Fall 2025

Section 2117 of RELS6.66
History of Satan -- : Sep 11 - Dec 12 2025
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 2555 of RELS21
The Jewish Bible and the Birth of God -- : Aug 18 - Dec 12 2025
This section will meet in person at the day(s), time(s), and location listed. There will be additional course content delivered asynchronously online.

Section 3086 of HUM25
Monsters -- : Aug 18 - Dec 10 2025

Spring 2025

Section 6227 of HUMAN26
Friendship -- : Jan 13 - May 16 2025

Section 6959 of RELS6.66
History of Satan -- : Jan 14 - May 15 2025

No office hours

Spring 2025

Mondays: Off Campus
 

Tuesdays:
9:00-10:30 Class: Rels 6.66 - History of Satan
1:00-2:00 Student Office Hour (Virtual) (Human 26 - Friendship, Link in Canvas)
 

Wednesdays:
1:45-2:45 Colleague Office Hour (Emeritus 1545, Zoom link on request)
 

Thursdays: 
9:00-10:30 Class: Rels 6.66 - History of Satan
10:30-11:30 Student Office Hour (Emeritus 1545) (Rels 6.66 - History of Satan)
3:00-4:30 SLO Office Hour (Doyle, 3rd Floor, CETL, Zoom link on request)
 

Fridays: Off Campus 
 

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 (Divinity School)
BA, Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Education Abroad, Lancaster University, Lancaster England
- Santa Rosa Junior College

 

Other education & training

Certificate in Inclusive Pedagogy, American Academy of Religion
Online Special Expertise Certificate, Santa Rosa Junior College

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

Religious Studies 1: Introduction to Religious Studies

Religious Studies 2: World Religions

Religious Studies 6.66: History of Satan: my course flyer

Religious Studies 21: The Jewish Bible & the Birth of God: my course flyer

Religious Studies 22: Jesus & the Invention of Christianity

Religious Studies 32: Religion in America

Humanities 4.1: Western Humanities: Arts, Ideas, & Values (Prehistory - Renaissance)

Humanities 4.2: Western Humanities: Arts, Ideas, & Values (Renaissance - Present)

Humanities 6: Humanities in the US

Humanities 8: Comparative Mythology

Humanities 14: Popular Culture in the US

Humanities 26: Friendship

 

Courses Taught at Other Institutions

Introduction to Christianity
New Testament & Early Christianity
Academic Writing

 

College & Professional Service

2024-present   Member, Accreditation Oversight Committee, Santa Rosa Junior College
2024-present   Member, Program Review, Revitalization, and Discontinuance Committee, Santa Rosa Junior College
2024-present   Member, Faculty Equivalency Committee, Santa Rosa Junior College
2024-present   Member, Strategic Enrollment Management Committee, Santa Rosa Junior College
2024-present   Governor for Part-Time (North), Faculty Association of California Community Colleges Board of Governors
2022-present   Student Learning Outcomes Coordinator, Santa Rosa Junior College
2022-present   Executive Councilor and Negotiator, All Faculty Association, Santa Rosa Junior College
2022-2023       Chair, Textbook and Instructional Materials Committee, Santa Rosa Junior College
2021-present   Senator, Academic Senate, Santa Rosa Junior College
2020                Member, Accreditation Internal Assessment Team for Standard IIA: Student Learning Programs and Services, Santa Rosa Junior College
2020-2021       Member, Guided Pathways Introduction to College Workgroup, Santa Rosa Junior College
2014-2015       Faculty Advisor, Religious Studies Club, Santa Rosa Junior College
2008-2013       On Campus Representative, Student Advisory Group, Society of Biblical Literature
2007-2010       Secretary, Committee for the Ancient Borderlands International Graduate Student Conference, University of California
2007-2008       Recruitment Coordinator, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

 

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.

SRJC's Academic Senate awarded me a Champion of Inclusivity award for my advocacy on behalf of equity & inclusion for associate faculty and for emphasizing the importance of associate faculty working conditions for fostering student equity.

"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

2021-present Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
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
1984-present Girl Scouts of the United States of America

Presentations and Publications

Publications

2017  “Secrecy, Stories, and Boundaries” In Fabricating Identities, ed. Russell T. McCutcheon (Sheffield: Equinox, 2017), 89-94
2010 “The Flavian Triumph and the Arch of Titus: The Jewish God in Flavian Rome.” UC Santa Barbara: Ancient Borderlands Research Focus Group.

 

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

 

Invited Presentations & Panels

2024 "Teaching at a California Community College." Stanford University, Michael Penn's Religious Studies 391: Teaching Religious Studies, 2 May 2024
2021 "The Ethics of Citation: Sexual Abusers in Biblical Studies," panelist, Urbs & Polis: Early Christianity in Greco-Roman Context, 24 September 2021

 

Honors and Awards

2023 Champion of Inclusivity, Santa Rosa Junior College Academic Senate Faculty Recognition Award
1996 Gold Award, Girl Scouts of the United States of America
1993 Silver Award, Girl Scouts of the United States of America