Campus Directory

Division Humanities Division

Department/College/Unit History Department

Title Associate Professor

Affiliation Faculty

Faculty Type Regular Faculty

Areas of Expertise Ancient World / Classics
Mediterranean Studies
Religion and Secularism

Primary Office Location Humanities Building 1
232

Office Hours for Students/ Office Hours Spring 2025: by appointment

Mail Stop Humanities Academic Services

Biography, Education and Training

Ph.D University of Michigan, Near Eastern Studies

M.A. University of California-Berkeley, Near Eastern Studies (Judaic Studies)

Summary of Expertise

Second Temple Judaism, Early Christianity, History of the Ancient Near East, New Religious Movements, Methods and Theories for the Study of Religion

Research Interests

Second Temple Judaism, Early Christianity, History of the Ancient Near East, Greco-Roman World, New Religious Movements, Methods and Theories for the Study of Religion

Teaching Interests

History of ancient Judaism and Christianity, New Religious Movements, Canons and Archives

Awards, Honors and Grants

American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship

Andrew W. Mellon/Center for Environmental Futures Fellowship

Sherl K. Coleman and Margaret E. Guitteau Professorship in the Humanities

Ernest Moll Research Professor in Literary Studies

Selected Publications

The Crucified Book: Sacred Writing in the Age of Valentinus.  Divinations: Rereading Late Antique Religion.  Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022.

“Ancient Anatomy, Embryology, and the Gestation of Early Christian Heresy,” Early Christianity 13 (2022): 1-22.

“torah? Torah? Flora: Law and Book in Ptolemy’s Letter to Flora.” In Torah: Functions, Meanings, and Diverse Manifestations in Early Judaism and Christianity.  Edited by William Schneidewind, Jason Zurawski, and Gabriele Boccaccini.  Atlanta: SBL Press, 2021.  

Courses Introduction to the Bible
Christianity from the First to Fourth Centuries
Religions of Abraham
New Religious Movements
Jesus in History and Film