David Whitford
Professor of Reformation Studies

Education
Ph.D., Boston University
M.Div., Princeton Theological Seminary
Biography
A native New Englander, David joined the faculty at Baylor in 2013 after teaching in Ohio and South Carolina. He is married to Laurel and they have one daughter. He is an avid sports fan and when their daughter played high school and collegiate lacrosse, he was a passionate sports photographer. Today, he is working to master landscape and wildlife photography.
Academic Interests and Research
I am cultural historian interested in the intersection of religion and society during the European Reformations of the sixteenth century. I am currently looking at the role of gender in the life and theology of Martin Luther and other major reformers. Part of that work can be seen in a recently edited volume, with Amy Leonard, Embodiment, Identity, and Gender in the Early Modern Age (Routledge 2021).
In the past, I have looked at questions around slavery, race, and the Bible in The Curse of Ham in the Early Modern Era (Ashgate, 2009) and politics in Tyranny and Resistance (Concordia, 2001). These questions remain of interest and I do continue to pursue projects in political theology, race, and the history of biblical interpretation, as can be seen in a recent article in the French journal, Revue d’histoire modern et contemporaine.
I am also the immediate past-president of the Calvin Studies Society and, with Brian Brewer, edited Calvin and the Early Reformation (Brill 2020).
I am a senior editor of The Sixteenth Century Journal.