Simon Richard Ditchfield is a British academic historian of

early modern Italy Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

. Since 2014, he has been Professor of Early Modern History at the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

Career

Ditchfield completed his undergraduate studies at the

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1980. He then received

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

(1987) and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(PhD) degrees from the

Warburg Institute The Warburg Institute is a research institution associated with the University of London in central London, England. A member of the School of Advanced Study, its focus is the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture – cros ...

; his PhD was awarded in 1991 for his

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: ...

''Hagiography and Ecclesiastical Historiography in Late Sixteenth- and Early Seventeenth-Century Italy: Pietro Maria Campi of

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

(1569–1649)''."Professor Simon Ditchfield"
''University of Yok''. Retrieved 20 September 2018."Prof. Simon Ditchfield"
''Ecclesiastical History Society'' (Institute of Historical Research). Retrieved 20 September 2018. He returned to the University of York in 1991 as a

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

post-doctoral fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

, and has remained there ever since; after completing his fellowship, he was appointed a temporary lecturer in 1994, and then from 1996 to 1999 he was a project director in the department of the Heritage studies as applied history project ; he was then appointed to a full lectureship (1998), and was promoted to a senior lectureship in 2002, a

readership Readership may refer to: * The group of readers of a particular publication or writer: their target audience * The total number of readers of a particular publication (newspaper, magazine, book), as proxy-measured by web/app views or print circulat ...

in 2006, and to a professorship in 2014. Ditchfield's research focuses on urban and religious culture in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

from around 1300 to around 1800. He was president of the

Ecclesiastical History Society The Ecclesiastical History Society (EHS) is a British learned historical society founded in 1961 to foster interest in, and to advance the study of, all areas of the history of the Christian Church through twice yearly conferences and publication ...

for the 2015–16 yearPast Presidents - Ecclesiastical History Society
/ref> and is a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Publications

* Liturgy, Sanctity and History in Tridentine Italy: Pietro Maria Campi and the Preservation of the Particular, Cambridge Studies in Italian History and Culture (

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 1995). * (Co-editor with John Arnold and Kate Davies), History and Heritage: consuming the past in contemporary culture, ( Donhead Publishing, 1998) * (Editor) ''Christianity and Community in the West: Essays for

John Bossy John Antony Bossy FBA (30 April 1933 – 23 October 2015) was a British historian who was a professor of history at the University of York. Career Bossy was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he was inspired by Walter Ullmann. He ...

'' (

Ashgate Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham (Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office in ...

, 2001). * (Co-author with Anna Benvenuti, Sofia Boesch Gajano, Roberto Rusconi, Francesco Scorza Barcellona and Gabriella Zarri) ''Storia della Santità nel Cristianesimo Occidentale'' ( Viella, 2005). * (Co-editor with Kate van Liere and Howard Louthan) ''Sacred History: Uses of the Christian Past in the Renaissance World'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2012). * (Co-editor with Helen Smith) ''Conversions: Gender and Religious Change in Early Modern Europe'' (

Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with th ...

, 2017). * * (Co-editor with Pamela M. Jones and Barbara Wisch), ''A Companion to Early Modern Rome, 1492-1692'', (

Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

, 2019)

References

21st-century British historians Academics of the University of York Alumni of the University of York Alumni of the Warburg Institute British historians of religion Cultural historians Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Historians of Christianity Historians of Italy Historians of the early modern period Living people Presidents of the Ecclesiastical History Society Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-historian-stub