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Religion Faculty


  • Department Chair

  • Andrea B. Lieber
    Associate Professor of Religion, Sophia Ava Asbell Chair in Judaic Studies (1998).
    East College Room 106
    lieber@dickinson.edu
    (717) 245-1482

  • Department Faculty

  • Mara E. Donaldson

    Mara E. Donaldson
    Professor of Religion (1990).
    East College Room 207
    (717) 245-1228 | donaldsm@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Wilson College, 1971; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1974; Ph.D., Emory University, 1984.
    Dickinson Award for Distinguished Teaching, 1998-1999. Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 2000-2001.

    Her teaching focuses on contemporary religious thought, especially feminist and liberation theologies, and religion and art, including contemporary fantasy literature, film, and popular culture.

  • Daniel G. Cozort

    Daniel G. Cozort
    Associate Professor of Religion (1988).
    East College Room 206
    (717) 254-8972 | cozort@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Brown University, 1976; M.A., University of Virginia, 1983; Ph.D., 1989.
    Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 2011-12.

    His courses explore the thought and practices of Indian religions, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism, but he also teaches about Native American religions, romantic love in the western tradition, and methods for the study of religion. He has published several books on Buddhist philosophy and the esoteric tantric tradition, particularly its use of mandalas. He has a special interest in meditation theory and practice.

  • Theodore Pulcini

    Theodore Pulcini
    Thomas Bowman Professor of Religion and Philosophy (1995).
    East College Room 203A
    (717) 245-1208 | pulcini@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Harvard College, 1976; M.A., University of Notre Dame, 1979; Th.M., Harvard Divinity School, 1982; Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 1994.
    Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 1998-1999; Dickinson Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2002-03.

    His teaching responsibilities focus on exploring the Biblical texts in their historical, social, and comparative contexts. He also specializes in Islam, early Christianity, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Research interests include relations between Islam and Christianity, both past and present.

  • Andrea B. Lieber

    Andrea B. Lieber
    Associate Professor of Religion, Sophia Ava Asbell Chair in Judaic Studies (1998).
    East College Room 106
    (717) 245-1482 | lieber@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Vassar College, 1989; M.A., Columbia University, 1993; M.Phil., 1995; Ph.D., 1998.

    Her courses explore the transformations of Judaism as a living religion and evolving culture from its origins in antiquity through its varied manifestations in the 20th century. Special interests include: Judaism and early Christianity, Jewish mysticism (kabbalah), women and gender in Jewish tradition.

  • Nitsa Kann

    Nitsa Kann
    Associate Professor of Judaic Studies (2005).
    East College Room 208
    (717) 254-8977 | kannn@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Hebrew University, 1982; M.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1984; Ph.D., 2005.

    Her teaching interests include Hebrew language, Hebrew Literature, Kabbalah, and Middle Eastern Cinema. She is the author of two Hebrew books of poems, 'Black Soul Singer' (1989), and 'A Woman With Child' (1992), and the author of two Hebrew novels, 'Gazelle of Love' (1995), and 'Herotica' (1998).

  • Edward P. Merwin

    Edward P. Merwin
    Part-time Associate Professor of Religion; Director of The Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life(2001).
    Asbell Center
    (717) 245-1636 | merwin@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Amherst College, 1990; M.A., Hunter College of the City University of New York, 1998; Ph.D., 2002.

    His teaching interests are in American Jewish history and popular culture, with a particular focus on the Lower East Side and Yiddish culture. His current research centers on Jewish-themed Broadway plays, and on the history of the Jewish deli in America.

  • Contributing Faculty

  • David D. Commins

    David D. Commins
    Professor of History, Benjamin Rush Chair in the Liberal Arts and Sciences; Director of the K. Robert Nilsson Center for European Studies in Bologna, 2012-14 (1987).
    Denny Hall Room 205
    (717) 245-1015 | commins@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1976; Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1985.

    His teaching interests are in modern Middle Eastern history with an emphasis on Islamic thought and political movements. His most recent book is The Gulf States: A Modern History. His other books are The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia, Historical Dictionary of Syria, and Islamic Reform. His current project is an introduction to Islam in contemporary Saudi Arabian society.

  • Shalom D. Staub

    Shalom D. Staub
    Associate Provost for Academic Affairs (2004).
    West College (Old West) 2nd Floor
    (717) 245-1080 | staubs@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Wesleyan University, 1977; M.A., 1978; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1985.

    His research and teaching interests focus on 1) various dimensions of conflict analysis, conflict resolution and peacemaking, and 2) the ethnography of religious experience, including “folk” religion, religion and conflict, and the intersection of religion with race, ethnicity, and gender. These interests play out in his courses on conflict and conflict resolution studies, religion and conflict, ethnography of Jewish experience, folk religious practices in the Middle East and North Africa, and immigration and religious diversity in the US.

  • Adjunct Faculty

  • Ananda Devi Reed

    Ananda Devi Reed
    Adjunct Faculty in Religion (2013).
    East College Room 203B
    reedan@dickinson.edu


  • T. Scott Smith

    T. Scott Smith
    Adjunct Faculty and Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy (1969-2006).
    Tome Scientific Building Room 206
    smithts@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Princeton University, 1963; Ph.D., University of Maryland, 1967.