Assistant Professor of History & Religious Studies
Richardson 305
One Brennan Circle
Poultney, VT 05764-1199
Email Address: maxwellmj@greenmtn.edu
802-287-8075; Fax: 802-287-8080
I specialize in the history of religion, the migration of religious ideas, and cross-cultural contacts between people of different faiths in the late medieval era. My dissertation examined the travel accounts of European and Russian merchants who left detailed records of their conversion to Islam while conducting business in Muslim lands, which I published in the Journal of World History.
My scholarly interest in medieval travelers has inspired my own personal treks to Europe, Russia, Africa, India, China and the Middle East. I bring my travel stories and photos to the classroom where I encourage students to develop a deeper appreciation and curiosity for other cultures and traditions. My current research project is a comparative study of female mystics in world history titled Women and Mysticism in World History, 800 – 1200: An Era of Divine Love and the monograph is due to appear in 2014 (M.E. Sharpe). Students at Green Mountain College have served as my research assistants on this project, and have presented their work with me at academic conferences.
I am also the Book Review Editor for World History Connected, serve on two editorial boards, an Executive Council member of the World History Association, and the Secretary-Treasurer for the New England Regional World History Association.
Education
Ph.D. History, Washington State University, Pullman Washington, May 2004
Primary field in World History
Dissertation title: Journeys of Faith and Fortune: Christian Travelers in the Dār al-Islām in the 15th and Early 16th Century
Dissertation Committee: Heather Streets (chair), Edwin Garretson, Brigit Farley
M.A. History, Washington State University, 1999
Thesis title: Sanctity and Power: The Life of Mikhail Iaroslavich Tverskoi 1271-1318
B.A. History Summa Cum Laude, Whitworth College, Spokane, WA, 1997
Courses Taught
European Expansion 1400-1800
History of India
Islamic World
Classical and Christian Europe
World History to 1500
Colonial Latin America
Modern South Asia
Medieval Russia
Silk Road
Mysticism East and West
Travelers' Tales
Big History
World Religions
Western Civilization (both sections)
Publications
Forthcoming monograph: Women and Mysticism in World History, 800-1200: An Era of Divine Love. M.E. Sharpe, 2014 World History Series.
Forthcoming article: “From Imposter to Imperialist: Ludovico de Varthema’s Journey from Italy to India, 1502-1508” in World History Connected, June 2013.
Forthcoming article: “Nutmeg and Cloves,” Commodities, Culture and History: The Products That Have Changed the World, Cengage, 2013.
Forthcoming video: ”Beginnings of Christianity,” for Pearson Higher Education ”My History Lab” e-book, 2013.
“Travel and Travelers in World History,” Forum Editor for the February 2013 issue of World History Connected.
“Art and Architecture in the Early Islamic World: Cross-Cultural Influences in the Expanding Dar al-Islam," The Middle Ground Journal, no. 3, Fall 2011.
"Afanasii Nikitin: An Orthodox Russian’s Spiritual Voyage in the Dār al-Islām, 1468-1475," Journal of World History vol 17, no.3, September 2006: 243-266.
”The Role of the Individual in World History,” World History Connected vol. 3, no. 3, July, 2006.
“Structuring the World History Survey,” World History Connected vol. 2, no. 2, May, 2005.
"European Travelers to South Asia before 1498," World History Encyclopedia, 21 vols. (Santa Barbara: CA: ABC-Clio, 2011), 9:325-326.
"Russia and the Mongols, Thirteenth to Fifteenth Centuries," World History Encyclopedia, 21 vols. (Santa Barbara: CA: ABC-Clio, 2011), 9:437-439.
Book Reviews
Peter Golden, Central Asia in World History (New York: Oxford University Press: 2011) in World History Connected, vol 9, no.1, 2012.
Blanche D’Souza, Harnessing the Trade Winds (Zand Graphics: 2008) in The Historian, Winter 2010.
Anthony Penna, The Human Footprint: A Global Environmental History. (Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) in World History Connected vol. 7, no. 1, Feburary. 2010.
David Arnold, The Tropics and the Traveling Gaze: India, Landscape and Science, 1800-1856 (University of Washington Press: 2006) Itinerario vol 31, no. 1, 2007.
Richard C. Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road (St. Martin’s Press: 1999) in World History Connected vol.1 no. 2, May 2004.
A.G. Hopkins (ed), Globalization in World History (W.W. Norton: 2002) in World History Connected vol. 2, no. 1, November 2004.
Textbook and Back-cover Comments:
World history book series reviewer for Routledge, 2013 to present
Textbook reviewer for Patterns in World History (Oxford University Press) 2013 to present
World history textbook reviewer for Bedford St. Martin’s Crossroads and Cultures: A History of the World’s Peoples, by Bonnie Smith et al, 2012
Textbook reviewer for Westview Press, India: A Definitive History, by D.R. Sardesai, 2013.
Provided back-cover promotional review for M.E.Sharpe, The World That Trade Created, by Kenneth Pomeranz and Steven Topik, 2012.
Conference Participation and Research Presentations
Forthcoming presentation, "What do we Mean by Religious Conversion?: An Interdisciplinary Assessment of the Term." The World History Association in Minneapolis, MN June 26-29, 2013.
“Challenges to Conventional World History Paradigms” New England Historical Association, Rivier College, Nashua, NH April 21, 2012.
“Spiritual Constructs: Making Sense of Female Mystics in a Global Era of Divine Love” at the New England Regional World History Association, Salem, MA November 5, 2011.
"A Global Era of Divine Love" at the World History Association Annual Conference, Beijing, China July 7-10, 2011.
