Department of Religious Studies 2 Leafwood Ct

Jed WYRICK

Department of Religious Studies 2 Leafwood Ct.

California State University, Chico Chico, CA 95926

Chico, CA 95929-0740(530) 343-3898 (home)

530-898-6379 (office)(530) 680-7351 (cell)

Employment:

2007-present: Chair, Department of Religious Studies, California State University, Chico

2007-present: Coordinator, Humanities Program, California State University, Chico

2006-present: Coordinator, Modern Jewish and Israel Studies, California State University, Chico

2005-present: Associate Professor of Religious Studies, California State University, Chico

1999-2005: Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, California State University, Chico

Education:

1999 Ph.D. Comparative LiteratureHarvard University

1990 B.A. ClassicsBrandeis University magna cum laude with Highest Honors

Additional Education:

University of California, Berkeley, the Department of Comparative Literature, PhD Program (1990-1991); coursework in Classics, Near Eastern Languages, and Comparative Literature

Modern Hebrew: Ulpan Akiva (Netanya, Israel, summer 1992), Tel Aviv University Ulpan (summer 1993), Hebrew E-Teacher (8 month weekly online instruction, 2005-2006, 2006-2007), Ulpan San Francisco (University of San Francisco, summer 2006)

Publications:

Monograph

The Ascension of Authorship: Attribution and Canon Formation in Jewish, Hellenistic, and Christian Traditions, Harvard Studies in Comparative Literature 49 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004).

Essays

“Biblical Characters in Hellenistic Judaism,” Religion Compass ( ) (forthcoming).

“Yiddish Canon Consciousness and the Dionysiac Spirit of Music,” in Justin Cammy, Dara Horn, Alyssa Quint, and Rachel Rubenstein, eds., Arguing the Modern Jewish Canon: Essays on Literature and Culture in Honor of Ruth Wisse(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008).

Encyclopedia Articles

“Animal Worship, Jewish Attitudes Towards,” in John J. Collins and Daniel Harlow, eds., The Dictionary of Early Judaism (Eerdmans, 2010) (forthcoming)

“Pseudepigraphy,” in John J. Collins and Daniel Harlow, eds., The Dictionary of Early Judaism (Eerdmans, 2010) (forthcoming).

Reviews

Boyarin, Daniel, Border Lines: The Partition of Judeo-Christianity (Philadelphia: The University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004), in Review of Biblical Literature 4/13/05 ().

Johnson, Sara Raup, Historical Fictions and Hellenistic Jewish Identity: Third Maccabees in Its Cultural Context, Hellenistic Culture and Society, 43 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004), in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2006.03.16 ().

Norelli, Enrico, ed., Recueils normatifs et canons dans l'Antiquité: Perspectives nouvelles sur la formation des canons juif et chrétien dans leur contexte culturel. Actes du colloque organisé dans le cadre du programme plurifacultaire La Bible à la croisée des savoirs de l'Université de Genève, 11-12 avril 2002 (Vesoul: Éditions du Zèbre, 2004), in Journal of Theological Studies 56 (2005) 586-590.

Runia, David T., Sterling, Gregory E., and Najman, Hindy, eds., Laws Stamped with the Seals of Nature: Law and Nature in Hellenistic Philosophy and Philo of Alexandria, The Studia Philonica Annual: Studies in Hellenistic Judaism, Volume XV (Providence: Brown University, 2003), in Studies in Religion/ Sciences Religieuses 33.2 (2004) 261-2.

Work in Progress:

Artapanus and Biblical Interpretation in Early Ptolemaic Egypt (anticipated completion Summer 2010)

Conference Presentations:

“The Alleged Fictionalization of the Exodus and the Plagues in Artapanus,” The Society of Biblical Literature (November 2008)

“Fiction or Exegesis? Artapanus and Moses’ Conquest of Ethiopia,” The Association for Jewish Studies conference (December 2006)

“Animal Allegories and Animal Worship in the Literature of Alexandrian Judaism,” The Society of Biblical Literature conference (November 2005)

“Kingship, Wisdom, and Ruler Cult in the Letter of Aristeas, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Philo's Writings on Caligula,”The Association for Jewish Studies conference (December 2004)

