Tucker Adkins

Education

• PhD, American religious history, The Florida State University (dissertation defended with distinction) 
• MA, American religious history, The Florida State University
• BA, History, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Biography

I am a native of Knoxville, Tennessee. Before coming to Grand Rapids, I and my wife, Shannon, and our three kids, Anna, Isaac, and Lucas, also enjoyed time in Chattanooga and Tallahassee, Florida. When I am not helping chase around our trio of children, I love meeting new people, drinking local coffee, connecting with my parish church, and cheering on the University of Tennessee’s various athletic programs.

Academic interests

I am a historian of American religion, with a particular focus on religious experience and lay spirituality in the early modern British Atlantic world. My current book project, “New Birth, New World: Space, Sound, and the Body in the Eighteenth-Century Protestant Awakenings,” illustrates how the so-called “Evangelical Revival” prompted the production of an entirely new religious sensorium. Leaning on manuscript research from nearly 100 collections across 42 archives in 3 different countries, this project shows how religious radicalism—including unrestrained shouting, bodily convulsion, and outdoor assemblies—defined awakened Protestantism in England, North America, Scotland, and Wales. My related scholarship has appeared (and is forthcoming) in peer-reviewed outlets such as Fides et Historia, New England Quarterly, Maryland Historical Magazine, and Scottish Church History.

This year I am also serving as director of Calvin's Semester in Britain, which will take place in Liverpool, England for the entire Spring 2024 semester. I'm always excited for the chance to talk with potential participants, so come by my office any time to chat!