Nikki Shepardson

Nikki Shepardson is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of History and Philosophy at Rider University. She specializes in early modern and modern European history with emphasis on women's history, Christian history, and Reformation-era martyrdom studies. Her research examines gender dynamics in religious conflicts and Protestant community formation in sixteenth-century France.

Research explores:

• Rhetorical constructions of martyrdom in Reformation literature
• Gender roles in religious persecution narratives
• Protestant identity formation in Catholic-dominated societies
• Social history of religious minorities

Awarded Summer Faculty Development Fellowship (2009) and Marion Johnson Fellowship for historical research. Current projects investigate criminal penalties and rituals of repentance involving obstinate Protestants in sixteenth-century France.