“Reading Ancient Jewish Inscriptions: The Singing Tombstone and the Debate Over Hellenism,” The Association for Jewish Studies conference (December 2003)

“Choruses, Violinists, Satyrs: The Jewish Problem with Dionysiac Poetics,” The Association for Jewish Studies conference (December 2002)

“The Idea of a Succession of Prophets: From Ben Sira and Plato to Josephus,” The Association for Jewish Studies conference (December 2001)

“The Afterlife of Proverbs 25:1, and Why Biblical Books Were Never Stored Away,” The Association for Jewish Studies conference (December 2000)

“'Klingon' Poetry: The Language of Science Fiction and the State of Israel”: The American Comparative Literature Association (1997)

Colloquia and Invited Lectures:

“Typology, Interpretation, and Composition: The Avoidance of Fiction in Greco-Judaean Literature,” UC Berkeley Jewish Studies Lecture Series (April, 2010)

“How Men Become Gods in Hellenistic and Jewish Theories of Religion,” The CSUC Religious Studies Lecture Series (April 2008)

“Mythological Hermeneutics, the Competition for Books, and the Letter of Aristeas,” The Dominion of Letters Workshop on the History of Books in Ancient Societies: The Institute for Advanced Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (June 2005)

“The Author and the Individual,” Humanities Center Colloquium, Chico State University (Fall 2000)

“Intermarriage, Textual Purity, and the Religion of Second Temple Judaism,” Religious Studies Colloquium, Chico State University (Spring 2000)

“Callimachus' Hymns: The Grammar of Immortality”: Cornell-Harvard-Lille Colloquium on Hymns (1997)

“The Cyclops Episode as Political Ainos”: Cornell-Harvard-Lille Colloquium on Homer's Odyssey (1994)

“The Language of Inscriptions and the Agamemnon”: Cornell-Harvard-Lille Colloquium on Greek Tragedy and the Archaic (1992)

Community Lectures and Presentations:

“Avatar and the Hero’s Journey,” Religious Studies Panel at CSU Chico (February 2010)

“The Importance of Mythology for Judaism” at Congregation Beth Israel (February, 2010)

“The Song of the Sea” at Congregation Beth Israel, Chico (April 2008)

“Hannukah” at Chico State University Housing Services (December 2007, 2008)

“Anti-Judaism and Ancient Egypt” at the Chico Havurah (October 2007)

“Foretelling the Birth of Moses” at Congregation Beth Israel, Chico (January 2007)

“Purity, Discharge, and the Priestly Source” at Congregation Beth Israel, Chico (March 2006)

“The Binding of Isaac” at Congregation Beth Israel, Chico (November 2003)

“Religion and Conflict” at the Unitarian Fellowship of Chico (May 26, 2002)

Research Interests:

Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha; midrash and early biblical interpretation; Second Temple Judaism; Hellenistic Judaism; ancient Greek epic, lyric, tragedy, and historiography; ancient literary criticism, poetics, grammar, and commentarial traditions; the reception of Homeric epic; Hellenistic aesthetics; the history of allegorical interpretation; pseudepigraphy, attribution, and the history of authorship; canon formation of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament; the idea of fiction in antiquity; classic Yiddish literature; ancient anti-Judaism; ancient theories of religion; myth and religion

Teaching Interests:

Introduction to Judaism; The History of the Jewish Peoples; Ancient Judaism (500 BCE to 500 CE); Judaism/Christianity/Islam; Greek Myth and Ritual; Introduction to the Western Humanities; Hellenism and Judaism; Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls; Yiddish and Modern Hebrew Literature; Theoretical Approaches to Ancient Texts and Religions; The New Testament; language instruction and textual interpretation in biblical Hebrew, Rabbinic Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien; Religion and Film; Religion and Literature

Languages:

Philological expertise: biblical Hebrew, classical Greek

Advanced reading skills:rabbinic and modern Hebrew, Latin, Yiddish, French, German

Basic reading skills: Aramaic (Syriac, Targumic, biblical, Babylonian Jewish)

Intermediate spoken ability: modern Hebrew, French, Yiddish, German

Teaching Experience:

Courses Taught:

RELS 107 Bible Controversies (Fall 2006)

RELS 204 Judaism (1 or 2 sections 1999-2009)

RELS 205 History of the Jewish Peoples (Spring 2009)

