Taylor, John A. 1942–

(John Ansel Taylor)

PERSONAL:

Born May 5, 1942, in Battle Creek, MI; son of John E. and Marion C. Taylor. Education: Washington University, St. Louis, MO, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1965; University of Chicago, M.A., 1966, Ph.D., 1972. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Episcopalian.

ADDRESSES:

Home—East Alton, IL. Office—Department of History, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL 62026-0001. E-mail—john_taylor84@post.harvard.edu.

CAREER:

Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, 1970—, became associate professor, 1976-96, and professor of history, 1996—. Harvard University, visiting fellow, 1983-84; Waseda University, visiting professor, 2000.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Woodrow Wilson fellow, 1965; Fulbright senior lecturer, 1999-2000; Fulbright scholar, 2004-05.

WRITINGS:

British Monarchy, English Church Establishment, and Civil Liberty, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1996.

Popular Literature and the Construction of British National Identity, 1707-1850, International Scholars Publications (San Francisco, CA), 1997.

(Editor and author of introduction) William Covel, William Covel's A Just and Temperate Defence of the Five Books of "Ecclesiastical Polity" Written by Richard Hooker, E. Mellen Press (Lewiston, NY), 1998.

Diana, Self-Interest, and British National Identity, Praeger Press (Westport, CT), 2000.

British Empiricism and Early Political Economy: Gregory King's 1696 Estimates of National Wealth and Population, Praeger Press (Westport, CT), 2005.

Contributor to books, including The American Revolution: An Encyclopedia, edited by Richard Blanco, Garland, 1993; and Dictionary of British Economists, edited by Donald Rutherford, Thoemmes Continuum, 2004. Contributor to periodicals, including Daily Yomiuri, Historical Journal, Humanities, Christianity and Culture, Journal of Popular Culture, Pacific and American Studies, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Telegraph (Alton, IL). Contributor to CD-ROM American Journey, Primary Source Media, 1995.

SIDELIGHTS:

John A. Taylor is the author of several works on British history. In British Monarchy, English Church Establishment, and Civil Liberty, he identifies outmoded notions of civil liberty upon which both the monarchy and the church were once justified and argues that both institutions now require reform. With his 2000 book Diana, Self-Interest, and British National Identity, Taylor examines the life and death of Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, in the context of a shift in British values. His approach "is markedly different from much academic work on Diana's iconicity and the mourning events," commented Jude Davies in Literature and History. Davies felt that the work leaves too many questions unanswered, but he noted how Taylor's interpretive framework "helps us to understand the mixture of self-interest and other-centredness that was central to Diana's iconography" and pointed out that "Taylor does discuss relevant issues often missing from academic analyses of the ‘Diana phenomenon.’" British Empiricism and Early Political Economy: Gregory King's 1696 Estimates of National Wealth and Population is a discussion of the methods and significance of a pioneering statistician. H-Net Reviews contributor D. Roger Hainsworth highlighted "the enthusiasm Taylor brings to the topic" and deemed the book "surprisingly stimulating and enthralling."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice, September, 1996, review of British Monarchy, English Church Establishment, and Civil Liberty, p. 147; June, 2001, H.L. Smith, review of Diana, Self-Interest, and British National Identity, p. 1857.

Church History, September, 1997, Marcella Barton, review of British Monarchy, English Church Establishment, and Civil Liberty, pp. 682-683.

English Historical Review, June, 1998, J.C.D. Clark, review of British Monarchy, English Church Establishment, and Civil Liberty, p. 819.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History, July, 1998, Vernon Bogdanor, review of British Monarchy, English Church Establishment, and Civil Liberty, p. 571.

Literature and History, autumn, 2001, Jude Davies, review of Diana, Self-Interest, and British National Identity, pp. 115-116.

Reference & Research Book News, June, 1996, review of British Monarchy, English Church Establishment, and Civil Liberty, p. 7; February, 2001, review of Diana, Self-Interest, and British National Identity, p. 26; August, 2005, review of British Empiricism and Early Political Economy: Gregory King's 1696 Estimates of National Wealth and Population, p. 90.

Sixteenth Century Journal, summer, 1997, Joseph Aieta III, review of British Monarchy, English Church Establishment, and Civil Liberty, p. 576.

ONLINE

H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online,http://www.h-net.org/ (June, 2006), D. Roger Hainsworth, review of British Empiricism and Early Political Economy.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Historical Studies Web site,http://www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/historicalstudies/ (September 22, 2008), faculty profile.