Donald A. Yerxa
Encyclopedia
Career
A noted historian, Yerxa is a Director of The Historical Society (THS) at Boston UniversityBoston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
(BU) and a Senior Editor of Historically Speaking, published by the Johns Hopkins University Press
Johns Hopkins University Press
The Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The Press publishes books, journals, and electronic databases...
for BU.
He is the former chair of the James R. Cameron
James R. Cameron
-Early life and education:An Ohio native, Cameron began his undergraduate education at the Ohio State University. He transferred to the Eastern Nazarene College and received his bachelor's degree in history...
Center for History, Law, & Government at his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, the Eastern Nazarene College
Eastern Nazarene College
The Eastern Nazarene College is a private, coeducational college of the liberal arts and sciences in Quincy, Massachusetts near Boston, in the New England region of the United States. Known for its strong religious affiliation, distinctive liberal arts core curriculum, and excellence in science...
(ENC), where he taught from 1977 to 2009, and launched the history department's distinguished lecture series in the 1990s. He was a member of the executive board for the Conference on Faith and History from 2002 to 2006, currently serves on the editorial board of the online journal New Global Studies, and is editing a multi-volume series, Historians in Conversation, for the University of South Carolina Press
University of South Carolina Press
The University of South Carolina Press , founded in 1944, is a university press that is part of the University of South Carolina.-External links:*...
. He also guest edits for publications, such as the European Review, for which he guest edited a forum on the Scientific Revolution
Scientific revolution
The Scientific Revolution is an era associated primarily with the 16th and 17th centuries during which new ideas and knowledge in physics, astronomy, biology, medicine and chemistry transformed medieval and ancient views of nature and laid the foundations for modern science...
, and is a Contributing Editor for Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
's Books and Culture magazine.
He is a frequent contributor to the Research News & Opportunities in Science and Theology publication for the John Templeton Foundation
John Templeton Foundation
"The John Templeton Foundation is a philanthropic organizationthat funds inter-disciplinary research about human purpose and ultimate reality. It is usually referred to simply as the Templeton Foundation...
(JTF) and has been a multiple grant recipient. His most recent grant organized a conference on "British Abolitionism, Moral Progress, and Big Questions in History."
Education
Yerxa received his Bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
from the Eastern Nazarene College
Eastern Nazarene College
The Eastern Nazarene College is a private, coeducational college of the liberal arts and sciences in Quincy, Massachusetts near Boston, in the New England region of the United States. Known for its strong religious affiliation, distinctive liberal arts core curriculum, and excellence in science...
in 1972. He received a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
(1974) and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
(1982) from the University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
on a university fellowship.
Published works
Yerxa has written encyclopedia entries for four encyclopedias on United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
history and the history of science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, and is the author of three books, two on naval history: Admirals and Empire, and The Burning of Falmouth, and Species of Origins: America’s Search for a Creation Story with coauthor Karl Giberson
Karl Giberson
Karl Willard Giberson is a physicist and scholar specializing in the creation-evolution debate . He has held a teaching post since 1984, written several books, and been a member of various academic and scientific organizations.-Education:Giberson holds two Bachelor's degrees from the Eastern...
. Admirals was described as "solidly researched, clearly and economically written, and intelligently conceived... a useful synthesis filling a gap in the existing literature," Species of Origins was widely reviewed as a uniquely even-handed and concise contribution to the scholarship on the Creation–evolution controversy in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Galileo scholar William Shea lauded the account as the "best-written and most perceptive of the current accounts available," while author Edward Larson
Edward Larson
Edward John Larson is a North American historian and legal scholar. He is University Professor of history and holds the Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University, he was formerly Herman E. Talmadge Chair of Law and Richard B. Russell Professor of American History at the University...
described it as the "next best thing for those of us not enrolled in their courses." Michael Ruse
Michael Ruse
Michael Ruse is a philosopher of biology at Florida State University, and is well known for his work on the creationism/evolution controversy and the demarcation problem in science...
described it as “a simply invaluable primer on the subject that should be made compulsory reading for all who have ever thought on science-and-religion ... I can think of no better place to start into the debate about origins — creationism or evolution — than with this book.” It has been the subject of and catalyst for various discussions, conferences, and other books.
External links
- ENC History Department
- Donald A. Yerxa CV
- List of Books & Culture contributions by Prof. Yerxa
- http://www.cccu.org/projects/templeton/pageID.7,channel.resources/viewpage2.aspProject page for members of the Council for Christian Colleges and UniversitiesCouncil for Christian Colleges and UniversitiesThe Council for Christian Colleges and Universities is an organization designed to help primarily Protestant and evangelical Christian institutions of higher education cooperate and communicate with one another...
(CCCU)]