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Education
Currently pursuing a Ph. D. in Religion, Syracuse
University, Syracuse, New York
Dissertation: “The Iconic Book:
The Image of the Christian Bible in Myth and Ritual”
Master of Philosophy in Religion, 2001, Syracuse
University, Syracuse, New York
Exams passed with distinction:
• Books and the Discourse of the Fetish
• The Problem of Scripture in the
Contemporary Study of Religion
• The Protestant Reformation
• Jerome
• Irenaeus, Against Heresies
Master
of Arts in Religion, 1998, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
Exams:
• The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles
• Depth
Psychology and Religion
• The Maya: Myth
and History
Master of Arts in
Studio Arts, 1996, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
Thesis Project passed with Dean’s
Citation for Academic Excellence:
“Bookbinding with Metal
Ornamentation”
Bachelor
of Arts in Liberal Arts, 1992, Central College, Pella, Iowa
Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a major
in Art and a minor in Religion
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Teaching Experience with links to course syllabi
Instructor
Religions of the World (REL 101), Syracuse
University F 2007 Sp 2004 Sp
2003 Sum
2001
Religions and Storytelling (REL 324), Syracuse
University Spring 2007 Spring
2005
New
Testament (REL 217), Syracuse
University Fall
2005 Spring 2002
Religions
and the Book (REL 300), Syracuse
University Fall
2000
Religious
Perspectives on the Human Situation (REL 200), LeMoyne College Sp 2003
F 2002
World
Religions (PHIL 203), Cayuga Community College Spring
2002 Fall
2001
Teaching
Assistant, Syracuse University
Decline and
Fall of Rome (HST 354), Prof. Michael Gaddis, Spring 2002
Religions and
Storytelling (REL 300), Prof.
Ann Grodzins Gold, Spring 2000
Hinduism (REL 285), Prof.
Ann Grodzins Gold, Spring 2000
Native
American Religions (REL 242), Prof.
Philip Arnold, Fall 1999
New Testament
(REL 217), Prof. Patricia Cox Miller,
Spring 1999
Greek
Goddesses (REL 305/WSP315),
Prof. Patricia Cox Miller, Fall 1998
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Honors
Graduate
Assistantship/Associateship, 1998-2001 Syracuse University Dept. of Religion
Graduate
Student Paper Prize, 1999 and 2000
AAR-EIR Annual
Meetings
Graduate
Scholarship, 1997-1998 Syracuse
University Dept. of Religion
Dean’s Citation
for Academic Excellence, 1996 Ball State University
Art Student
League Award, 1996 Ball State
University Dept. of Art
Graduate Ceramic Alumni Award, 1994 Ball State
University Dept. of Art
Graduate Assistantship, 1992-1993 Ball State
University Dept. of Art
John Allen
Writing Award, 1992 Central College
Vander Lugt Prize in Philosophy and Religion, 1992 Central College
State of Iowa
Scholar, 1988-1989 State of Iowa
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Dissertation in
Progress
“The Iconic Book: The Image of the Christian Bible in Myth and
Ritual”
Advisor: James W. Watts
My thesis is
that the Bible as both text and physical entity has been and continues to
function as an icon—an image that mediates between the material and
spiritual world and thus is a locus of religious power. Looking at the Bible as an icon helps us
to understand the place of the book as a physical object, rather than
ignoring its materiality through an exclusive focus on the text of
scripture. The iconicity of the
Bible is demonstrated through both myth and ritual, paralleling theory and
practice, using Late Antique and Byzantine examples. It is shown that these ideas and
practices surrounding the Bible, often downplayed by an “aniconic” Protestant perspective, have modern
Protestant counterparts as well.
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Publications
“The Bible as Icon: Myths of the Divine Origins of
Scripture.” In Jewish and Christian
Scripture as Artifact and Canon, Craig A. Evans and Daniel Zacharias,
eds. London and New York: T&T
Clark (in preparation).
“Fetish,” “Iconography and Aniconography,”
“Scripture and Canon.” Articles in Handbook
for Religious Studies, Kenneth Lokensgard and
Osbourne Lorentzen,
eds. Aurora, Colorado: The Davies Group Publishers (forthcoming).
“The Iconic Book: The Image of the Bible in Early Christian
Rituals.” Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts and Contemporary Worlds
2.2-3 (2006, forthcoming in 2008).
Book Review: “The Sixteenth
Century French Religious Book.” Andrew Pettegree
et. al., eds. SHARP News, Volume 12, Number 3 (Summer 2003).
Book Review: “Writing the Medieval Self: The Book of the Heart
by Eric Jager.” Journal for
Cultural and Religious Theory, Volume 3, Number 2 (April 2002).
“Ritual and Religion.”
Essay for exhibit catalog, Ritual
and Religion. Syracuse, New
York: Light Work/Community Darkrooms, 2001.
“God Si Love: Gods in a Muddle (An
Essay on E.M. Forster’s A Passage to
India).” The Writing Anthology: 1992. Pella, Iowa: Central College, 1992.
• Recipient of John Allen Writing Award
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Presentations
“The Bible as Icon: Myths of the Divine Origins of
Scripture.” The Scripture as Artifact Consultation for the Society of
Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, November 18,
2007.
“The Bible as Icon: Christian Rituals of the Book.” American Academy of Religion—Eastern
International Regional Meeting, Québec
City, Québec, 2006.
“The Appearance of the Book: Transcendent Texts and Immanent
Icons.” American Academy of
Religion—Eastern International Regional Meeting, McGill University, Montreal,
Québec, 2005.
“The Book at a Crossroad: The Idea of Scripture, Self, and
Digital Culture.” American Academy
of Religion—Eastern International Regional Meeting, St. Paul University,
Ottawa, Ontario, 2002.
“Representation and Exchange: The
Book, the Fetish, and the History of Religions.” The Art(s) of Interpretation Group, American Academy of
Religion Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, 2001.
“The Last Flame: Printing and
Luther’s Reformation.” American Academy of
Religion—Eastern International Regional Meeting, Syracuse University,
Syracuse, New York, 2000.
• Recipient of Graduate Student Paper
Prize
“Mythos of the Book in Western
Discourse.” American Academy of Religion—Eastern
International Regional Meeting, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New
York, 1999.
• Recipient of Graduate Student Paper
Prize
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Other Teaching Experience
Syracuse University Humanistic Studies Center,
Adjunct Instructor, 1997-1999
Bookbinding
Westhill BOCES Adult
Education, Syracuse, New York, Instructor, 1996-1997
Matting
and Framing
Gordy’s Art Mart and
Framing Company, Muncie, Indiana, Instructor, 1993-1996
Throwing
on the Potter’s Wheel
Bookbinding
Various Indiana Public Schools,
Artist-in-Residence, 1993-1995
Ceramics
Bookbinding
Ball State University Ceramics Dept.,
Muncie, Indiana, Graduate Assistant, 1992-1993
Undergraduate
Ceramics Courses
Summer
Drawing Workshop
Living History Farms, Des Moines, Iowa,
Intern, 1989
Historical
Interpreter
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EDUCATION • TEACHING EXPERIENCE • HONORS • DISSERTATION • PUBLICATIONS • PRESENTATIONS • OTHER RELATED EXPERIENCE
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