RELS 265 CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien: Theology & Myth (Fall 2008, Spring 2010)

RELS 280 Greek Myth and Ritual (Fall 2006)

RELS 281 Library Research Methods in Religious Studies, co-taught with George Thompson (Spring 2008-2010)

RELS 307 New Testament (Fall 2004, Fall 2005)

RS 6 Judaism, Christianity, Islam (formerly The Religions of Western Civilizations) (Fall 1999, Spring 2000, Fall 2002)

RS 20 The Bible (Spring 2002-3, Fall 2003)

RS 100 Myth and Ritual: The Dying God (Spring 2003, Fall 2004)

RS 122 Hebrew Bible (Spring 2000, 2001)

RS 137 Religion and Film: Mysticism and Apocalyptic (Spring 2005)

RS 144 Religious Dimensions of Literature: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien (Fall 2002-2003; Spring 2006)

RS 144 Religious Dimensions of Literature: British Fantasy and Science Fiction (London Semester, Spring 2004)

RS 280A Seminar in Religious Studies:“Cults and Sects: Greeks and Jews” (Fall 2001)

RS 280A Seminar in Religious Studies: “Gods and Poets: Ancient Greece” (Fall 2000)

RS 391 Beginning Ancient Greek Language (Fall 2005)

RS 391 Intermediate Ancient Greek Language (Spring 2006)

GREK 101 First-Semester Ancient Greek (Spring 2009)

GREK 102 Second Semester Ancient Greek (Fall 2009)

HBRW 001 Beginning Hebrew (Fall 2000, 2001; Spring 2002)

HUMN 220 Arts and Ideas: Ancient/Medieval (formerly HUM 100A Arts and Ideas: Ancient) (London Semester, Spring 2004; Spring 2010)

Independent studies:

RS 194 Beginning Ancient Greek Fall and Spring 1999-2000; 2002; Fall 2003-4; Spring 2008)

RS 194/RELS 398 Intermediate Ancient Greek (2000; Fall 2004; Fall 2006; Spring 2010)

RS 194 Advanced Ancient Greek (Fall 2000 and Spring 2001; Fall 2004)

RS 194 Readings in Ancient Greek (Fall 2001; 2002; Fall 2003)

RS 194 Intermediate Latin (Spring 2001)

RELS 398 Special Topics: The Qur`an (Fall 2006)

RELS 398 Special Topics: Greek Myth and Ritual (Spring 2008)

HUMN 499 Honors Senior Thesis in Humanities: Medea in Ancient Greek Art, Literature, and Religion (2009-2010)

HUMN 499 Honors Senior Thesis in Humanities: Ovid and British Literature (2007-2008)

Thesis Reader, M.A. candidate in Communications Studies on Giambattista Vico (Fall 2000-Spring 2001)

Thesis Reader, M.A. candidate in History: Indo-European Mythology and History (2005-6)

Thesis Advisor, M.A. candidate in History: Islamic Tafsir and Archeology (2006)

RS 299 Senior Honor Research Paper: The Afterlife and the Religion of Ancient Egypt (2002-2003)

RS 299 Senior Honor Research Paper: Christian Canons (2003-2004)

RS 299 Senior Honor Research Paper: Masculinity in Ancient Greece (2004)

Internship advisor: Evangelical Christianity (2002-2003)

Internship advisor: How to Teach Ancient Greek (Spring 2004)

Teaching Fellow, Harvard University:

Head Teaching Fellow:

The Modern Jewish Experience in Literature, Ruth Wisse(Spring 1996, 1995)

Teaching Fellow:

The Hero in Greek Civilization, Gregory Nagy (Fall 1993-6, 1998)

The Rome of Augustus, Richard Tarrant (Spring 1998, 1994)

The Bible and its Interpreters, James Kugel (Spring 1997)

The Magic of the Greek Wondertale, Margaret Alexiou (Spring 1996)

Jewish Life in Eastern Europe, Jay Harris (Spring 1994)

Junior and Senior Tutorials, The Literature Concentration (the undergraduate major for students focusing on English and a foreign language)

1998-9: Junior Tutorial: Job and Dionysus in Literature

1997-8: Junior Tutorial: Jewish Literature and Biblical Poetry

1996-7: Junior Tutorial: Anti-Semitism and Literature.

