Spring 2023

Section 5234 of RELS6.66
History of Satan -- : Jan 19 - May 18 2023

Fall 2022

Section 1113 of RELS22
Jesus and the Invention of Christianity -- : Sep 12 - Dec 09 2022
This is a late start section that is offered fully online.

Summer 2022

Section 8067 of HUMAN6
Humanities in the United States -- : Jun 13 - Jul 24 2022

Monday

  • 1:30 PM - 2:30 PMOnline

Fall 2022

  • Religious Studies 22: Jesus & the Invention of Christianity (Late start, begins 9/12, online asynchronous)
  • M 2:00-3:00 Colleague Office Hour, in office (call my office if you prefer a Zoom during that time)
  • W 1:30-2:30 Student Office Hour, via Zoom (link in Canvas under TechConnect Zoom)
  • W 3:00-5:00  Academic Senate (1st & 3rd) or AFA Executive Council (2nd & 4th)
  • F 11:30-3:300 AFA Negotiations (1st & 4th)
  • F 2:00 - 3:00 Textbook & Instructional Materials Committee (2nd & 4th)

 

NOTE: 

  • The best way to reach me is by email eschmidt@santarosa.edu
  • 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.

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

  • My BA included one year at SRJC and one year abroad at Lancaster University (Lancaster, UK).
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 Ijeoma 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