“Art and Architecture in the Early Islamic World: Cross-Cultural Influences in the Expanding Dar al-Islam," a paper co-written with Green Mountain College student Clara Walsh. Northwest World History Association, Eugene, OR Oct 7-9, 2010.
“Divine Love in a World History Perspective: Contributions of Medieval Female Saints,” at the World History Association Annual Conference, San Diego, CA June 24-27, 2010.
“Journeys of Faith and Fortune: Christian Merchants in the Dar al-Islam,” at the annual meeting for Forum on European Expansion and Global Interaction at Georgetown University, February, 2008.
“From Imposter to Imperialist: Ludovico De Varthema’s Journey from Italy to India 1502-1503,” 2005 WHA Annual Conference, Ifrane, Morocco, June, 2005.
“The Role of the Individual in World History,” Northwest Affiliate of the World History Association in Portland, Oregon October, 2004
Invited talk for the Early Slavists’ Seminar at Harvard’s Davis Center in Cambridge, MA. September 24, 2004. Topic: “Trade and Conversion: Afanasii Nikitin’s Voyage in World History.”
“In the Midst of the Faiths: Afanasii Nikitin’s Spiritual Journey in 15th Century India,” presented at “World History: The Next Ten Years” Boston, March, 2004. Conference sponsored by the World History Association and The World History Center at Northeastern University.
Grants
World History Association representative on a $600,000 grant received from the U.S. National Science Foundation titled “The Collaborative for Historical Information and Analysis” (CHIA). The three-year project will lay the groundwork for a world-historical data resource during the calendar years 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Teaching
Assistant Professor of History and Religious Studies, Green Mountain College 2008-present. Courses taught:
Medieval Russia
Silk Road
Mysticism: East and West
Travelers’ Tales
Islamic World
World Religions
World History and the Environment
Western Civilization
Civilization of India
Voices of Community (Freshman Writing Seminar
Visiting Assistant Professor, Western Kentucky University 2007-2008. Courses taught:
Islamic World (graduate course)
Western Civilization
South Asia
Colonial Latin America
Lecturer, Penn State University 2006-2007.
Courses taught:
Western Civilization
Colonial Latin America
Survey of Indian History
World Civilizations I
Lecturer Washington State University 2004-2005. Courses taught:
Western Civilization
World History
European Expansion 1400-1800 (graduate course
Service and Administrative Posts
Executive Committee World History Association, January 2012 to present. Membership committee July 2012 to present, program committee 2010 to 2012, publication committee September 2012 to present
Book Review Editor, World History Connected August 2010 to present
Editorial Board, World History Connected, August 2004 to present
Editorial Board, Journal of World History October 2012 to present
Secretary-Treasurer for New England Regional World History Association, September 2010 to present
Director of Honors Program, Green Mountain College, May 2012 to present
Fulbright Committee, Green Mountain College August 2012 to present
Chair of Speakers Bureau, Green Mountain College 2010 to 2012
Academic Affairs Committee, Green Mountain College 2010–2011
Budget Advisory Committee, Green Mountain College January to July 2011
Religious Life Committee, Green Mountain College November 2010 to present
International Programs Committee, Green Mountain College, January 2011 to present
Faculty Mentor, Green Mountain College History Club September 2010 to 2012
Forthcoming: Morocco Study Abroad Course December 26, 2012–January 10, 2013
Academic Membership
American Academy of Religion
New England Regional World History Association (Secretary-Treasurer and member of the Executive Council)
World History Association (Member of the Executive Council and Program Committee)
International Big History Association
FEEGI (Forum of European Expansion and Global Interaction)
Foreign Affairs Conferences
Salzburg, Austria July, 1998
Sponsor and participant of a one-week Young Presidents Organization (YPO) conference exploring the contemporary political issues facing Europe. Keynote speakers: Simon Weisenthal (in Vienna), and Otto von Hapsburg (European Parliament). Duties: chair of Holocaust segment on a genocide panel. I introduced and made arrangements for author Gerta Weissman Klein (author of All But My Life) who spoke alongside genocide victims from Rwanda and Croatia.
Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria September, 1997
Participant in a two-week study tour in Warsaw and Krakow guided by Holocaust scholars (from Yad Vashem and Simon Wiesenthal Center) and survivors (Gerta Weissmann Klein). Participated in a seven-day YPO geopolitical seminar in Budapest. The seminar consisted of daily education classes examining the complexities facing post-communist Europe. Keynote speakers in Budapest included: George Soros, founder of the Open Society Institute, Kurt Waldheim, former Prime Minister of Austria, Russia’s Prince Nickolas Romanoff, Parliament member Peter Zwack, Budapest Mayor Gabor Dempsky and Hungary’s President, Arpad Goncz. Traveled to Bulgaria with a group of ten members led by Robert Gates, former director of the CIA.
Istanbul, Turkey June/July 1996
Seven-day YPO geopolitical education conference featuring keynote speakers such as Mesut Yilmaz, Prime Minister of Turkey, and Tansu Ciller, former Prime Minister. Attended classes taught by Princeton University’s Near Eastern Studies Chair, Heath Lowry, faculty members of Ankara University, members of NATO’s International Staff, and members of the Turkish Parliament.
Language Study
Scuola Insieme, Grado, Italy Summer 2003
Nine week intensive Italian language study
St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia 2000
CIEE Language Program, Spring Semester 2000
Tver’ State University, Tver’, Russia (Research and Language Courses) Fall 1997, Summer 1998, and Spring 2002
Norwich University Russian Language School, Northfield, VT. Summer 1997
Travel and Research Trips
India, Egypt, Morocco, Russia, China, Mexico, Croatia, Slovenia, France, England, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Canada, and Tahiti.
