Scott Harris
Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious Studies; Faculty Liaison to the First-Year Experience
Meet Professor Harris
Years at Knox: 2021 to present
My research lies at the intersection of biblical studies, religion, history and classics and is focused on the way narrative shapes ethnic identities in the ancient world. My current book project is a reading of the Fragments of Artapanus, a Jewish narrative from Hellenistic Egypt, in which I situate the text in terms of Jewish, Egyptian and Greek ethnic identities. My work draws on the ways that ancient colonization narratives and the relationships that are structured by colonization shape Artapanus's narrative and the construction of a cosmopolitan Jewish identity in the Ancient Mediterranean world. I am interested in how social and political structures like colonization can provide the narrative scaffolding for subaltern communities to define themselves in the face of imperial power.
My teaching is focused on the same sorts of multidisciplinary intersections. I bring together texts from the ancient world with contemporary literature, films, television and video games to provide multiple ways for students to engage with the study of religion. Students explore the history of religious traditions and the methodological tools of religious studies through diverse viewpoints and narratives so that they leave class with a broader understanding of the many ways that religion shapes the world. Having these conversations with students about "big questions" is the core of my approach to teaching and the best part about teaching at Knox.
Education
Ph.D., Theology (New Testament and Early Christianity), 2023, Loyola University Chicago.
M.A., Biblical Languages and Literature, 2012, Loyola University Chicago.
B.A., Theology, 2008, Loyola University Chicago.
Teaching Interests
Biblical literature; Hellenistic Egypt; religion and pop culture; narrative theory; theory and method in religious studies; video game studies