Nathaniel Levtow
Office Location: LA 156Current Position:
Associate Professor, Liberal Studies Program (Religious Studies)
Description:
Nathaniel Levtow teaches and writes about the history, literature, and religions of the ancient world. His research focuses on ancient West Asian and Mediterranean religions, including ancient Judaism and early Christianity. His 2008 book, Images of Others: Iconic Politics in Ancient Israel, examines the political aspects of iconoclasm in the Bible and ancient West Asia. His current research investigates the production and destruction of scrolls and inscriptions in antiquity. In his writing and in his teaching, Dr. Levtow integrates the study of biblical literature with the cultural history of the ancient world and with social-theoretical approaches to the study of religion.
Current Semester Office Hours:
Tu Th 11:30 am - 1:00 pm and by appointment
Field Of Study:
Religion, ancient studies
Research Interests:
Research areas: religions of the ancient world.
Current research interests: ancient scribal culture; text destruction and iconoclasm; social and cognitive theory of religion
Courses:
Teaching areas: biblical studies, ancient studies, religion.
Fall 2012: LS151.80 (Introduction to the Humanities (honors); RLST 320 (Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity)
Spring 2013: RLST 220 (Judaism); RLST 310 (Prophecy)
Fall 2013: LS151 (Introduction to the Humanities); RLST 204H (Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament)
Spring 2014: RLST 205 (Introduction to New Testament Studies); RLST 395 (Religion and Violence in the Bible and the Ancient World)
Education:
Ph.D., Brown University (Religious Studies); M.T.S., Harvard Divinity School (Religion); B.A., Middlebury College (Religion).
Selected Publications:
“Text Destruction and Iconoclasm in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East.” In Iconoclasm and Text Destruction in the Ancient Near East and Beyond. Edited by Natalie N. May. Oriental Institute Seminars 8. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (2012). Free download: http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/ois/ois8.html
“Text Production and Destruction in Ancient Israel: Ritual and Political Dimensions.” In Social Theory and the Study of Israelite Religion: Essays in Retrospect and Prospect. Edited by S. M. Olyan. Society of Biblical Literature Resources for Biblical Study. Leiden: Brill, 2012. https://secure.aidcvt.com/sbl/ProdDetails.asp?ID=060371P&PG=1&Type=BL&PCS=SBL
Images of Others: Iconic Politics in Ancient Israel. Biblical and Judaic Studies from the University of California, San Diego 11. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2008. https://www.eisenbrauns.com/ECOM/_3RJ13P7S5.HTM
Entries on “Abraham,” “Judah,” Jehoahaz,” and “Manna” in The Cambridge Dictionary of Ancient Mediterranean Religions. Edited by E. Orlin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (forthcoming).
Affiliations:
Society of Biblical Literature, American Schools of Oriental Research, American Academy of Religion, European Association of Biblical Studies.
Professional Experience:
Dr. Levtow was an Educational and Cultural Affairs Research Fellow at the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem in spring 2011. Before joining the UM faculty in 2006, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh.
