Janet Spittler

Janet Spittler, PhD - Associate Professor (University of Virginia, Department of Religious Studies)

"The majority of my research to date centers around the Christian apocrypha, particularly the apocryphal acts of the apostles. My first book explored the literary context and significance of the animal-related episodes that are so common in the acts, and in subsequent articles I have treated various other aspects of these texts. My current project is a commentary on the apocryphal Acts of John."

EDUCATION

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 

M.A., Ph.D., Department of New Testament and Early Christian Literature, Division of the 2005, 2007 Humanities  
 
Dissertation: “Wild Kingdom: Animals in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles” Committee: co-advisors Margaret M. Mitchell and Hans-Josef Klauck; readers Elizabeth Asmis and David Martinez

THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA 

BA magna cum laude, double major in Classics and Philosophy & Religion; highest honors in  1995-1999 Philosophy & Religion

EMPLOYMENT

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

• Associate Professor of Religious Studies, 2017-present
• Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, 2014-2017

TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

• Associate Professor of Religion; Coordinator, Classical Studies Program, 2013-2014
• Maternity Leave, Spring and Summer 2013
• Assistant Professor of Religion; Coordinator, Classical Studies Program, 2007-2013

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 

• Graduate Instructor of Koine Greek (at the Divinity School), Academic years 2004-5, 2005-6, 2006-7 
• Graduate Instructor: “Martyrdom in Early Christianity” (in the College), Spring 2005
• Graduate Instructor: “Early Christian Narratives” (in the College), Spring 2004
• Research Assistant to Hans-Josef Klauck, Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature, 2001-2005
• Teaching Assistant to Prof. Margaret M. Mitchell, “Introduction to the New Testament”, Winter 2003, 2004
• Course Assistant to Profs. Margaret M. Mitchell and David Martinez, “Hero Cults and Early Christianity”, Spring 2003
• Course Assistant to Profs. Hans Dieter Betz and Christopher Faraone, “Graeco-Roman and Early Christian Magical Texts”, Winter 2001

ELMHURST COLLEGE

• Adjunct Professor: “Women in Biblical Literature” and “Biblical Studies and Contemporary Relevance”, 2005-7

NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE 

• Adjunct Professor: “Roman and Christian Thought” (History of Ideas 102, Honors course), Spring 2006 

PRIVATE INSTRUCTION

• Latin Instructor (tutoring and classes), 2003-2007

TEACHING

AREAS OF TEACHING COMPETENCY

• New Testament; Christian Apocrypha; Early Christian Thought; Greek and Roman Religion; Greek and Roman Novels; Greek Authors of the Roman Empire: Plutarch, Lucian, Philostratus, Dio Chrysostom; Introduction to the Hebrew Bible; Women in the Bible; Hellenistic Judaism: Philo, Josephus
• Language Instruction: Greek and Latin

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

Courses Taught:

• EMGT 1540 Can a Text Be Ethical?
• RELC 1220 Early Christianity and the New Testament 
• RELG 7360 Theories and Methods in the Study of Religion  
• RELS 9998-012 Greek Translation Group  
• RELC 3040 Paul: Letters and Theology  
• RELC 5559 Ancient Fiction and Early Christian Narrative   
• RELC 5559 Religions of the Roman Empire   
• RELC 3559 Apocryphal Christian Literature) 
• COLA 1500 Not in the Bible 

SERVICE

DEPARTMENTAL AND UNIVERSITY SERVICE

• Co-Director, New Curriculum, College Fellows Program, Fall 2018-Spring 2019
• College Fellows Program, Spring 2017-Fall 2018
• Co-Director, Virginia Center for the Study of Religion, 2016-2017
• Religious Studies, JCA Colloquium Convener, 2016-2018
• Religious Studies, Historical Studies Field Head, 2016-2018
• Library Digital Research Internship Faculty Mentor (to interns Jeannie Sellick and Rebecca Draughon), 2016-2017
• Religious Studies Graduate Professional Development Committee Co-Chair, 2015-2016  
• Search Committee Member (Religion Nature and Culture in South Asia) 2015-2016
• Judge, Virginia Center for the Study of Religion student essay competition, May 2015
• Workshop on Religion and Society in Greco-Roman Antiquity planning committee member, 2015
• Search Committee Member (Connective Cultures in the Post-Classical Mediterranean), 2014-2015

