Gordon L. Watley
Assistant Professor of Practice in Classics and Religious Studies
Department of Classics and Religious Studies
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
242 Andrews Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0337
gordonwatley@gmail.com
Curriculum Vitae
Education
Academic Specialization
| Primary | Early Christianity (New Testament and Patristics) | |
| Secondary | Early Judaism (Hebrew Bible and Rabbinics) | |
Languages
| Ancient | Aramaic, Coptic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin | |
| Modern | French, German, Italian, Spanish | |
Degrees
BA, 1980, Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska
English and Religion
MA, 1981, Southern Illinois University
at Carbondale
Teaching English as a Second Language
(TESL)
MA, 1990, University of Nebraska—Lincoln
Greek
PhD, ABD, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, Virginia
Christianity and Judaism in
Antiquity
Dissertation
The Jewish and Christian Editions of Sibylline Oracles 1-2
Judith L. Kovacs and Harry Y Gamble, co-directors (in consultation with John J. Collins, Yale
University Divinity School)
Dissertation Summary
Sibylline Oracles 1-2 is a didactic poem disguised as a historical-review apocalypse disguised as an unsolicited oracle of the mythic Greek prophetess, the Sibyl, composed in Greek in dactylic hexameter verse. Is it an originally 6th-century (Byzantine) Christian text or a 2nd-century Christian redaction of a lst-century Jewish pseudepigraphon? At issue is not the literary-historical question of the presence of a Jewish substratum in the text that would serve as a unique resource for the study of Jewish-Gentile relations in 1st-century Asia Minor and as background for 1st-century Christian (Pauline) missionary activity there (with the Christian redaction reflecting 2nd-century Jewish-Christian relations in Asia Minor); what is also at stake is the underlying methodological question of determining reliable criteria for identifying the compositional religious affiliations of the many "evolved" (anonymously multi-authored) parascriptural texts that constitute the lion's share of the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.
Doctoral Exams
Patristic Greek, Rabbinic Hebrew, New Testament, Patristics, Hebrew Bible, Judaica
Master's Thesis
The Baptismal Practices of Early Jewish Baptismal Movements
John D. Turner, Director
Master's Exams
Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, Classics, Early Christianity
Teaching
Teaching Competence
| Languages | Homeric, Classical, New Testament, and Patristic Greek, Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew | |
| Classics | Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean culture, history, and religion. | |
| Early Judaism | Ancient Israel, Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Apocrypha Pseudepigrapha Second Temple Judaism, Dead Sea Scrolls, Rabbinic literature and theology |
|
| Early Christianity | New Testament, Historical Jesus, Pauline theology, Book of Revelation, Early Christianity, New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, Apostolic Fathers, Patristic literature and theology |
|
| Other | Classical mythology, Comparative religion, Hellenistic religions, Judaism/Christianity/Islam | |
Professional Experience
| 2008 - | Assistant Professor of Practice of Classics & Religious Studies, University of Nebraska - Lincoln | |
| 1998-2008 | Lecturer in Classics and Religious Studies, University of Nebraska - Lincoln | |
| 1999-2000 | Adjunct Instructor in Religion, Nebraska Wesleyan University | |
| 1997 | Visiting Assistant Professor in Classics and Religious Studies, University of Nebraska - Lincoln | |
| 1990 | Instructor to Classics, University of Nebraska - Lincoln | |
| 1987-90 | Teaching Assistant in Classics, University of Nebraska - Lincoln | |
| 1984-86 | Instructor in English as a Second Language, University of Nebraska - Lincoln | |
| 1980-81 | Teaching Assistant in English as a Second Language, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale | |
Courses Taught at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (1987-90, 1997, 1998-present)
Undergraduate
- Scientific Greek and Latin
Undergraduate and Honors Courses
- Apocalypticism in Early Judaism and Christianity
- Elementary Latin
- Elementary Biblical Hebrew
- Explaining Religion (Introduction to Religious Studies)
- Literature of the Ancient Near East
- Paul and his letters
- Classical Mythology
- Comparative Religion
- Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Undergraduate, Honors and Graduate (MA) Courses
- Early Christianity
- Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
