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).