SERVICE TO THE FIELD

• President, NASSCAL (North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature), 2018-present
• Series Editor, Studies in Christian Apocrypha monograph series (Polebridge Press), 2016-present
• Series Editor, Early Christian Apocrypha translation series (Polebridge Press), 2016-present
• Vice President, NASSCAL (North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature), 2015-2018
• Member, Early Christianity advisory board, 2014-present
• Member, “Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti” Program Unit steering committee Society of Biblical Literature, 2016-present
• Co-chair, “Ancient Fiction and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative” Program Unit, Society of Biblical Literature, 2014-2017
• Member, “Early Exegesis of Genesis 1” Consultation steering committee, Society of Biblical Literature, 2015-16
• External Evaluator, Swiss National Science Foundation Research Council, 2015, 2016
• Article reviewer, Brill Open Humanities Journal, 2015

HONORS AND AWARDS

ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT STIFTUNG

• Humboldt Foundation Renewed Research Fellowship, June 1-July 31, 2016
• Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers, University of Regensburg,  2010-2011

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 

• Marty Center Dissertation Fellowship, 2004-2005
• Noyes-Cutter Greek Prize 2003
• Century Fellowship 1999-2004
• THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE 
• Robert Cecil Mildram Prize in Philosophy and Religion 1999
• The Alpha Society (University of Tennessee Honors Society) 1999
• North Callahan Award for research in the humanities 1999
• University Honors Program Fellow, Brock Scholarship recipient 1995-1999

MEMBERSHIPS

• Society of Biblical Literature, 2000-present
• North American Patristics Society, 2015-present
• Founding member of NASSCAL (North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature), 2014-present
• Founding member of THECLA (THe Early Christian Literature Association), University of Chicago, 2001-2007

LANGUAGES

Greek (Attic, Koine); Latin; Classical Hebrew; German (C2 competency), French (reading knowledge)

PUBLICATIONS

Monograph

Animals in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles: Early Christianity’s Wild Kingdom (WUNT II 247; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008) 

Reviewed by:

Thomas Kraus, Zeitschrift für Antike und Christentum 15 (2011), pp. 555-558 (German) 

Richard I. Pervo, Early Christianity 1 (2010), pp. 628-30 (English) 

Pieter J. Lalleman, Journal for the Study of the NT 32.5 (2010), pp. 131-32 (English) 

J. K. Elliott, Novum Testamentum 52 (2010), p. 200 (English) 

Rémi Gounelle, Revue d’histoire et de Philosophie Religieuses 90 (2010), pp. 446-47 (French) 

Miguel Flores Colin, Mayeutica 79 (2009), pp. 245-46 (Spanish) 

Anne Catherine Baudoin, Apocrypha 20 (2009), pp. 294-97 (French)

Edited Volumes

The Narrative Self: Essays in Honor of Judith Perkins. Writings from the Greco-Roman World Supplement Series; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature Press, forthcoming 2019.

Credible or Incredible: The Miraculous in the Ancient Mediterranean (co-edited with Tobias Nicklas; WUNT 321; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013). 

