Fellow (Royal Historical Society)
Chair in History
- About
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- Email Address
- w.g.naphy@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 273928
- Office Address
School of Divinity, History, Philosophy & Art History,
Crombie Annexe, Room 109
Meston Walk,
King's College,
University of Aberdeen,
Old Aberdeen,
AB24 3FX.- School/Department
- School of Divinity, History, Philosophy & Art History
Biography
Professor Naphy received his doctorate (in Reformation History) from the University of St Andrews in 1993. He was appointed a lecturer at the University of Manchester in 1993 and, in 1996, at Aberdeen where he was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1999. He was awarded a personal chair in 2007. He is the author of six books with translations into six languages (including a translation, funded by the Norwegian government, into Serbo-Croat for an NGO raising awareness of homosexuality in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia) as well as numerous edited volumes and articles in scholarly journals .
He has made frequent appearances in the media (Channel 4; Grampian TV; BBC-Scotland; BBC-Radio 4: Start the Week) as a specialist on the history of witchcraft, plague, and sexuality. He contributed extensively to the media in the discussions surrounding the Kirk's position on gay ministers. He was historical consultant for Out in the World, a four-part series on the history of sexuality broadcast on Radio 3.
He is a leading authority on Calvin's Geneva during the sixteenth century as well as the history of crime and punishment in the early modern period He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and member of the Sixteenth Century Studies Society.
During the course of 2009 and events commemorating Calvin's birth in 1509, Professor Naphy participated in the T. V. Moore endowed lecture series at the San Francisco Theological Seminary along with the Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi (General Secreary, World Alliance of Reformed Churches). Professor Naphy also delivered a keynote address at the conference on Calvin and his Influence, 1509-2009 (Geneva, 24-27 May).
He speaks often to general audiences on gender, sexuality, witchcraft and Calvinism.
Qualifications
- PhD Reformation History1993 - University of St Andrews
Thesis Title: Calvin & the Consolidation of the Genevan Reformation
- MDiv Historical Theology1987 - Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
- BA Latin1982 - College of William & Mary
External Memberships
Professor Naphy is one of the editors for the Manchester University Press series on Early Modern Europe.
- Research
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Research Overview
Calvin, Calvinism, Witchcraft, Plague, Geneva, Crime, Sexuality, Gender, Gay Issues
Current Research
Professor Naphy is currently working on the production of a two-volume study of sexuality, deviance, and criminality in early modern Geneva. The first volume will concentrate on 'unnatural' sexual activity (as defined by the Genevan courts), while the second volume will look at the wider issue of the control and criminalisation of other forms of sexual activity (for example, fornication and adultery).
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
- HI1027 Making History
- HS1001 The Scientific Revolution & the Origins of Modern Science
- HI2027 The 'Other': History of Minorities & the Marginalised
- HI304J/HI354J Historical Research for Visiting Students
- HI305M/355M Aztec, Incas and Mayas: Empires on the Eve of Apocalypse
- HI401C Morality & Sexual Mores in the Classical World
- HI502W Scotland's Millennium: A Thematic Overview (online course)
- HI1521 Renaissance to Revolutions
- HI1527 American Civilisations
- HI356J Thinking History
- HI4516 Undergraduate Dissertation in History
- HI4518 History in Practice
- HI553D Scottish Witch-Hunting & the Rise of a Protestant Culture, 1590-1690 (online course)