Michael Wilson Bruening

Dr. Michael Bruening is a historian of medieval and early modern Europe who specializes in the Reformation.  He received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Virginia, and his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, in the Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies.  His first book, Calvinism's First Battleground, explores the origins of Calvinism in early modern Switzerland through the religious and political struggles between Catholics and Protestants in the region, as well as within Protestantism itself.  In 2012, he published Epistolae Petri Vireti, a critical edition of the unedited correspondence of the Calvinist reformer Pierre Viret. In 2017, he published A Reformation Sourcebook: Documents from an Age of Debate, a reader for courses on the Reformation. His most recent book, Refusing to Kiss the Slipper: Opposition to Calvinism in the Francophone Reformation (Oxford, 2021), explores the networks of opposition to John Calvin and his followers among Francophone evangelicals of the Reformation.

At Missouri S&T, Dr. Bruening teaches early Western Civilization, as well as upper-level courses on pre-modern European history, from ancient Rome through the Reformation. He also teaches the history of Christianity and Islam. Before coming to Missouri S&T in 2007, Dr. Bruening taught at Concordia University, Irvine.

Dr. Bruening was named interim chair of the department of History and Political Science in 2019. He was promoted to professor in September 2021.

123 Humanities-Social Sciences

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Rolla, MO 65409-1260

(573) 341-4802