Edition/Translation/Commentary

“Apollonios (uncertain date) (1672).” Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker Continued. Part IV E. Paradoxography and Antiquities. IV 1. Paradoxography, ed. by Stefan Schorn, Leiden, Boston. (57,500 words) 

Articles

“Suffering Thomas: Doubt, Pain, and Punishment in the Acts of Thomas and His Wonderworking Skin, in The Narrative Self: Essays in Honor of Judith Perkins. Edited by Janet Spittler. Writings From the Greco-Roman World Supplement Series; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature Press, forthcoming 2019. (6600 words)

“The Acts of John in Rome: A New Translation and Introduction,” in New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures Volume 2. Edited by Tony Burke and Brent Landau. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, forthcoming 2019. (6000 words translation; 3500 words introduction)

Co-authored with Jonathan Holste, “The Acts of Thomas and his Wonderworking Skin: A New Translation and Introduction,” in New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures Volume 2. Edited by Tony Burke and Brent Landau. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, forthcoming 2019. (7700 words translation; 4100 words introduction)   

Co-authored with Rebecca Draughon and Jeannie Sellick, “The Second Apocryphal Apocalypse of John: A New Translation and Introduction,” in New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures Volume 2. Edited by Tony Burke and Brent Landau. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, forthcoming 2019. (6400 words translation; 4600 words introduction)

“Joking and Play in the Acts of John,” Pages 209–225 in Delightful Acts: Essays on Canonical and Non-Canonical Acts in Honor of Richard Pervo. Edited by Clare Rothschild, Harrold Attridge, and Dennis MacDonald. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017. (8,600 words)

“Christ and the Pelican: Function, Background, and Impact of an Image.” Co-authored with Tobias Nicklas. Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 92.2 (2016) 323–337. (7,100 words)

“The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife Revisited: a Response to Mark Goodacre, James McGrath and Carrie Schroeder.” Pages 349–373 in York Christian Apocrypha Symposium 2015. Edited by Tony Burke.  Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2017. (11,300 words)

“The Development of Miracle Traditions in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.” Pages xx-xx in Between Canonical and Apocryphal Texts: Processes of Reception, Rewriting and Interpretation in Early Judaism and Early Christianity. Edited by Jörg Frey, Claire Clivaz and Tobias Nicklas, in coll. with Jörg Röder. WUNT, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, forthcoming 2019. (11,200 words)

 “The Physiologus and the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.” Pages xx-xx in Christus in Natura. Edited by Zbynek Garsky.  Studies of the Bible and its Reception, Berlin: DeGruyter, forthcoming 2019. (6,700 words)

“Johannesakten §56-57: Die Heilung der Söhne des Antipatros: Bargeld nicht akzeptiert.” Pages 331–337 in Kompendium der frühchristlichen Wundererzählungen, Band 2: die Wunder der Apostel. Edited by Ruben Zimmermann. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2017. (3,200 words)

“Thomasakten §68-81: ‘Du wirst große Wunder sehen!’: Der Wildesel und die Erweckung der Frau und ihrer Tochter.” Pages 667–675 in Kompendium der frühchristlichen Wundererzählungen, Band 2: die Wunder der Apostel. Edited by Ruben Zimmermann. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2017. (4,100 words)

“Thomasakten §170: Knochen und Staub, die Kraft der heiligen Reliquien.” Pages xx-xx in Kompendium der frühchristlichen Wundererzählungen, Band 2: die Wunder der Apostel. Edited by Ruben Zimmermann. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2017. (2,100 words)

“Tiere und Monster in apokryphen Apostelwundern.” Co-authored with Livia Neureiter. Pages 44–53 in Kompendium der frühchristlichen Wundererzählungen, Band 2: die Wunder der Apostel. Edited by Ruben Zimmermann. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2017. (4,300 words)

“μανθάνεις πρὸς τίνας εἴρηται τὰ εἰρημένα; Metalepsis in the Apocryphal Acts of Andrew.” Pages 387-402 in Metalepsis in Ancient Cultures. Edited by Peter v. Möllendorff and Ute Eisen. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2013. (7,600 words)

“Wild Kingdom: Animals in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.” Pages 65-76 in Fictional Intersections: The Ancient Novel and the Early Christian and Jewish Narrative. (Proceedings of ICAN 2008) Edited by Marília Pinheiro. Groningen: Barkhuis, 2013. (5,200 words)

“Christianity at the Edges: Representations of the Ends of the Earth in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.” Pages 353-377 in The Rise and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries CE. Edited by Clare Rothschild and Jens Schröter. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013. (10,300 words)  

