Posted on November 3, 2004 at 11:25 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Assistant Professor Andrew W. Keitt, Ph.D., has been named the winner of the 2004 Frederick W. Conner Prize in the History of Ideas. He will receive the award during a ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, November 18, in the Mervyn H. Sterne Library, Henley Room, 917 13th Street South.

The Conner Prize is presented annually to a UAB faculty member for an outstanding essay on the history of ideas. The prize, which carries a $250 award, is named for Frederick Conner, Ph.D., former dean of the School of Arts and Humanities.

Keitt specializes in the cultural and intellectual history of early modern Europe, with a special focus on 17th century Spain. His winning essay, “Religious Enthusiasm, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Disenchantment of the World,” examines 17th century Spanish church authorities’ concerns over distinguishing between genuine supernatural phenomena and frauds attributable to demonic agency, natural causes, or human imposture.

Keitt was recognized in the Conner Prize competition in 2003 when he received special commendation for his essay, “The Miraculous Body of Evidence: Miracles, Medical Discourse and the Inquisition in 17th Century Spain.

Keitt earned his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley in 1998. He has been a faculty member in the UAB Department of History since 1999. His articles and reviews have been published in several journals. His book, Inventing the Sacred: Imposture, Inquisition, and the Boundaries of the Supernatural in Golden Age Spain, is in press.