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School of Religion Councils: Scholar RepresentativesCATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT STUDIES Althea Spencer-Miller Visiting Lecturer: California State University, Northridge
Spencer-Miller is a recent graduate of Claremont Graduate University with a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies. She currently teaches at California State University, Northridge, and in fall 2008 will begin teaching at Drew University’s Theological School as an Assistant Professor in New Testament Studies. With Kathleen O'Brien Wicker (emerita, Scripps College) and Musa Dube, she edited the groundbreaking, Feminist New Testament Studies: Global and Future Perspectives (2005). She is originally from Jamaica and is an ordained minister in the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas. COPTIC STUDIES Gawdat Gabra Visiting Professor of Coptic Studies: Claremont Graduate University
Gabra has taught course at American and Egyptian universities. For example, in Spring 2004, he taught an Egyptian Monasticism and Coptic Art course for the School of Religion at CGU. He was the director of the Coptic Museum in Cairo in 1985, and is chief editor for the St. Mark Foundation for Coptic History Studies at the patriarchate in Cairo. With a PhD in Coptic Antiquities from Münster University in Germany, Gabra has been an active participant at international congresses on Coptology and is the author of several books, including Coptic Monasteries: Egypt's Monastic Art and Architecture, and Architecture and Christian Egypt: Coptic Art and Monuments through Two Millennia. top of pageIndic Philosophy & Culture Deepak Shimkhada Visiting Professor: California State University in Northridge
Shimkhada received his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University, where he is an adjunct professor. He was a member of the faculty of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California where he taught courses on Asian religions including Hinduism, Buddhism and the Visions of the Divine Feminine. He is currently a visiting professor at California State University in Northridge. His publications include numerous journal papers, book chapters and three edited books. His most recent book The Constant and Changing Faces of the Goddess: Goddess Traditions of Asia (edited) is due in April 2008 and his forthcoming book Nepal: Nostalgia and Modernity (edited) will be out in spring 2009. He is the founding President of the Foundation for Indic Philosophy and Culture (Indic Foundation) at the School of Religion at Claremont Graduate University. He also serves as president and vice president of two national organizations, Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast and South Asian Studies Association. Islamic Studies Hamid Mavani Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies: CGU School of Religion
Mavani has been active at the academic and community level in promoting interfaith dialogue, inter- and intra-Muslim dialogue, religious pluralism, civil society, democratic governance, reform in the Islamic legal tradition, gender and religion, and environmental ethics. His primary fields of interest include Islamic legal reform, Muslims in America, Twelver Shi’ism, Qur’anic studies, and Contemporary developments in the Muslim world. Dr. Mavani’s scholarship includes translations of several important Islamic texts from Arabic and Persian into English, and he is the author of Titles and Themes of the Qur’an. In his studies, he has collaborated with institutions and organizations such as Graduate Theological Union, University of California, United Religions Initiative, International Diplomacy Council, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and he is a member of the Islamic Studies Council at the School of Religion. top of pageJEWISH STUDIES Rabbi Gary Greenebaum U.S. Director for Interreligious Affairs: The American Jewish Committee
A senior community leader and authority on intergroup relations and politics, international affairs (particularly Israel, Europe, and South America), domestic security, and police reform, Rabbi Greenebaum held the position of Western Regional Director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) from 1990 until 2006. He outreaches with a variety of interreligious leaders and has led several delegations of American Protestant and Catholic leaders to Israel as part of AJC’s institute that promotes a balanced understanding of Israeli history, culture and politics. His efforts on behalf of the diplomatic community earned him the prestigious French National Order of Merit in April 2006. An expert in leadership recruitment and skills development, Rabbi Greenebaum has led training seminars for many religious and secular organizations and has taught at several universities. Ordained in 1978 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Rabbi Greenebaum holds Master’s degrees in Hebrew Letters and in Jewish Communal Service from HUC-JIR and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Irvine. top of pageMORMON STUDIES Mark Paredes National Outreach Director: The American Jewish Congress
Former Director of Jewish Relations on the Southern California Public Affairs Council of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and native of Michigan, Mark served as an LDS missionary in southern Italy, worked as a journalist in Milan, and majored in Italian literature at Brigham Young University. After graduating from college, he served as a Foreign Service Officer (U.S. diplomat) at the U.S. Consulate General in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, where he was chosen to be the assistant to U.S. Ambassador Martin Indyk. Following his tour in Tel Aviv, Mark studied law at the University of Texas, clerking at leading international law firms in Dallas, Texas and Rome, Italy. He speaks seven languages fluently and has lived in five countries. Mark worked for two years as the press attaché at the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles and has appeared as a Middle East analyst on several television newscasts. As a member of the speakers bureaus of the Consulate General of Israel, the Anti-Defamation League, and Stand With Us, he has lectured on Middle East issues at UCLA, USC, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, the University of Arizona, Cal State Northridge, and Bakersfield College. His greatest joy in life is doting on his three adorable nephews. top of pageZOROASTRIAN STUDIES Touraj Daryaee Baskerville Professor of Iranian History: University of California, Irvine
Touraj Daryaee is Howard Baskerville Professor in the history of Iran and the Persianate World, and also the Associate Director of Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture School of Humanities at the University of California Irvine. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1999 focusing on the Iranian history and civilization. Dr. Daryaee’s research has focused on ancient and early medieval history of Iran, specifically the Sasanian Empire. He has worked on Middle Persian literature, editing and translating several texts with commentary on geography, dinner speech, chess and backgammon. He is also interested in the history of Zoroastrianism in Late Antiquity. He is the editor of the Name-ye Iran-e Bastan: The International Journal of Ancient Iranian Studies as well as the electronic journal, Bulletin of Ancient Iranian History, and is the director of Sasanika: Late Antique Near East Project. top of pageTHE CONFERENCE WILL BE IN BURKLE BUILDING, CORNER OF 11TH & DARTMOUTH, CLAREMONT fmi, please contact religionevents@cgu.edu or 909.607.9592 |
