” American Society of Church History (ASCH), Winter Meeting; San Diego, CA—January 8, 2010
Regular Course Offerings
Undergraduate:
- HIS 1300 | US in Global Perspective: History of Nature and the Hunt
- HIS 1300 | US in Global Perspective: A History of Thirst and Drink
- HIS 1305 | World History to 1500
- HIS 1307 | World History from 1500
- HIS 2365 | United States History to 1877
- HIS 3380 | History of Texas
- HIS 3383 | A Cultural History of Hunting in North America
- HIS 4329 | Renaissance/Reformation
- HIS 4340 | The History of Hunting in North America
- HIS 4341 | Tudor-Stuart Britain
Other Courses Taught
Undergraduate:
- HIS 1307 | World History from 1500
- HIS 2395: Historiography
Work with Students
I direct undergraduate/honors theses (or serve as a reader) on subject matters related to my areas of specialization like sport cultures, the history of hunting in North America, and other topics in American or religious history.