Profile

Kyle Bulthuis earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1995.  He received a Master of Arts at Utah State University for work in U.S. western history in 2000, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of California, Davis, in early American history in 2007.

Dr. Bulthuis has taught at a number of different institutions, small and large, public and private, serving local and national (and international) populations.  He enjoys the challenges of working with students who bring with them a variety of strengths and backgrounds. His courses range across the spectrum, but he always stresses clear thought and forceful writing as important tools, in history and in life. As an early American historian, Dr. Bulthuis appreciates the challenges and complexity that the study of America before 1800 brings.  For him, early America is a foreign world, one that demands that students set aside their assumptions at the door and look in at a place of tragedy and catastrophe, but also of unexpected beauty and promise.

Dr. Bulthuis' research interests in early America include an examination of religious experience, social and cultural history, and race and slavery. His article "Preacher Politics and People Power: Congregational Conflicts in New York City, 1810-1830", received the Sidney E. Mead Prize from the American Society of Church History, and appeared in the June 2009 issue of  Church History. He has planned two subsequent projects. One explores the relationship between alchemy, magic, religion, and science in late-seventeenth century colonial America. Another examines the formation of the black church in the revolutionary era Atlantic, exploring the connections black Christians in the mainland American colonies forged between the West Indies, Africa, and Britain.