ROBYN FAITH WALSH

Department of Religious Studies Brown University Box 1927 Providence, Rhode Island 02912 Robyn_Walsh@Brown.edu 508-932-3833 http://robynwalsh.weebly.com

EDUCATION
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island Ph.D., Religious Studies (Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean), expected 2013 Dissertation: The Beginnings of Gospel Literature Dissertation Director: Stanley Stowers (Religious Studies) Dissertation Committee: David Konstan (Classics), Ross Kraemer (Religious Studies) Examination fields: Early Christianity (major); Hellenistic Judaism (minor); Roman religion and archaeology (ancillary) M.A., Religious Studies (Early Christianity), 2010 Examination fields: Greco-Roman cult and philosophy, Ancient Judaism and Rabbinics Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts M.Div., Early Christianity and Archaeology, 2005 Thesis: Agon of Athleticism: The Apostle Paul, Gender and Rhetoric Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, class valedictorian, 2002 Majors: Ancient Studies, Religious Studies Minor: Africana Studies

DISSERTATION
My dissertation offers a reevaluation of the Synoptic gospels and Q (Quelle) source, challenging the pervasive assumption that these writings were authored within a communal context and mirrored the social and theological interests of their communities. Stemming from a myth of origins for early Christianity that fashioned itself as cohesive and widespread, the imagined social environment painted by these ancient authors continues to be mistaken by scholars as a historical reality. The result has been an extremely idiosyncratic approach to early Christian literature. I demonstrate that ancient Mediterranean authors instead tended to write within a competitive field of elite cultural producers, creating narratives that conformed to expected genres. Rather than attempt to read these writings under the related assumptions that they reveal cohesive communities and preserve strands of authentic material about Jesus, my dissertation situates them more coherently within a wider field of Greco-Roman literature as an example of what I have termed subversive biography, in which a marginal figure is forced to succeed through the use of his wits and wonderworking skills.

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TEACHING INTERESTS
Early Christianity/New Testament: New Testament and Early Christian Literature; The Genuine Pauline Letters; Women in the Ancient World; Historiography; Q Wider Greco-Roman/Jewish Literature: Philo of Alexandria; Greco-Roman Philosophy; GrecoRoman Biography; Greek Novels; New Comedy; Apocalyptic Literature Material Culture: Archaeology of the Jewish Diaspora; Art and Epigraphy of the Roman Catacombs; Augustan-era Roman Art and Architecture; Roman Entertainments Religious Studies: Cognitive Science and the Humanities; Theory and Method; Gender Studies; German Romanticism; Philosophy of Religion

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Early Christianity/Religious Studies: History of Interpretation of the Synoptic Gospels and Q Scholarship; The Genuine Pauline Letters; Influence of German Romanticism on Religious Studies; Cognitive Science Material Culture: Diaspora Archaeology; Influence of the World Wars and Fascist Regimes on Religious Studies and the Interpretation of Roman Archaeology (particularly Spain and Italy)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Visiting Assistant Professor (following Fall defense) Wheaton College (Norton, MA) Elementary Greek, Classics, Fall 2013 The Ancient Romance, Classics, Fall 2013 Conflict and Sacred Space: Archaeology, Politics & Religion, Religious Studies, Fall 2013 Gender, Power & the Gods, Classics, Womens Studies & Peace and Conflict Studies, Spring 2014 Instructor Wheaton College (Norton, MA) The Literature of the New Testament, Religious Studies, Spring 2013 (funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation) The German Romantic Movement & The American Transcendentalists, Religious Studies, Spring 2013 Augustines Confessions & Early Modern Literature, Religious Studies, Spring 2013 Ancient Biographies, Classics, Spring 2013 Philosophy of Religion, Religious Studies & Philosophy, Fall 2012 Reader, Coptic Christianity in Egypt Senior Honors Thesis Committee (Heather Wilson, Peace and Conflict Studies) Chair: Darlene Boroviak

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College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA) Introduction to Early Christian Literature, Religious Studies, Spring 2012 (two sections) Guest Lectures The Current State of Q Scholarship, The Life and Teachings of Jesus, College of Wooster (Wooster, OH), November 2013 The Res Gestae (and other Roman Epigraphic Sources), Classics Senior Seminar, Wheaton College (Norton, MA), September 2013 & October 2011 Freud, Feuerbach and Butler on Religion, Religious Studies Senior Seminar, Wheaton College (Norton, MA), October 2012 The Deuteronomic Reform Movement, Hebrew Bible, Wheaton College (Norton, MA), October 2012 Hebrew Scriptures as Historical Sources, Ancient Western History, Wheaton College (Norton, MA), September 2012 Teaching Assistant Brown University (Providence, RI) Spectacles & Entertainments in the Roman World, Art & Archaeology, Professor Rebecca Molholt, Spring 2010 Beginnings of Christianity, Religious Studies, Professor Nicola Denzey Lewis, Fall 2008 Christianity in Late Antiquity, Religious Studies, Professor Susan Harvey, Spring 2006 Sacred Stories, Religious Studies, Professor Susan Harvey, Fall 2006 Graduate Course Assistant Harvard University (Cambridge, MA) The Apostle Paul: His Letters, His Cities, and His Legacy, Harvard University, Professor Helmut Koester, Fall 2004 The New Testament, Biblical Studies and Empire: Seminar, Harvard University, Professor Laura Nasrallah, Fall 2003

