CV

SARAH ILES JOHNSTON

ADDRESS:
Department of Greek and Latin, The Ohio State University
414 University Hall, 230 N. Oval Mall
Columbus, OH 43210-1319
614-292-2744 (office) 614-846-4941 (home)
E-mail: johnston.2@osu.edu; FAX: 614-292-7835

PUBLICATIONS (book reviews excluded):
Books:

Author, Ancient Greek Divination, Wiley-Blackwell: 2008.
Co-author, with Fritz Graf, Ritual Texts for the Afterlife: Orpheus and the Bacchic Gold Tablets. Routledge: 2007.
Author, Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece. University of California Press: 1999.
Author, Hekate Soteira (Amer. Class. Studies #21) Scholars' Press: 1990; now published by Oxford University Press.

Edited volumes:

General Editor, Ancient Religions, Harvard University Press: 2007.
Co-Editor, with Peter T. Struck, of Mantikê: Studies in Ancient Divination. Religions in the Greco-Roman World. vol. 155, Brill: 2005.
General Editor, Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide, Harvard University Press: 2004.
Co-Editor (with J.J. Clauss) of Medea: Essays on Medea in Myth, Literature, Philosophy and Art (Princeton University Press, 1997).
Guest Editor, Helios 21.2 (1994) (theme: ancient literature and the supernatural).

Articles and Essays:

'"The Creativity of Disaster," forthcoming in a Festschrift for Jan Bremmer, eds. J.H.F. Dijkstra, Justin Kroesen and Yme Kuiper, Brill (Leiden: forthcoming 2009).
"Homo Fictor Deorum Est," forthcoming in The Gods of Ancient Greece, eds. Jan Bremmer and Andrew Erskine, Edinburgh University Press (Edinburgh: forthcoming 2009).
"Sending Dreams, Restraining Dreams. Oneiropompeia in Theory and in Practice," in Sub Imagine Somni, eds. Christine Walde and Emma Scioli, ETS (Pisa: forthcoming 2009).
"A New Web for Arachne," in Antike Mythen. Medien, Transformationen, Konstruktionen, eds. Ueli Dill and Christine Walde, DeGruyter (Berlin: 2009).
"'From Oracles, What Useful Words Have Ever Come to Mortals?': Delphic Apollo in the Oresteia," in "Apolline Politics and Poetics," eds. Lucia Athannassaki, Richard Martin and John Miller. European Cultural Center of Delphi (Athens: 2009).
"Magic and the Dead in Ancient Greece," in J. Petropoulos, ed. Greek Magic, Routledge London: 2009) 14-20.
"Animating Statues: A Case Study in Ritual" Arethusa 41.3 (2008) 445-78.
"Antigone's Other Choice," Helios 33 Suppl. (2006) 179-86.
"Delphi and the Dead," in Mantikê: Studies in Ancient Divination eds. S.I. Johnston and P.T. Struck (Brill 2005) 283-306.
"Divining Divination," in Mantikê: Studies in Ancient Divination eds. S.I. Johnston and P.T. Struck (Brill 2005) 1-28.
"Fiat Lux, Fiat Ritus: Divine Light and the Late Antique Defense of Ritual," in The Presence of Light: Divine Radiance and Transformative Vision, ed. M. Kapstein (University of Chicago Press 2004) 5-24.
"Working Overtime in the Afterlife or, No Rest for the Virtuous," in Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions, eds. R. Boustan and A. Reed (Cambridge University Press 2004) 85-102.
"Defining the Undescribable: New Books on Magic and Old Problems of Definition" (Review article of recent work on magic) History of Religions. 43 (2003) 50-54.
"Lost in the Shuffle: Roman Sortition and its Discontents," Archiv für Religionsgeschichte 5 (2003) 146-56.
"'Initiation' in Myth, 'Initiation' in Practice: The Homeric Hymn to Hermes and Ancient Athletics," in Initiation in Ancient Greek Rituals and Narratives: New Critical Perspectives, eds. D. Dodds and C.A. Faraone (Routledge: London, 2003) 155-80.
"The Testament of Solomon from Late Antiquity through the Renaissance in The Metamorphosis of Magic, Groningen Studies in Cultural Change vol. 1, eds. J. Bremmer and J. Veenstra (Peeters: 2003) 35-50.
"Myth, Festival and Poet: The Homeric Hymn to Hermes and its Performative Context," CP 97 (2002) 109-32.
"Sacrifice in the Magical Papyri" (English version of "Le sacrifice dans les papyrus magiques grecs,"), in Ancient Magic and Ritual Power vol. 2, eds. M. Meyer and P. Mirecki (Leiden:Brill: 2002) 344-58.
"Charming Children: The Use of the Child in Ancient Divination,"Arethusa 34.1 (2001) 97-118.
"Le sacrifice dans les papyrus magiques grecs," in La magie actes du colleque international de Montpellier 25-27 Mars 1999 eds. Alain Moreau and Jean-Claude Turpin (Paris 2000) vol. 2, 19-36.
"Songs for the Ghosts: Magical Solutions to Deadly Problems," in The World of Ancient Magic. Papers from the First International Samson Eitrem Seminar at the Norwegian Institute at Athens, 4-8 May 1997, eds. David Jordan, Hugo Montgomery and Einar Thomassen (Papers of the Norwegian Institute at Athens #4) (Bergen, Norway, 1999) 83-102.
"He mageia kai oi nekroi sten Klasike Hellada" ["Magic and the Dead in Classical Greece"] in Archaiologia kai Technes "70 (March 1999) 16-21.
"Rising to the Occasion: Theurgic Ascent in its Cultural Milieu," in Envisioning Magic: A Princeton Seminar and Symposium, eds. P. Schäfer and H. Kippenberg (Leiden 1997) 165-94.
"Corinthian Medea and the Cult of Hera Akraia," in Medea (1997; see above under "Edited volumes").
"Dionysos and the Underworld in Toledo" (co-authored with T. McNiven) Mus. Helv. 53.1 (1996) 25-36.
"The Song of the Iynx: Magic and Rhetoric in Pythian 4," TAPA 125 (1995) 177-206.
"Defining the Dreadful: Remarks on the Greek Child-Killing Demon," in Ancient Magic and Ritual Power, eds. M. Meyer and P. Mirecki. (Leiden 1995) 355-81.
"Penelope and the Erinyes: Odyssey 20.61-82," Helios 21.2 (1994) 137-59.
"Xanthus, Hera and the Erinyes: Iliad 19.400-418," TAPA 122 (1992) 85-98.
"Riders in the Sky: Cavalier Gods and Theurgic Salvation in the Second Century, A.D," CP 87 (1992) 303-21.
"Crossroads," ZPE 88 (1991) 217-24.