“The Anthropology of the Acts of Thomas.” Pages 203-16 in Christian Body, Christian Self. Edited by Clare Rothschild and Trevor Thompson. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011. (7,500 words)

“Animal Resurrection in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles and Patristic Authors.” Pages 343-66 in Gelitten, Gestorben, Auferstanden.  Edited by Tobias Nicklas, Andreas Merkt and Joseph Verheyden.  Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010. (11,000 words)

Encyclopedia Articles

From the Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (Leiden/Boston: Brill, forthcoming)

1) “John, Acts of” (3,000 words) 

2) “Apostles, Apocryphal Acts of” (3,000 words)

From the Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (Berlin/New York: De Gruyter, volumes 1-9):

1) “Acts, Apocryphal” (900 words)

2) “Aeneas I (New Testament)” (250 words) 

3) “Animal Symbolism III (Greco-Roman Antiquity)” (500 words) 

4) “Animal Worship III (Greco-Roman Antiquity)” (500 words)

5) “Apocrypha. Apocryphal Writings, Christianity (1. Greek Patristics and Orthodox Churches, 2. Medieval Times and Reformation Era, 3. Modern Europe and America)” (2,000 words) 

6) “Ass II (New Testament)” (300 words) 

7) “Birds II (Greco-Roman Antiquity)” (480 words) 

8) “Blasphemy” (Greco-Roman Antiquity)” (2,500 words) 

9) “Castor and Pollux” (300 words) 

 10) “Circus (Greco-Roman Antiquity)” (580 words) 

11) “Conversion II (Greco-Roman Antiquity)” (800 words) 

12) “Conversion I (New Testament)” (1,200 words) 

13) “Deafness (Greco-Roman Antiquity)” (1,250 words) 

14) “Death, Dying (Greco-Roman Antiquity)” (820 words) 

15) “Descent into the Netherworld/Hell (Greco-Roman Antiquity)” (450 words) 

16) “Flood (Greco-Roman Antiquity)” (300 words) 

17) “Fountain (New Testament)” (250 words) 

18) “Heracles (Deity)” (300 words)

Reviews

Review of David Eastman, The Ancient Martyrdom Accounts of Peter and Paul. Writings from the Greco-Roman World 39 (Review of Biblical Literature, Dec. 2018)

Review of Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett, The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha (Review of Biblical Literature, Jan. 2017)

Review of Susan Hylen, A Modest Apostle (Journal of Early Christian Studies, forthcoming)

Review of Lily C. Vuong, Gender and Purity in the Protevangelium of James (Review of Biblical Literature, Oct 2015)

Review of Tony Burke, Secret Scriptures Revealed (Interpretation, January 2016)

Review of Craig A. Evans, From Jesus to the Church. The First Christian Generation. (Intepretation, April 2016)

Review of Carolyn Osiek and Margaret Y. MacDonald, A Woman’s Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity (Journal of Religion, Volume 89, Issue 3, Page 418–420, Jul 2009)

Review of Colleen M. Conway, Behold the Man: Jesus and Greco-Roman Masculinity (Journal of Religion, Volume 89, Issue 3, Page 416–418, Jul 2009)

Review of Sarah Iles Johnston, Ancient Greek Divination (CHOICE Reviews, May, 2009)

Review of Laura Hobgood Oster, Holy Dogs and Asses: Animals in the History of the Christian Tradition (Journal of Religion, Volume 89, Issue 4, Page 588–589, Oct 2009)

Papers and lectures presented

“How do animals talk to Christians? Animal Speech in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles  and the Physiologus” presented at “‘Mein Tier spricht wie ein Mensch!’ Tierrede in antike Literatur,” an interdisciplinary conference at the University of Potsdam (September 2018)

“Joking and Play in the Acts of John” presented at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual  Meeting, Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti Program Unit (November 2017) 

“What do we mean when we say ‘Acts of John’?” presented at the Early Christian Studies Workshop at the University of Chicago (May 2017)

