Coptic Studies

Student Profiles

• Patricia Eshagh
• Lincoln Hale
• Donald Westbrook
  

  Patricia Eshagh: (PhD in progress, History of Christianity) Working Dissertation title: "The Dispersion of Egyptian Monasticism to Europe and its Influence on Western Monasticism in Late Antiquity"   Throughout my academic career, monasticism has always been a strong area of interest. After I completed my master's thesis on female monasticism in the Middle Ages, I planned to continue working in that field for my doctoral program at CGU. In 2008, I had the opportunity to travel to Egypt with CGU – to the very place where communal monasticism began. Visiting the ancient monastic sites in the Egyptian desert firsthand moved me in a way that I still cannot explain. I was literally transfixed by the experience. It was there that I came to the realization that finally, I had found my intellectual home - in the field of Egyptian monasticism and Coptic Studies. That trip inspired me to learn everything I could about Coptic history and Egyptian monasticism. I enrolled in an array of interesting courses in Coptic Studies at CGU. Whether it was language studies, history, religion or art, I found that Coptic Studies could accommodate my interests as well as challenge me to pursue others. Coptic Studies is truly a rich and rewarding field of study, offering a multitude of applications across a wide range of disciplines. It is a dynamic field, where there is plenty of room for exploration, discovery and significant academic contributions. Whether it was by happenstance or providence, I am extremely grateful that I stumbled upon Coptic Studies. The rewards have been tremendous both in terms of experience and opportunity. The field of Coptic Studies has brought a purpose and revitalization to my work in monasticism and it has enriched my dissertation research beyond measure.
  Lincoln Hale: (PhD in progress, History of Christianity and Religions of North America) I earned a Master of Theological Studies in Ancient Biblical Studies at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, 2012. I am currently pursuing a PhD in the History of Christianity program at Claremont Graduate University. My research interests include ancient languages and texts, Coptic Studies, and Mormon Studies. My fascination with Coptic Studies began in the final year of my master's degree. I was invited by one of my colleagues to join him and three others in an independent Coptic language course. It was then that I not only fell in love with the language, but also many aspects of Coptic Christianity and its deep, rich, matchless history. Now I have the invaluable opportunity of working closely with Dr. Gawdat Gabra here at CGU. This has been an absolute privilege and I look forward to furthering my research by utilizing his support and expertise. I have presented research on topics that range from monastic clothing to Latter-day Saint canon. I am hoping to eventually do intertextual research with Coptic and Greek texts. I also hope to contribute to the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia, a hugely important and globally accessible resource for Coptic scholarship. See: http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/col/cce.
  Donald Westbrook: (PhD in progress, History of Christianity and Religions of North America)   In Claremont my primary academic focus is American religious history (especially “new religious movements,” such as the Mormon Church and Church of Scientology), but my secondary focus is Coptic studies because of my interest in the history of the early Christian church and monasticism. I have taken two courses with Dr. Gawdat Gabra toward this end: “Egyptian Christianity and Monasticism Under Islamic Rule” (Fall 2010) and an independent research project on the “Desert Fathers” (Spring 2011). My term paper for the latter, entitled “Hermeneutics of Lived Religion: Desert Fathers as Case Study,” was presented at the 13th annual St. Shenouda-UCLA Conference of Coptic Studies in 2011, and there are plans to publish it as well. The Desert Fathers (and Desert Mothers) are historically, socially, and theologically significant examples of the extent to which the history of Egypt, especially in the first few centuries of Christian history, is central to the history of Christianity, and has influenced the larger Christian tradition’s understanding of orthodoxy and orthopraxy ever since. Coptic studies, then, is both ancient and contemporary: it is central to Christian history and theology and perennially offers fresh insights for students and scholars. Indeed, although my primary focus is on other aspects of American religious history, Coptic history is part of American history as well, and the Claremont program is an example of a burgeoning, influential, and supportive scholarly presence. Since summer 2011, I have also been a staff member for the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia project, an incredibly important endeavor for the School of Religion and Coptic scholarship worldwide, and I recommend students and researchers consult it regularly (see here:http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/col/cce).