Major Reference Work Articles:

For the Cambridge History of Philosophy: Late Antiquity: an essay on the Chaldean Oracles, co-authored with John Finamore (forthcoming).
For Der Neue Pauly (Metzler; 12 volumes, 1996-2002): Dämonologie, Erinyes, Hekate, Iphigeneia, Magie (with F. Graf), Orphicae lamellae, Oraculae Chaldaica, Theurgie, Unterwelt, Totenkult, plus many shorter articles.
For Religions in the Ancient World: A Guide (Harvard University Press 2004): Keynote Essays on "Mysteries" and "Magic"; smaller articles on "Death and the Afterlife in Greece," "Divination in Greece," "Divination: Introduction," and "Theurgy."
For Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Post-Classical World (Harvard University Press 1999): Ritual, Theurgy.
For the Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd edition (MacMillan 2004): "Greek and Roman Divination," "Greek and Roman Afterlife," "Hecate," "Orphic Tablets"

Editorial Boards:

I Quaderni del Ramo d'Oro (a new journal established at the Centro Antropologia e Mondo Antico of the Università degli Studi di Siena.
Michigan Classical Press 2007—.
Ekstasis: Religious Experience from Antiquity to the Middle Ages (Monograph Series: DeGruyter) 2005—.
Ohio State University Press 2002-2005.

Major Projects in Progress:

A book on the interpretation of myth.

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Founding Director, Center for the Study of Religion, The Ohio State University, 2006—.
Professor of Greek and Latin, The Ohio State University, 2000—.
Associate Professor of Greek and Latin, The Ohio State University, 1995-2000.
Assistant Professor of Classics, The Ohio State University, 1988-1995.
Lecturer in Classics, Princeton University, 1987-1988.
Teaching Assistant, Cornell University, seven semesters during the 1980-87 period.

AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS:

Senior ACLS Fellow and Visiting Fellow, Princeton Univ. Dep't. of Classics, 1999/2000.
Senior Fellow, Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion, University of Chicago, Fall 1997.
Fellow, Fondation Hardt, Vandoeuvres, Switzerland, July-August 1996.
Senior Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton NJ, Spring 1995.
I have also received a number of competitive travel grants and research awards from the College of Humanities at Ohio State or individual Departments within the College, including a fellowship at its Institute for Collaborative Research in the Humanities (1999/2000; declined in favor of the ACLS).

