Spring Break
Guggenheim Fellow shares his research interests
Near Eastern Studies professor takes advantage of his Guggenheim fellowship to pursue Biblical research
Issue date: 4/30/09
Theodore Lewis is a 2009 recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship and is the first Blum-Iwry Professor of Near Eastern Studies. The News-Letter met with Lewis to discuss his interest in the religions of ancient Syria and Israel and the research he plans to pursue under his fellowship.
News-Letter (N-L): What led you to Hopkins?
Theodore Lewis (TL): Hopkins is one of Baltimore's best-kept secrets. It is one of the best universities in the world for Near Eastern Studies. I went to the graduate program at Harvard and 100 percent of the professors there received degrees from Hopkins. Near Eastern and biblical studies are a mecca here. In these areas, coming to Hopkins is the best you could ever do with your career.
N-L: What first sparked your interest in Near Eastern Studies?
TL: I was a computer science major at a big state university, the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There was a foreign language requirement I needed to fulfill and Hebrew counted for credit. I knew very little about the Bible but I ended up falling in love with Hebrew.
N-L: What attracted you to your current specialization in the Near Eastern Studies Department?
TL: I am a historian of religion. Religion is one of the keys to unlocking any culture, ancient or modern.
I was trained as a philologian. In order to unlock the history of a culture's religion you need the skills of language and archaeology. You also need to put the religion in its environment, which is the ancient Near East. Texts, material culture and archaeology are encompassed in the broader context of the ancient Near East.
Before I came to Hopkins I taught for 15 years at the University of Georgia in the Department of Religion, but I lacked colleagues who also specialized in the Near East. That is what I have here. Hopkins is a marvelous place to be.
N-L: Why did you apply for the Guggenheim award and how will this grant help you accomplish your research goals?
News-Letter (N-L): What led you to Hopkins?
Theodore Lewis (TL): Hopkins is one of Baltimore's best-kept secrets. It is one of the best universities in the world for Near Eastern Studies. I went to the graduate program at Harvard and 100 percent of the professors there received degrees from Hopkins. Near Eastern and biblical studies are a mecca here. In these areas, coming to Hopkins is the best you could ever do with your career.
N-L: What first sparked your interest in Near Eastern Studies?
TL: I was a computer science major at a big state university, the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There was a foreign language requirement I needed to fulfill and Hebrew counted for credit. I knew very little about the Bible but I ended up falling in love with Hebrew.
N-L: What attracted you to your current specialization in the Near Eastern Studies Department?
TL: I am a historian of religion. Religion is one of the keys to unlocking any culture, ancient or modern.
I was trained as a philologian. In order to unlock the history of a culture's religion you need the skills of language and archaeology. You also need to put the religion in its environment, which is the ancient Near East. Texts, material culture and archaeology are encompassed in the broader context of the ancient Near East.
Before I came to Hopkins I taught for 15 years at the University of Georgia in the Department of Religion, but I lacked colleagues who also specialized in the Near East. That is what I have here. Hopkins is a marvelous place to be.
N-L: Why did you apply for the Guggenheim award and how will this grant help you accomplish your research goals?
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