Jacob M. Baum

Jacob M. Baum serves as the Buena Vista Foundation Associate Professor in the Department of History at Texas Tech University, specializing in later medieval and early modern European history with particular focus on the German-speaking world from 1400-1800.

His research explores the intersections of ideas, culture, and daily life through the lens of the human body, spanning sensory studies, disability studies, and medical history. Dr. Baum challenges traditional narratives by examining how bodily experiences shaped historical developments during pivotal periods including the Protestant Reformation and early European colonial expansion, emphasizing how sensory knowledge emerged from practical problems confronted in daily life rather than purely intellectual frameworks.

Dr. Baum's scholarly contributions include significant publications such as Reformation of the Senses (2019) and the co-edited volume Embodiment, Expertise and Ethics in Early Modern Europe: Entangling the Senses (2020), with his work increasingly focusing on disability history, particularly deafness in sixteenth-century Germany. His research demonstrates consistent methodological innovation, moving from sensory history to disability studies while maintaining focus on how bodily differences influenced social, cultural, and religious transformations.

• Hans Rosenberg Article Prize (2015) for 'From Incense to Idolatry: The Reformation of Olfaction in Late Medieval German Ritual'

His research has received substantial support from prestigious organizations including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Humanities Center, the Mellon Foundation, and the Leibniz Institute for European History. At Texas Tech, Dr. Baum teaches undergraduate courses in European history, medical history, and disability history, as well as graduate courses in research methodology and historiography, actively mentoring students interested in his specialized chronological and thematic areas.