- Second Temple Judaism
Graduate (MA) Course
- Pauline Theology
Alpha Learning Community Seminars (for incoming first year students)
- Biblical figures in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
- The Myth of Atlantis
University Honors Seminars (for incoming first year students)
- Apocalypses and Apocalypticism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
- The Apostolic Fathers
- How we got the Bible
- Jesus Now and Then: The Quest(s) for the Historical Jesus
- Prophets and prophecy in cross-cultural perspective
University Honors Seminars (for upperclass students)
- After the New Testament: the Patristic period
- The Bible's lost books: Introduction to the New Testament Apocrypha
- The other Old Testament: Introduction to the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
- Rewriting Moses: Jewish Biblical Interpretation in the Time of Jesus (Philo and Josephus)
Courses Taught at Nebraska Wesleyan University
- Doing theology (Introduction to Christian Theology)
- Introduction to the New Testament
- Introduction to the Old Testament
- Life and Letters of Paul
Courses taught at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (1997)
- Early Christianity
Courses taugh at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (1987-90)
- Classical Mythology
- Scientific Greek and Latin
Courses Taught at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (1984-86)
- English Composition for Foreign Students
- English Grammar for Foreign Students
- Language Laboratory Supervisor
Courses Taught at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (1980-81)
- English Composition for Foreign Students
Awards
| 2003 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln Parents' Association Award for Excellence in Teaching | |
Research
Research Interests
- Apocalypses and apocalyptic movements in early Judaism and Christianity
- Biblical interpretation in early Judaism and Christianity
- Early Christian poetry
- Early Jewish-Christian relations
- Interfaces of Christianity, Hellenism, and Judaism in Late Antiquity
- The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha in early Judaism and Christianity
- The Sibylline Oracles
Publication Agenda
- An English translation and updating of Charles Alexandre's 1856 Excursus and Sibyllina
- A commentary on Sibylline Oracles 1-2
- A graded reader in Patristic Greek
- Monographs on:
- Greek didactic poetry and early Jewish and Christian wisdom literature
- Apocalyptic wisdom: epistemology, eschatology, and ethics in early Judaism and Christianity
- Uses and Interpretations of classical myth in early Jewish and Christian literature
Conference Participation - Research Presentations
| 11/2001 | "The Jewish Sibyl and the Christian Sibyl", paper read at the AAR/SBL annual meeting | |
| 11/1998 | "Genre Criticism and the Gnostic Apocalypse", paper read at the AAR/SBL annual meeting | |
| 11/1991 | "The Attraction of Jewish Sectarian Hermeneutics for Sethian Gnostics", paper read at the AAR/SBL annual meeting | |
| 04/1989 |
"Apocalyptic with Tongue in Cheek: Genre and Narrative in the Apocalypse of Moses", paper read at the SBL Midwest Region annual meeting | |
Academic Weblog
| 02/07-present | http://sibyllineleaves.blogspot.com Sibylline Leaves: On the Jewish and Christian Sibylline Oracles and Related Literature: Interfaces of Christianity, Hellenism, and Judaism in Late Antiquity | |
Membership in Professional Societies
| 1987-present | Society of Biblical Literature | |
| 1995-present | American Academy of Religion | |
Awards
| 1980 | American Bible Society Award for Excellence in Biblical Studies | |
Service
Academic
| 2009 | Developer and Editor, Classics and Religious Studies department webblog | |
Church-Related
| 2004-05 | Director of Christian Education, St. David's Episcopal Church, Lincoln, NE | |
| 2004 | United Thank Offering grant recipient, through the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, to seek long term funding for development of a program of spiritual formation for Christian victims of domestic violence | |
| 1985-86 | Mentor, Education for Ministry, St. Mark's-on-the-Campus Episcopal Church, Lincoln, NE; EfM is an adult contnuing education/diaconal training program of the Episcopal Church, administered by the University of the South, Sewanee, TN | |
Community
| 1999-present | Member, Amnesty International | |
| 1999 | Assistant Coordinator, Conference on Clergy Response to Domestic Violence, Council on Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence, Sioux City, IA | |
| 1998 | Volunteer Advocacy Training, Rape/Spouse Abuse Crisis Center, Lincoln, NE | |
To Top
