Spring 2024

Section 5234 of RELS6.66
History of Satan -- : Jan 17 - May 15 2024

Section 5878 of HUMAN26
Friendship -- : Jan 17 - May 15 2024

Fall 2023

Section 0987 of HUMAN8
Comparative Mythology -- : Aug 14 - Dec 08 2023
This is section has no regularly scheduled meetings.

Section 0989 of RELS6.66
History of Satan -- : Sep 11 - Dec 08 2023
This is a late start section that will meet in person at the day(s), time(s), and location listed. There will be additional course content delivered asynchronously online.

Section 2560 of HUMAN26
Friendship -- : Sep 07 - Dec 08 2023
This is a late start section that will meet in person at the day(s), time(s), and location listed. There will be additional course content delivered asynchronously online.

No office hours

Fall 2023

Mondays:
11:00-11:45 SLO Coordinators (Zoom)
1:30-3:00 Religious Studies 6.66 
3:00-4:00 Student Office Hour

Tuesdays:
*Off Campus
2:30-4:00 AFA Negotiation Team Meeting (Zoom) (1st & 3rd)

Wednesdays:
1:30-3:00 Religious Studies 6.66
3:00-5:00 Academic Senate (1st & 3rd) or AFA Executive Council (2nd & 4th)

Thursdays:
12:00-1:00 SLO Liaisons (Zoom)
1:00-2:00 Virtual Colleague Office Hour (Zoom)
4:00-6:00 Humanities 26
6:00-7:00 Student Office Hour

Fridays:
*Off Campus
11:45-1:15 AFA Negotiations Team Meeting (Zoom) (1st & 3rd)

 

You can also make a Zoom appointment with me.

Degrees

PhD - ABD Religious Studies (with an emphasis in Ancient Mediterranean Studies) University of California, Santa Barbara

MTS, New Testament & Early Christianity, Harvard University

BA, Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

 

Other education & training

  • Certificate in Inclusive Pedagogy, American Academy of Religion
Academic Experience

Faculty Positions

  • 2013-present Associate Faculty, Santa Rosa Junior College
  • 2012-2013 Adjunct Faculty, California Lutheran University
  • 2010-2011 Teaching Associate, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • 2005-2012 Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Barbara

 

Courses Taught at SRJC

 

Courses taught at other institutions

  • Introduction to Christianity
  • New Testament & Early Christianity
  • Academic Writing

About Me

My pronouns are she/her/hers.

I was born and raised in Santa Rosa, where I watched too much Indiana Jones as a kid and went to Catholic high school. So, I developed an interest in really old things and religion. I think and teach about how people have experienced being human and the  roles religion plays in the human experience.

I am a Lifetime Member of the Girl Scouts, holding both Silver and Gold Awards. I performed with the Northern California Renaissance Faire for 10 years (prior to starting graduate school). I like science fiction, historical fiction, crime procedurals, and fantasy (both traditional and urban/paranormal) novels, film, and television.

"The beauty of anti-racism is that you don't have to pretend to be free of racism to be an anti-racist. Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself. And it's the only way forward." -author Ijeima Oluo

 

NOTE

  • The best way to reach me is by email eschmidt@santarosa.edu
  • You can make an appointment with me.
  • Students enrolled in my classes: please email me with the name you go by & pronouns you use if they don't match your enrollment records, so I can use the correct ones at the first class meeting. Sensitive information will be kept confidential. 
  • Contact me ASAP if book costs for my courses exceed your budget. Budget should not limit your access to education. I can probably help.
  • Students of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities/presentation, immigration status, and abilities/disabilities are welcome in my classes.
  • The ACLU has a page with Know Your Rights information.

 

 

Professional Areas of Interest

Research Interests

  • "Religion" as a category or classification
  • Religions in the Roman Empire (Greco-Roman traditions, Christianities, and Judaisms)
  • Archaeology of Religion
  • Theories of Space & Material Culture
  • Religious Identity
  • Ritual & Ritualization
  • Politics of Religion and Empire
  • Religion & Religions in the U.S.
  • Construction of American identity
  • Religion, racialization & the construction of whiteness 
Professional Involvement and Community Service

2017-present North American Association for the Study of Religion

2009-present American Academy of Religion

2009-present Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions

2003-present Society of Biblical Literature

Presentations and Publications

Publications

 

SRJC Professional Development Presentations

  • 2022 Religious Studies & The Community College Student (co-presenter)


Conference Presentations

  • 2014 "Shaping Jerusalem, Shaping Identity: Herod, the Flavians, and the Gospel of Mark." Westar Institute Spring 2014 Meeting: Archaeology: Rewriting Early Christian History, 21 March 2014.
  • 2012 "Herod's Edifice Complex." Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, 18 November, 201
  • 2011 "Ritual and Architecture in Flavian Rome: The Shaping of Imperial Image" UCSB Productive Geographies Interdisciplinary Humanities Center Graduate Conference, 29 April 2011
  • 2010 "Presence and Absence: Flavian Propaganda and the Destruction of the Jewish Temple." Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, 23 November 2010
  • 2010 "The Flavian Triumph and the Arch of Titus: The Jewish God in Rome." UCSB Ancient Borderlands International Graduate Student Conference: Beyond Borders: Ancient Societies and their Conceptual Frontiers, 16 April 2010
  • 2007 "The Res Gestae Divi Augusti as Monument." Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, 17 November 2007