Biography: David Jeffrey

David Jeffrey

Distinguished Professor of Literature and the Humanities, Honors College Distinguished Fellow & Director of Manuscript Research in Scripture and Tradition, Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion; Baylor University

David Lyle Jeffrey has been distinguished professor of literature and humanities at Baylor University since 2000. He is also professor emeritus of English literature at the University of Ottawa, and has been guest professor at Peking University (Beijing) since1996 and honorary professor at the University of International Business and Economics (Beijing) since 2005.

Jeffrey graduated from Wheaton College in 1965 and received a Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1968. He was first tenured (1973) at the University of Rochester, where he was inaugural director of the Medieval House Living-Learning Center. He was Reckitt and Coleman Visiting Professor at the University of Hull (UK) from 1970-71, professor and chair of the department of English at the University of Victoria and subsequently professor and chair at the University of Ottawa in Canada. He has been a visiting professor for graduate programs at Regent College, University of Notre Dame, University of Toronto, Peking University and Regent College (UBC).

Jeffrey teaches courses on medieval literature, the Bible as literature, medieval exegesis, biblical hermeneutics and literary theory, biblical tradition in the arts, art and biblical theology, literature and philosophy; at other universities he has taught biblical theology and literary theory. 

Jeffrey is known as a medievalist and as a scholar of biblical tradition in Western Literature and art. His books include: "A Dictionary of biblical Tradition in English Literature"(1992), "The Early English Lyric and Franciscan Spirituality" (1975);  "Chaucer and Scriptural Tradition?"1984); "English Spirituality in the Age of Wesley" (1987; 1994; 2000); "The Law of Love: English Spirituality in the Age of Wyclif" (1988; 2001); "People of the Book: Christian Identity and Literary Culture" (1996); "Houses of the Interpreter: Reading Scripture, Reading Culture" (2003). He has edited William Cowper: "Selected Poetry and Prose" (2006) and co-authored "The Bible and the University" (2007).