1996-7: Senior Tutorial: Strabo and Greek Geography.

1995-6: Senior Tutorial: The Image of the City in the Poetry of Leah Goldberg, Natan Zach, and Yehuda Amichai

1994-5: Junior Tutorial: Poetics, Literary Theory, and the Poetry of Daliah Ravikovitch

Language Instructor:

Introduction to Latin (Fall 1997)

Awards and Fellowships:

At Chico State:

Sabbatical award for a project on “The Idea of Fiction in Early Judaism”(Spring 2007)

CELT grant for purchase of materials related to RS 123 (Spring 2004)

CELT grant for travel to the Association for Jewish Studies conference in Boston, MA (December 2003)

CELT grant for travel to the Association for Jewish Studies conference in Washington, D.C. (December 2002)

CELT grant for purchase of materials related to RS 144 (Fall 2002)

CELT grant for travel to the Association for Jewish Studies conference in Washington, D.C. (December 2001)

CELT grant for travel to the Association for Jewish Studies conference (December 2000)

Summer Stipend Research Award, for a project entitled: “Allegorical Interpretation in the Ancient World: From Homer to the Bible”(Summer 2000)

CELT grant for travel to the Association for Jewish Studies conference (December 1999)

CELT grant for travel to the Society of Biblical Literature conference (November 1999)

At Harvard University:

Outstanding Dissertation in Comparative Literature (1999)

Nominated for the Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Award (Spring 1998)

Derek Bok teaching award (Fall 1995)

Foreign Language and Area Studies Grant for language study in Israel (FLAS) (summer 1994)

At Brandeis University:

Ford Foundation Undergraduate Teaching Fellow; advisors Leonard Muellner and Marc Brettler (1989-90)

Grant Writing:

Koret Foundation: $12,500 to Modern Jewish and Israel Studies at CSU Chico for 2009-2010

American Israeli Cooperative Exchange: $35,000 to Modern Jewish and Israel Studies at CSU Chico for a visiting faculty member from Hebrew University, Jerusalem (Spring 2010)

University Service:

Department of Religious Studies:

Chair, Search Committee: Religions of East Asia (2007)

Search Committee: Islam(2006)

Search Committee: Islam(2002)

Search Committee: Buddhism (2002)

Search Committee: Ethics (2000)

Department Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Committee (2005-2010)

Chair, Department Curriculum Committee (2007-2010)

Department Curriculum Committee (1999-2010)

College of Humanities and Fine Arts:

Chair, HFA Strategic Plan Committee (Spring 2010)

Member, HFA Leaves Committee (2009-2010)

Member, Humanities and Fine Arts Chairs’ Council (2007-2010)

Chair, Humanities Program Advisory Board (2008-2010)

Chair, Modern Jewish and Israel Studies Advisory Board (2007-2010)

Outside Member, History Search Committee: Ancient History (2007-8)

Outside Member, Art History Search Committee: Ancient and Medieval Art History (2007-8)

Chico State Academic Senate:

Member, Academic Senate, Chico State University (2000-2003 term; re-elected 2003-2006 term; re-elected 2006-2009 term)

Member, Educational Policies and Procedures Committee (EPPC—one of the 2 standing committees of the Academic Senate) (2007-8)

Chair, Faculty and Student Policies Committee (FASP—one of the 2 standing committees of the Academic Senate) (2005-6; Fall 2006)

Member, Executive Committee of the Academic Senate (2005-6; Fall 2006)

Vice-Chair, Faculty and Student Policies committee (FASP) (2001-2; 2003-4)

Secretary, Faculty and Student Policies (FASP) committee (Fall 2003; 2004-5)

Chair, FASP subcommittee on faculty service (2005-6)

Chair, FASP subcommittee on hiring policies (Fall 2004)

Chair, FASP subcommittee on updating the Faculty Personnel Policies and Procedures (FPPP) (Fall 2002)

Chair, FASP subcommittee on workload; drafted the Senate “Resolution for Research and Scholarship in Support of Student Learning” (2001-2)

Member, FASP Subcommittee on reporting RTP and FAR (Spring 2001); drafted the Senate document on Faculty Reporting Requirements

University-wide Committees:

University Chairs’ Executive Committee (elected 2008-2009 and 2009-2010)

