Brian P. Levack

Biography

Brian Levack grew up in a family of teachers in the New York metropolitan area. From his father, a professor of French history, he acquired a love for studying the past, and he knew from an early age that he too would become a historian. He received his B.A. from Fordham University in 1965 and his Ph.D. from Yale in 1970. In graduate school he became fascinated by the history of the law and the interaction between law and politics, interests that he has maintained throughout his career.

In 1969 he joined the History Department of the University of Texas at Austin, where he is now the John E. Green Regents Professor in History. The winner of several teaching awards, Levack offers a wide variety of courses on early modern British and European history, legal history, and the history of witchcraft. For eight years he served as the chair of his department. His books include The Civil Lawyers in England, 1603-1641:A Political Study (1973), The Formation of the British State: England, Scotland and the Union, 1603-1707 (1987); The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe (3rd edition, 2006), which has been translated into eight languages; and Witch-Hunting in Scotland: Law, Politics, and Religion  (2008). He has also edited twenty books, including The Jacobean Union: Six Tracts of 1604 (1985) and The Witchcraft Sourcebook (2004).

Research interests

He is currently studying demonic possession in early modern Europe.

Courses taught

Early modern Britain, the history of witchcraft, the history of political thought, and comparative legal systems.

Awards/Honors

Academy of Distinguished Teachers, 2004; Scholar in Residence, Frances Lewis Law Center, Washington and Lee University School of Law, 1994; Raymond Dickson Teaching Fellowship, 1989; President's Associates Teaching Excellence Award, 1985; Liberal Arts Council Teaching Award, 1984; Guggenheim Fellowship, 1975-6