PEDAGOGICAL TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Teaching Certificate I Program, Sheridan Teaching Seminar, The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, 2006-07 Teaching Certificate II Program, Classroom Tools Seminar, The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, 2011-12 Teaching Certificate III Program, Professional Development Seminar, The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, 2010-11 Teaching Certificate IV Program, Teaching Consultant Program, The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, 2011-12

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PUBLICATIONS
Civic and Subversive Biography in Antiquity, co-authored with David Konstan, in K. de Temmerman, ed., Fictional Lives. Ancient Biography and Fictionality. Cambridge University Press, 2014. A Bibliography of Books on Luke-Acts, 1980-2005, in F. Bovon, Luke the Theologian, Second Revised Edition. Baylor University Press, 2006, pp. 567-622. Also found in the French language version Luc le thologien, 2006 as Complment Bibliographique Lvangile De Luc Et Les Actes Des Aptres, pp. 519-563. Bibliographic Index on Acts 1-28, 1980-2005, in F. Bovon, Luke the Theologian, Second Revised Edition. Baylor University Press, 2006, pp. 627-629. Also found in the French language version Luc le thologien, 2006 as Index Bibliographique Les Actes Des Aptres 1980-2005, pp. 579-581. Bibliographic and Thematic Index on Luke-Acts, with F. Bovon, in Bovon, Luke the Theologian, Second Revised Edition. Baylor University Press, 2006, pp. 631-645. Also found in the French language version Luc le thologien, 2006 as Index Bibliographique et Thmatique Luc-Actes 1980-2005, pp. 565-574. Thessaloniki, with Laura Nasrallah, in H. Koester, ed., Cities of Paul: Images and Interpretations from the Harvard New Testament and Archaeology Project (CD-ROM). Fortress Press, 2005.

WORK IN PROGRESS
The Golden Verses of Pythagoras, invited chapter for the Oxford Handbook on Ancient Biography The Testament of Abraham, invited article for Jewish and Christian Narrative (eds., Ilaria Ramelli and Judith Perkins) Dialogue Hymns and New Comedy, co-authored with Susan Harvey, in progress for Journal of Early Christian Studies A Reconsideration of the so-called Synagogue-Basilica of Elche, Spain, in progress for Journal of Ancient Judaism

PRESENTATIONS
Redescribing Early Christian Communities, Session: Revisiting 'Community' in Early Christian Sources: Problems and Prospects. North American Association for the Study of Religion (NAASR) at the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, November 2013 Judaism After the Temple: A New Historical Context for Q, Session: Q. SBL Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, November 2013 The Death of the (Community as) Author, Session titled: Methods in New Testament Studies. SBL International Meeting, St. Andrews, Scotland, July 2013 Communities as Authors: The Problematic and Enduring Legacy of Nineteenth Century Romanticism in the Contemporary Study of Religion, Session: Philosophy of

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Religion. NAASR at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, November 2012 The Romantic Big Bang: The Problematic Inheritance of Nineteenth Century German Romanticism in Early Christian Studies, Ways of Knowing: Graduate Conference on Religion at Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 2012 Response to Literary Functions of the Aetiological Texts in Parthenius Nicaea's Erotika Pathemata. Ancient Aitia: Explaining Matter Between Belief and Knowledge, New York University Classics Conference, December 2011 A Critical Reevaluation of the Historical and Social Setting of the Q Source. Sarah Doyle Womens Center Lecture Series, Brown University, May 2011 New Data on Diaspora Synagogues: Elche (Ilici), Spain. Session: Archaeology of Religion in the Roman World: New Data on Diaspora Synagogues. SBL Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, November 2010 Revisiting the Synagogue-Basilica of Elche (Ilici), Spain. pre-circulated paper discussed at the Seminar on Culture and Religion in the Ancient World, Brown University, October 2010 Untangling the Judean-Christian Borderlands of Roman Spain: The Case of the SynagogueBasilica of Elche (Ilici). Session: Reconsidering Material Boundaries. Beyond Borders: Ancient Societies and their Conceptual Frontiers, University of California, Santa Barbara Graduate Conference, April 2010 Response to Jason Lamoreauxs Art and Biblical Interpretation: Early Christian Re-Readings of the Art in the Cappella Graeca. Session: Philosophy, Theory and Aesthetics. Secrecy and Social Practice from Antiquity to the Present, Brown University, Graduate Conference, February 2008 Temple Treasury Plundering in Antiquity. Session: Greco-Roman Religions. SBL Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 2005

GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS

Conference Travel Grants, Brown University, conference travel for paper presentations, 20102012 Graduate School Fellowship, Brown University, 2010-2013, 2005-2006 Travel Grant (research in Spain), Brown University, Judaic Studies and Graduate School, Winter 2009, Summer 2011 Graduate School Summer Fellowship, Brown University, 2007-2009 Travel Grant (research in Israel), Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University, 2004 Travel Grant (research in Greece, Turkey and Italy), Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, 2003, 2005