“What do we mean when we say ‘Acts of John’?” (a revised version of the same paper) presented at the International Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Apocrypha and Pseudepigraphy Program Unit (August 2017)

“Founding an Academic Society in the Digital Age: The North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature,” Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Digital Humanities in Biblical, Early Jewish, and Christian Studies Program Unit (November 2016)

“Causality and Healing of Disease in the Acts of John,” Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Christian Apocrypha Program Unit (November 2016)

“Joking and Play in the Acts of John,” invited lecture, University of Minnesota (October 2016)

“The Physiologus and the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles,” Christus in Natura conference, Universität Bern, Switzerland (October 2015)

“The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife Revisited: a Response to Mark Goodacre, James McGrath and Carrie Schroeder,” York Christian Apocrypha Symposium (September 2015)

“Roles Played by Animals in Early Christian Paideia,” Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti Program Unit (November 2013)

“Talking Animals in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles,” Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Speech and Talk: Discourses and Social Practices in the Ancient Mediterranean World Program Unit (November 2013)

“1 Corinthians 6:9 : Greek Translation and Chick-Fil-A,”  University Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Fort Worth, TX (August 2012)

“Philemon and the American Slavery Debate,” University Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Fort Worth, TX (August 2012)

“Metalepsis in the Acts of Andrew,” Association pour l’étude de la littérature apocryphe chrétienne, Réunion annuelle 2012, Dole (June 2012)

“Paradoxography and Early Christian Literature” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti Program Unit (November 2011)

“Metalepsis in the Acts of Andrew,” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, Ancient Fiction and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative Program Unit (November 2011)

“Miraculously Moving Statues,” Colloquium Biblicum Lovianense, Leuven (July 2011)

“Paradoxography and Early Christian Miracle Accounts,” Credible or Incredible/Glaubwürdig oder Unglaubwürdig, Internationale Tagung an der Theologischen Fakultät, Universität Regensburg (June 2011)

“Paradoxography and Early Christian Miracle Reports,” Neutestamentliches Colloquium, Ludwig Maximillians Universität München (June 2011)

“Metalepsis in the Apocryphal Acts of Andrew: μανθάνεις πρὸς τίνας εἴρηται τὰ εἰρημένα;” Die Metalepse in antiken Diskursen: Internationale Tagung an der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen (February 2011)

“Development of Miracle Traditions in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles,” Apokryphisierung: von kanonischen zu apokryphenTraditionen, Universität Zürich (January 2011) 

“One of these Acts is not Like the Others: Animals in the Acts of Andrew,” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, Christian Apocrypha Program Unit (November 2009)

“The Anthropology of the Acts of Thomas,” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti Program Unit (November 2008)

“Birds and Sages: Avian Anecdotes in the Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Ethiopian Tale and the Acts of John,” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, Ancient Fiction and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative Program Unit (November 2008) 

“Animals in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles,” International Conference on the Ancient Novel, Lisbon, Portugal (July 2008)

“Famous Arena Lions,” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, Ancient Fiction and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative Program Unit (November 2007)

“Tuna Redivivus: Dried Fish Returned to life in Herodotus, the Alexander Romance and the Acts of Peter,” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, Christian Apocrypha Program Unit (November 2006)

“Lucius or the Ass and the Animal Rationality Debate,” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti Program Unit (November 2005)

Respondent to David Balch, “From Endymion in Roman domus, Houses of the Living, to Jonah in Christian Catacombs: Iconography and Religion in Transition,” Shohet Conference on Roman, Jewish and Christian Burials (May 2005)

“Lucius or the Ass and the Debate over Animal Rationality,” Early Christian Studies Workshop, University of Chicago (March 2005)

“Miracles and the Historical Jesus,” Hyde Park Union Church, Lenten Lecture Series (March 2005)

Respondent on panel discussing David Aune’s The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric, Early Christian Studies Workshop, University of Chicago (January 2004)

“Wild Ass, Apostle of Encratism: A Study of the Acts of Thomas, Act Eight,” Midwest Region of the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting (February 2003)