Member, University Chairs’ Committee (2007-2010)

Member, University Writing Committee (2008-9)

Member, General Education Advising Committee (GEAC) (2007-8)

Member. Greek Life Task Force (2005-6)

Religious Studies liaison to the Library and Library Committee, Chico State University (2000-2002)

University Committee on Nepotism Policy (2001)

London Semester:

Served as instructor, advisor, and docent at museums, performances, religious establishments, and class trips for 35 students in the study abroad program in London (Spring 2003)

K-12 Education:

Presented on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, for the Understanding World Religions Seminar at CSU, Stanislaus (November 10, 2001)

Presented on Religion and Food, as part of a seminar for public school teachers sponsored by Resources for International Studies Education (RISE) (March 2001)

Presented on Judaism, as part of “Learning to Live with Our Deepest Differences: A California Standards-Based Approach to Teaching About the World’s Religions,” a year long institute for public school teachers sponsored by Resources for International Studies Education (RISE) (October 2000)

Presented on Ancient Greek Religion, and the Religion of the Israelites and the Jews as part of “Learning to Live with Our Deepest Differences: A California Standards-Based Approach to Teaching About the World’s Religions,” sponsored by RISE (January 2000)

California State University, Chico, Advising:

Faculty Advisor, Humanities Student Association (2009-2010)

Faculty Advisor, Phi Delta Theta Fraternity (2005–2010)

Faculty Advisor, Chabad Jewish Student Organization (2008-2010)

Faculty Advisor, Phi Kappa Nu Fraternity (2001-2004)

Member, Safe Zone, a staff and faculty project that seeks to reduce homophobia and create an open, accepting environment for all students, staff, and faculty (1999-present)

Other University Service:

Organized and chaired a panel on “The Challenges of Greek Life at Chico State” for the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (October 2006)

Classroom Visit: Lectured on Blasphemy in ARTH 400 Art and Morality (November, 2008)

Classroom Visit: Lectured on Oedipus Tyrannos in HUMN 220 Arts and Ideas: Ancient (October 2006)

Classroom Visit: Lectured on Language and Myth in RS 10 Introduction to Religious Studies (March 2001)

Performed at Humanities Center Tertulia, Piano 4-hands with Dr. John Milbauer (May 2002)

Expansion of the Chico State Curriculum:

Proposed and received GE status (area C-2) for HBRW 001 (101) & HBRW 002 (102)

Proposed and received GE and Ethnic status (area C-3) for a new course, RELS 205 History of the Jewish Peoples

Proposed and received GE status (area C-3) for HUMN 220 Arts and Ideas: Ancient/Medieval

University Service (at Harvard University):

1995-8: member of the Tutorial Board of the Literature Concentration; academic advisor for Juniors and Seniors in the department

1997-8: non-resident Tutor at Adams House, Harvard University

1996-8: graduate student representative to the Dept. of Comparative Literature

1996-7: member, Judicial Board for the Graduate School

Service to the Profession:

Anonymous Peer Reviews:

The Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington DC (2008)

Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies (2009)

Textbook Reviews:

Completed a review of a Teachers' Curriculum Institute (TCI) textbook, chapter 12 on ancient Judaism (September 2004)

Completed a review of the Modern Middle East Unit published by Teachers' Curriculum Institute (TCI) and of the analysis of the unit given by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) (January 2004)

Membership in Scholarly Organizations:

Association for Jewish Studies

Society of Biblical Literature

American Philological Association (intermittent)

American Comparative Literature Association (intermittent)

Conference Participation:

Panel Chair, Greek Jewish Narratives and Interpretations, Association for Jewish Studies (December 2008)

Panel Chair, Ancient Artifacts and Sites in Late Antiquity, Association for Jewish Studies (December 2006)

Member, planning committee of the section on Judaism in Late Antiquity, Association for Jewish Studies (2004 – 2008)

Member, planning committee of the seminar on Hellenistic Judaism, Society of Biblical Literature (2006-8)

Conference Organizing:

Organizer and Panel Chair for the 1996 Harvard University Conference in Comparative Literature: “The Role of Comparative Literature Today”

Founded and chaired the Workshop on Jewish Literary Emergence, funded by a Ford Foundation grant (Harvard University, 1994-5)