Department of History

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David Gehring

Associate Professor in Early Modern History, Faculty of Arts

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Biography

Born and raised in America's Dairyland (Wisconsin), I received my BSc in History and Economics before earning the MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. I've been a research fellow at higher education institutions like Warwick, Durham, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as well as elite archives such as the Huntington Library, Newberry Library, Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel. By way of teaching, before coming to Nottingham in September 2014, I taught in Wisconsin (at Madison and elsewhere) and California (just east of Los Angeles).

Expertise Summary

My general area of research is in early modern British history with reference to the wider European context. More particularly, most of my focus is dedicated to Elizabethan England's relations with the Protestant territories of the Holy Roman Empire and Denmark. Commercial and other economic connections are of interest, but of greater significance in my research are the wars of religion, religious diplomacy, and international intellectual networks. In recognition of my contributions to early modern history, in 2016 I was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. In recognition of my dedication to university teaching and learning, in 2017 I achieved the status of Fellow of The Higher Education Academy.

Students interested in any aspect of early modern British or European history are encouraged to contact me, though I would be especially excited to supervise students interested in international relations, religious and intellectual history, or Elizabethan England. To date (August 2023) I have supervised and examined postgraduate projects (MA and PhD) on religious and political exiles, religious and political minorities, the politics of print, Anglo-Muscovite relations, Anglo-Scandinavian relations, Anglo-Italian relations, cartography, women and power, drama and melancholy, religion and theatre, travel literature, nicodemism, maritime captivity narratives, and witchcraft in Germany. Four of my PhD students have completed their studies, while another three are in progress.

Teaching Summary

Having come to Nottingham in 2014, my teaching has developed in fun ways that look well beyond Tudor England. I contribute lectures to first-year survey modules in early modern history and Learning… read more

Research Summary

For the past several years I've been working on Robert Beale, Queen Elizabeth's primary specialist on German affairs. The book is the first full-scale work on Beale to be published, as only a… read more

Recent Publications

  • GEHRING, DAVID and FREYER, STEFANIE, 2024. Evolution and Revolution in British Diplomacy. In: GOETZE, DOROTHÉE and OETZEL, LENA, eds., Early Modern European Diplomacy: A Handbook De Gruyter. 253-69
  • GEHRING, DAVID, 2024. Luther in Early Modern English Lutheran Quarterly. 38(1), 20-9
  • GEHRING, DAVID, 2024. A European Elizabethan: The Life of Robert Beale, Esquire Oxford University Press.
  • GEHRING, DAVID, 2022. Intelligence Gathering, Relazioni, and the Ars Apodemica Diplomacy & Statecraft. 33(2), 211-32

Department of History

University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

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