David James Maxwell (born 8 December 1963) is a British historian and academic, specialising in the missionary movement and

Christianity in Africa Christianity in Africa first arrived in Egypt in approximately 50 AD, reached the region around Carthage by the end of the second century. In the 4th century, the Aksumite empire in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea became one of the first regions ...

. He is the

Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History The Dixie Professorship of Ecclesiastical History is one of the senior professorships in history at the University of Cambridge. Lord Mayor of London in the 16th century, Sir Wolstan Dixie, left funds to found both scholarships and fellowships a ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and professorial fellow of Emmanuel College.

Early life

Maxwell was born on 8 December 1963 in

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It has a population of over 25,000 inhabitants. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow re ...

, Hertfordshire, England.'MAXWELL, Prof. David James', ''

Who's Who 2017 ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 30 Aug 2017
/ref> He studied history at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1986. He went on to undertake

postgraduate research Postgraduate research represents a formal area of study that is recognized by a university or institute of higher learning. By definition, the notion of “postgraduate” (United States) carries the implication that the candidate undertaking such ...

African History The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and — around 300–250,000 years ago— anatomically modern humans ('' Homo sapiens''), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of d ...

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics ...

, and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 1994. His

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...

was titled "''A social and conceptual history of North-East Zimbabwe, 1890–1990''".

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 Manicaland is a province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2022 census. After Harare and Bulawayo provinces, it is Zimbabwe's third-most ...

, Zimbabwe. While completing his doctorate, Maxwell was a fellow of the Social Anthropology Department,

. In 1994, he joined

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Kee ...

as a lecturer in international history. In 2007, he was promoted to

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

of African history. He was an elected member of the Senate of Keele University for the 2009 to 2010 academic year. In 2011, he left Keele to join the

. At Cambridge, he is the

and is a

professorial fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

of Emmanuel College. Maxwell was editor of the ''

Journal of Religion in Africa The ''Journal of Religion in Africa'' is a quarterly academic journal established in 1967 by Andrew Walls. It focuses on all religious traditions in Africa. Notable people * David Maxwell, editor from 1998 to 2005 * Andrew Walls, journal fou ...

'' from 1998 to 2005. He was vice-president of the

African Studies Association of the UK The African Studies Association of the United Kingdom (ASAUK) formed in 1963 "to advance African studies, particularly in the United Kingdom, by providing facilities for the interchange of information and ideas and the co-ordination of activitie ...

from 2012 to 2014 and president from 2014 to 2016. He is a member of the editorial board of ''

The Journal of Ecclesiastical History ''The Journal of Ecclesiastical History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press. It was established in 1950 and covers all aspects of the history of the Christian Church. It deals with the church b ...

''.

Honours

In 1996, Maxwell was the recipient of the

Audrey Richards Audrey Isabel Richards, CBE, FRAI, FBA (8 July 1899 – 29 June 1984), was a pioneering British social anthropologist. She produced notable ethnographic studies. The most famous of which is ''Chisingu: A Girl's initiation ceremony among the B ...

prize for the best

in African Studies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, David Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of history British historians of religion Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Dixie Professors of Ecclesiastical History Historians of Africa Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford Academics of the University of Manchester Living people 1963 births Historians of Zimbabwe Presidents of the African Studies Association of the United Kingdom