David James Maxwell is a British historian and academic, specialising in the missionary movement and Christianity in Africa.
Education
Maxwell studied history at the University of Manchester, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Bachelor) degree. He went on to undertake postgraduate research in African History at Street Antony"s College, Oxford, and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (Doctor of Philosophy) degree in 1994.
Career
He is the Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge and Professorial Fellow of Emmanuel College. His doctoral thesis was titled "A social and conceptual history of North-East Zimbabwe, 1890-1990". Maxwell began his academic career not as a lecturer but as a teacher.
Between his bachelor"s degree and doctorate, he taught for three years in a rural secondary school in Manicaland, Zimbabwe.
While completing his doctorate, Maxwell was a fellow of the Social Anthropology Department, University of Manchester. In 1994, he joined Keele University as a Lecturer in International History.
In 2007, he was promoted to Professor of African History. In 2011, he left Keele to join the University of Cambridge.
At Cambridge, he is the Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History and is a professorial fellow of Emmanuel College.
He is Vice-President of the African Studies Association of the United Kingdom.
Membership
He was an elected Member of the Senate of Keele University for the 2009 to 2010 academic year. Maxwell is a member of the editorial board of The Journal of Ecclesiastical History.