Spierling, Karen E. 1970–

PERSONAL:

Born April 19, 1970. Education: Yale University, B.A. (magna cum laude, with distinction in the major), 1992; University of Wisconsin at Madison, M.A., 1996, Ph.D., 2001; also attended Université de Genève, as a visiting fellow at the Institut d'Histoire de la Réformation, 1997-98.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of History, University of Louisville, 103B Gottschalk Hall, Louisville, KY 40292. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

University of Wisconsin, Madison, teaching assistant, 1996, 2001; University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, department of history, assistant professor, 2001-07, associate professor, 2007—; contributor to various journals and periodicals; presenter at academic conferences and colloquia.

MEMBER:

Phi Beta Kappa (Phi Beta Kappa Association of Kentuckiana, chair of the Senior Award Selection Committee, 2004—), Calvin Studies Society, Sixteenth Century Society and Conference, Society for Reformation Research, American Society of Church History, American Historical Association.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Fulbright Fellowship/Swiss Government Grant for dissertation research in Geneva, 1997-98.

WRITINGS:

Infant Baptism in Reformation Geneva: The Shaping of a Community, 1536-1564, Ashgate (Burlington, VT), 2005.

(With Michael J. Halvorson) Defining Community in Early Modern Europe, Ashgate (Burlington, VT), 2008.

Contributor to various academic journals, including Archive for Reformation History, Renaissance Quarterly, and the Sixteenth Century Journal.

SIDELIGHTS:

Writer and educator Karen E. Spierling was born April 19, 1970. She graduated from Yale University in 1992, where she earned her bachelor's degree in Renaissance studies, magna cum laude with distinction in her major. She continued her education at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, first earning a master's degree in history, and then her doctorate in early modern European history with a minor in anthropology. Her doctoral thesis was titled "A Child's Place in the Community: Reformed Infant Baptism in Sixteenth-Century Geneva." Spierling served as a teaching assistant at the University of Wisconsin, then moved on to join the faculty at the University of Louisville in Kentucky after completing her dissertation. She served as an assistant professor in the department of history from 2001 until 2007, when she was made an associate professor. Spierling's primary area of research and academic interest is the history of early modern Europe, with a particular focus on the Reformation, social and cultural history, the history of the family and children, and the history of European rituals and religion. Beyond her academic responsibilities, she is a member of several professional organizations, including the Calvin Studies Society, the Sixteenth Century Society and Conference, the Society for Reformation Research, the American Society of Church History, and the American Historical Association. Additionally, she is a frequent contributor to various academic journals, such as the Archive for Reformation History, Renaissance Quarterly, and the Sixteenth Century Journal. She is the author of Infant Baptism in Reformation Geneva: The Shaping of a Community, 1536-1564, which stems from the research that she did for her dissertation. She also has written Defining Community in Early Modern Europe, with Michael J. Halvorson.

Infant Baptism in Reformation Geneva addresses the practice of baptizing infants in Geneva during the Calvinist period of the mid-sixteenth century, including the ways in which this practice assisted in fostering a sense of unity and community. Spierling looks at the tradition from both the theological angle, and the ways baptism was rooted in sacraments and the ideas of the Reformation, and in terms of the conditions in Geneva overall at the time, particularly taking into consideration the socio-economic situation and ways in which this might have been improved by a more tightly knit community. She also considers the physical reality of the ways in which baptisms were performed, how the Calvinist version of the ritual differed from the Catholic tradition, and the Calvinist sense of separation from that Catholic version of the baptism resulting from a belief that the ritual itself was based in the scriptures and Christianity overall, not one particular denomination. Spierling argues for the importance of baptism in the development of the Reform communities, stressing that it is as important as any other sacrament that is given weight. She also maintains that, because of the multigenerational and somewhat public nature of a baptism, it served to bring varied members of the social strata into contact with one another. A great deal of her argument focuses on what she perceives to be the differences between the way in which baptism was represented by the church and the way in which it was performed in reality. William G. Naphy, writing for the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, remarked that "from the outset one of this book's greatest strengths is evident. It locates the discussion of baptism within the nexus of history and theology." Jared L. Witt, in a review for Renaissance Quarterly, opined that "this study of infant baptism is modest in its scope and aims, and successful precisely for that reason. Spierling focuses on one ritual—baptism—as a community defining practice. And she limits herself to one community—Geneva—over the course of just a few decades."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Journal of Ecclesiastical History, October 1, 2006, William G. Naphy, review of Infant Baptism in Reformation Geneva: The Shaping of a Community, 1536-1564, p. 770.

Reference & Research Book News, May 1, 2005, review of Infant Baptism in Reformation Geneva, p. 30.

Renaissance Quarterly, March 22, 2006, Jared L. Witt, review of Infant Baptism in Reformation Geneva, p. 203.

Theology Today, April 1, 2006, John L. Thompson, review of Infant Baptism in Reformation Geneva, p. 137.