Rate My Professor David Parnell

David Parnell is a Professor of History at Indiana University Northwest, where he has taught courses in ancient and medieval Mediterranean history since 2012. He serves as President of the Faculty Organization. Parnell holds a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Saint Louis University. His primary research interests center on the Early Byzantine Empire during Late Antiquity (ca. 300-700 AD), particularly the military and social life of the sixth-century Roman Empire. This includes examinations of identity, family, political structures, and the military. He is the author of two monographs: Belisarius & Antonina: Love and War in the Age of Justinian (Oxford University Press, 2023) and Justinian’s Men: Careers and Relationships of Byzantine Army Officers, ca. 518-610 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). His scholarly articles include "Barbarians and Brothers-in-Arms: Byzantines on Barbarian Soldiers in the Sixth Century" (Byzantinische Zeitschrift, 2015), "The Social Networks of Justinian's Generals" (Journal of Late Antiquity, 2015), "A Prosopographical Approach to Justinian's Army" (Medieval Prosopography, 2012), "John II Comnenus and Crusader Antioch" (2017), and contributions to The Routledge Handbook on Identity in Byzantium (2022). Parnell's work has received scholarly recognition, with Justinian’s Men cited 48 times according to Google Scholar.

Parnell has earned numerous teaching honors at Indiana University Northwest, including the Founder’s Day Teaching Award (2020-21), Trustees’ Teaching Awards in 2022-23, 2019-20, 2016-17, and 2013-14, and an Online Teaching Award. In 2024-25, he received the Distinguished Scholarship/Creative Activity Award. He has also contributed to public engagement as a consultant for Epic History TV’s documentary series on Belisarius.