William “Chip” Gruen, III, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Religion Studies

Department of Religion Studies
Muhlenberg College
Allentown, PA 18104
Office: 484-664-3434
Fax: 484-664-5627
Email: wgruen@muhlenberg.edu

Education

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH: Master of Arts in Ancient History , 1999

University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY: Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Classical Studies , 1996

Teaching Experience

2006- Present
Courses Currently Offered at Muhlenberg College:
REL 100 Religion and Popular Culture
REL 201 Theory and Method in the Study of Religion
REL 233 Christian Traditions
REL 304 New Testament
REL 355 Christianity at the Crossroads: The Emerging Church in Late Antiquity

2005-2006
Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania:
New Religion Movements
Christian Origins
Comparative Studies in Religious Violence
The Life and Letters of Paul
Religions of the West

Research Interests

In addition to continuing with the work started in my dissertation which examines ethnic and religious identity within Roman Egypt, I am working on a project that examines the symbolic use of animals in ancient Christian texts and material culture.
More generally, I have worked extensively on the religious diversity in Roman Egypt. This field includes research on a variety of pagan groups, orthodox and heterodox Christian sects, and the diaspora Jewish community.

Selected Presentation of Research

November, 2007, "Ancient Symbols, Ancient Meanings: A Reappraisal of the Palatine Crucifix", Annual Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature.

November, 2005, "Symbolic and 'Real' Violence in 4th Century Alexandria,", Annual Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature.

January, 2005, "The Life of the The Life of Antony," University of Pennsylvania Religious Studies Colloquium.

November, 2003 "Seeking a Context for the Testament of Job: Religious and Ethnic Violence in Egypt," Annual Meeting, Society for Biblical Literature.

November, 2003, "Religious and Group Identity in Late Antique Egypt," Annual Meeting, Society for Biblical Literature.

March, 2003, "Diaspora Jewish Violence in the Roman Southeast Mediterranean," Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting, Society for Biblical Literature.

Publications

"Seeking a Context for the Testament of Job," Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha (Forthcoming, 2007).

Review of E. Randolph Richards, Paul and First Century Letter Writing for Review of Biblical Literature (2007).

Memberships

Society of Biblical Literature
American Academy of Religion
American Research Center in Egypt
North American Patristics Society

Committee Appointments at Muhlenberg College

Library Committee
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee