MICHAEL O’NEILL PRINTY
mprinty@wesleyan.edu
EDUCATION
University of California, Berkeley, CA
Ph. D. in History, December 2002
M.A. in History, May, 1997
Yale University, New Haven, CT
B.A. with Distinction in History, 1994
CURRENT RESEARCH
"Enlightenment’s Reformation: Recasting German Protestantism, 1770-1830"
TEACHING INTERESTS
Early and late modern European intellectual and religious history, German history,
history of Christianity, early modern Catholicism, the Enlightenment, history of political
though, the papacy
PUBLICATIONS
Book
Enlightenment and the Creation of German Catholicism (Cambridge University Press,
2009).
Journal Articles
"From Barbarism to Religion: Church History and the Enlightened Narrative in
Germany," German History 23:2 (2005).
"The Intellectual Origins of Popular Catholicism: Catholic Moral Theology in the Age of
Enlightenment," The Catholic Historical Review (July, 2005).
"Skinner and Pocock in Context: Early Modern Political Thought Today," History and
Theory 48: 1 (2009) [review essay].
Chapters in Books
"The Reformation of the Enlightenment: German Histories in the Eighteenth Century,"
in Politics and Reformations: Histories and Reformations. Essays in Honor of Thomas
A. Brady, Jr. (Brill, 2007).
"Gallican Longings: Nation and Religion in the German Enlightenment," in Rethinking
the Holy Roman Empire, ed. B. Marschke, J. Coy, and D. W. Sabean (Berghan Books, in
press).
"Catholic Enlightenment and Reform Catholicism in the Holy Roman Empire," in A
Companion to the Catholic Enlightenment in Europe, edited by Ulrich L. Lehner and
Michael Printy (Leiden: Brill, 2010).
Editorial
Co-Editor, with C. Ocker, P. Starenko and P. Wallace: Politics and Reformations.
Essays in Honor of Thomas A. Brady, Jr., 2 volumes (Leiden: Brill, 2007). A collection
of almost fifty essays in early modern Europe.
Co-Editor, with Ulrich L. Lehner, A Companion to the Catholic Enlightenment in
Europe (Leiden: Brill, 2010)
Reviews
Review of Johann Sleidan and the Protestant Vision of History, by Alexandra Kess
(Ashgate, 2008), in The Catholic Historical Review (October, 2009).
Other
"Religion in Eighteenth-Century Germany," on H-German Forum "New Perspectives on
the Eighteenth Century"(in press)
Translator, "The Juridical Construction of Civil Society according to G. W. Leibniz," by
Klaus Luig in Privileges and Rights of Citizenship, eds. J. Kirshner and L. Mayali
(Berkeley: Robbins Collection Publications, 2002).
PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS
“Claiming the Reformation for the Enlightenment: Protestantism and the German Nation
in the Eighteenth Century,” German Studies Association, October 2009
“The Protestant Idea of Freedom: Nation and Religion in Germany 1700-1815,”
Fellows’ Colloquium, Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel, Germany, August 3
2009
"Gallican Longings: Nation and Religion in the German Enlightenment," Conference
paper, German Studies Association, October 2007
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"The Rise of Modern Pelagianism: Eusebius Amort and the Catholic Enlightenment."
Conference paper, Catholic Historical Association Spring Meeting, Milwaukee, WI,
March 2007
"Exceptional Enlightenment: German Catholicism in the Later Holy Roman Empire."
Invited talk, University of Colorado, Boulder, April, 2006
"In the Last Act of the World: Joahann Sleidan and Reformation History," Invited paper,
Wesleyan Renaissance Seminar, September 19, 2005; Berkeley Reformation Seminar,
Spring 2006
"The Reformation of the Enlightenment: German Histories in the Eighteenth Century,"
Defining and Redefining Early Modern History: Old Paradigms and New Directions. A
Symposium to Honor Thomas A. Brady, Jr., Berkeley, September 3-5, 2004
"The Revolt against the Fathers: Anti-Jesuitism and German Catholic Culture in Early
Modern Germany," Sixteenth Century Studies Conference, San Antonio, October 26,
2002
FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, July 2011-July 2012
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Research Fellowship, August 2010-July 2011
American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship, July 2010-June 2011
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel Research Fellowship, Germany
4 month resident research fellowship for "The Protestant Idea of Freedom", Summer
2009 (2 months reserved for later trip)
Robbins Fellowship
Research fellowship in the history of early modern canon and civil law, Berkeley, JuneJuly, 2004
DAAD Grant
Research in Munich, Germany, Sept 1999-Aug. 2000
Fulbright Full Fellowship
Study and research in 18th and 19th century German history at the University of
Freiburg, Germany, 1994-95
Winifred Sturley Prize in British History, Yale University
Awarded by Yale History department for senior essay: "Kings, Monks and Cows: Cattle
Raiding in Medieval Ireland," May 1994
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COURSES TAUGHT
"The Great Separation: Politics, Religion, and the Modern West"
"From Luther to Napoleon: Early Modern Germany, 1500-1815"
"The Enlightenment," freshman seminar and research seminar versions
"The History of the Popes in Modern Times," lecture course and graduate seminar
"Early Modern Europe, 1350-1750: From Christian Commonwealth to Sovereign
States," graduate seminar
"Calvin and Hobbes: Violence, Morality, and the Birth of the State," lecture course
"Piety and Politics: The Age of European Reformations," lecture and seminar versions
"Religion and Revolution: Religious Conflict and Mass Politics in Europe from the
French Revolution to World War I," seminar
"Culture and Society in the Age of Enlightenment," senior thesis research seminar
EMPLOYMENT AND AFFILIATION
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
2009-present Visiting Scholar in History, 20092003-2009
Visiting Assistant Professor
2006
Research Fellow, Wesleyan Center for the Humanities
Courses taught in History, College of Letters, and Graduate Liberal
Studies Program, served as outside history examiner for the
College of Social Studies
LANGUAGES
German, French (fluent); Latin; Italian (working knowledge)
REFERENCES
Thomas A. Brady Jr., Professor of History, U.C. Berkeley, 3229 Dwinelle Hall,
Berkeley, CA, 94709, email: tabrady@berkeley.edu
Margaret Anderson, Professor of History, U. C. Berkeley, 3229 Dwinelle Hall,
Berkeley, CA, 94709, (510) 642-1116, email: mlavinia@berkeley.edu
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Ethan Kleinberg, Associate Professor of History and Letters, College of Letters,
Middletown, CT, 06459, email: ekleinberg@wesleyan.edu
Brad Gregory, Associate Professor of History, University of Notre Dame, 219
O'Shaughnessy Notre Dame, IN 46556, email: gregory.12@nd.edu
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