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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Editorial Assistant, Professor David Konstan, Brown University, 2010 Research Assistant, Professor David Konstan, Brown University, Fall 2009 Professor Nicola Denzey Lewis, Brown University, Spring 2009 Professor Franois Bovon, Harvard University, 2004-2005 Professor Nicola Denzey Lewis, Harvard University, Spring 2005 Professor Laura Nasrallah, Harvard University, 2003-2005 Professor Helmut Koester, Harvard University, 2003-2005 Archaeology of the New Testament World Project, Harvard University, 2003-2005 Researcher, Helmut Koester Library Digitizing Initiative, Harvard University, 2004-2005 Circulation Assistant, Andover Harvard Theological Library, Harvard University, 2002-2004 Reference Assistant, Andover Harvard Theological Library, Harvard University, 2003 Resident Proctor, Rockefeller Hall, Harvard Divinity School, Summer 2003

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Founding Director, Summer Tutor Program at Stanford Summer Session, Stanford University, Summer 2013 (declined) Chair, NAASR Redescribing Christian Origins panel, SBL Annual Meeting, 2013 Senior Teaching Consultant, The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, 2012-2013 Teaching Consultant, The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, 2011-2012 Workshop Leader, New Teaching Assistant Orientation, The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, 2012-2013 Contributor, Program Committee, Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions (SAMR) for panel Divination in Ancient Mediterranean Religions, SBL Annual Meeting, 2012 Member, Graduate Planning Committee for Reflective Teaching Master Class, The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, 2011-2012 Graduate Student Liaison for Religious Studies, The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University, 2011-2013 Chair, Graduate Planning Committee, Secrecy and Social Practice from Antiquity to the Present Graduate Student Conference, Brown University, 2008 Member, Committee on Academic Programming, Harvard Divinity School, 2004-2005 Director of Faculty and Academic Affairs, Harvard Divinity School Student Government, 20042005 Student Liaison for Tenure Review, Professor Kimberley Patton, Harvard University, 2004-2005 Volunteer Teacher, Religious Education, Country Day School of the Holy Union, 2004-2005

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New Testament Faculty Search Student Liaison, Harvard Divinity School, 2004 Associate (Field Education), Old Colony Habitat for Humanity, Harvard Divinity School, 2003

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
The Ralph Waldo Emerson Society, 2012-present The International Conference on Romanticism, 2012-present North American Nietzsche Society, 2012-present Society of Archaeological Sciences, 2011-present North American Association for the Study of Religion, 2011-present American Philological Association, 2011-present American Association of University Women, 2011-present Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions, 2010-present American Association of Museums, 2009-present Society of Biblical Literature, 2003-present American Academy of Religion, 2003-2005, 2012-present

RESEARCH LANGUAGES
Greek, Latin, Coptic, Hebrew, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Catalan/Valencian

REFERENCES
Prof. Stanley Stowers, Brown University (Religious Studies) Box 1927, 59 George Street Providence, RI 02912 Phone: 401-863-3104/ Fax: 401-863-3109 Stanley_Stowers@brown.edu Prof. David Konstan, New York University (Emeritus, Classics, Brown University) Silver Center, 100 Washington Square East, Room 503 New York, New York 10003 Phone: 212-998-8597 dk87@nyu.edu Prof. Ross Kraemer, Brown University (Religious Studies) Box 1927, 59 George Street Providence, RI 02912 Phone: 401-863-3104/ Fax: 401-863-3109 Ross_Kraemer@brown.edu

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Prof. Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, Wheaton College (Department Chair, Religious Studies) Knapton 102, 26 East Main Street Norton, MA 02766 Phone: 508-286-3694/ Fax: 508-286-3640 jkraus@wheatoncollege.edu Prof. Nancy Evans, Wheaton College (Classics) Knapton 119, 26 East Main Street Norton, MA 02766 Phone: 508-286-3661/ Fax: 508-286-3640 nevans@wheatoncollege.edu Dr. Laura Hess, Brown University (Associate Dir. for the Humanities and Social Sciences) The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning Associate Dir. for the Humanities & Social Sciences Box 1912, 96 Waterman St. Providence, RI 02912 Phone: (401) 863-9193 Laura_ Hess@brown.edu Prof. Alan J. Avery-Peck, College of the Holy Cross (Department Chair, Religious Studies) 405 Smith Hall Worcester, MA 01610-2395 Phone: (508) 793-3411 aavery@holycross.edu Prof. Susan Harvey, Brown University (Religious Studies) Box 1927, 59 George Street Providence, RI 02912 Phone: 401-863-3104/ Fax: 401-863-3109 Susan_Harvey@brown.edu Assoc. Prof. Nicola Denzey Lewis, Brown University (Religious Studies) Box 1927, 59 George Street Providence, RI 02912 Phone: 401-863-3104/ Fax: 401-863-3109 ndenzey@brown.edu