Barbara Pitkin in Italy

Barbara Pitkin has been teaching at Stanford since 1996, where she is currently the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Religious Studies. She is a specialist in the religious cultures of Renaissance and Reformation Europe (ca. 1400-1650) and serves as one of the editors of The Sixteenth Century Journal, a premier scholarly journal devoted to the study of the late medieval and early modern world. Speaking about the reasons for her passion for religion in this period, Barbara explains, “religion not only played a central role in the vibrant and fascinating spirituality of people living in these times but was also interwoven with all aspects of their life—their art, architecture, legal systems, political orders and communal self-understandings.” Barbara is eager to return to Italy, where she has led previous Stanford Travel/Study trips to Sicily and Tuscany. She looks forward to exploring the art, literature, science, and devotion of the Italian Renaissance with travelers on this itinerary. 

• Joined Stanford faculty in 1996

• Senior lecturer, religious studies, School of Humanities and Sciences, since 2008

• Editor, The Sixteenth Century Journal

• Resident fellow, Lantana Hall, 2005–08

• Author, Calvin, the Bible, and History: Exegesis and Historical Reflection in the Era of Reform (2020)

• Author, What Pure Eyes Could See: Calvin’s Doctrine of Faith in Its Exegetical Context (1999)

• Editor, Semper Reformanda: John Calvin, Worship, and Reformed Traditions (2018)

• Editor, The Formation of Clerical and Confessional Identities in Early Modern Europe (2006)

• Recipient, innovation grant (Redesigning the Religious Studies Gateway Course), Stanford Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, 2017

• BA, magna cum laude, German language and literature, 1981, Carleton College

• MA, religious studies, 1987, and PhD, theology, 1994—both University of Chicago