EDUCATION:

Cornell University, 1980-1987

Universität Zürich, 1985
University of Kansas, 1975-1980

Boston University Summer
Program in Athens

Ph.D., Classics, May, 1987
M.A., Classics, Jan., 1983
(no degree)
B.A., Classics,May, 1980;
summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
B.S., Journalism, May, 1979;
cum laude, Phi Kappa Phi

1979

ORGANIZATION OF CONFERENCES, PANELS, PROGRAMS (excluding those organized as part of my directorship of the Center for the Study of Religion, 2006—) :

Co-organizer, "Le mythe et ses interprétations: réévaluation des théories anciennes," held at the Fondation Hardt, October 21-23, 2008.
Co-organizer, "On the Border: Animals in Ancient Thought," held in collaboration with the Centro Antropologia e Mondo Antico, Università degli Studi di Siena in Columbus, January,11-12 2008.
Organizer, "Ancient Religions, New Approaches," a panel for the 2008 APA.
Co-organizer, "Sacred Images in the Ancient Mediterranean," held in collaboration with the Centro Antropologia e Mondo Antico, Università degli Studi di Siena in Siena, June 2006.
Inaugural Director, Center for the Study of Religion, The Ohio State University, 2006—.
Co-organizer: Focus Program on Mediterranean Religions and Cultures, 2005-07 (in collaboration with the Centro Antropologia e Mondo Antico, Università degli Studi di Siena. Funded by an Arts and Humanities Grant for Innovation awarded competitively by The Ohio State University.
Invited organizer, inaugural seminar for the American Philological Association's new seminar program, at the 2005 meetings of the American Philological Association, in Boston. Topic: Greek Divination. 35 attendees.
Organizer, "Persecution and Conflict in Ancient Mediterranean Religions," a conference sponsored by the Mershon Center at The Ohio State University Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2003. Eleven speakers.
Senior co-convener, "Religion and Violence," a two-year series of lectures and colloquia sponsored by the Humanities Institute at The Ohio State University, 2002-2004.
Founding organizer of the Midwestern Consortium on Ancient Religions (incl. Ohio State Univ., Univ. of Chicago, Univ. of Michigan); co-organizer of first colloquium held by the Consortium, on April 23, 2003 at Ohio State and the fourth colloquium, held at Ohio State in March 2006.
Co-founder of the Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean, 2001—.
Founder, Program in Mediterranean Religions, OSU, 1996-2001.
Co-organizer and Participant, "Greek and Roman Divination," a conference held April 20-21, 2001, The University of Pennsylvania.
Co-organizer, conference on "Religion and Gender in the Ancient World," May 22-23 1997 at the Ohio State University. Eleven speakers.
Organizer and Participant, "Maiden and Murderess: Panel on the Portrayal of Medea in Greek and Roman Literature," 1991 APA meetings (a refereed panel). Six speakers.
Organizer and Participant, "Magic and Literature," a colloquium held Oct. 19- 20, 1990 at The Ohio State University. Six speakers.
Co-organizer and Participant, "Techniques of the Magician," a refereed panel for the 1987 APA meetings. Four speakers.

INVITED LECTURES, REFEREED CONFERENCE PAPERS:

"Demeter, Myth and the Polyvalence of Ritual," invited key-note address for the quadrennial meeting of the Féderation Internationale des Associations d'Études Classiques, Berlin, August 25, 2009.
"The Archaeology of Dionysus," invited lecture, "The Real and the Imaginary: Greek Religion and Archaeology," Cambridge University, July 2-4, 2009.
"Local Demeter, Panhellenic Demeter," invited lecture at "The Olympian Gods: Local Representations, Universal Principles," University of Durham, July 6-9, 2009.
"Demeter and her Worshippers," invited lecture at "Worshipping Women," The Onassis Foundation, New York City, May 1-2 2009.
"The Dead are Always with Us," invited paper at "The Restless Dead and the Perfect Tomb, A Symposium," Bryn Mawr College April 18, 2009. A shorter version was presented as a refereed paper at "Rites of Passage of the Life Cycle in Antiquity," the Getty Center, April 2007.
"A New Web for Arachne," invited lecture presented at "Women in the Religious and Intellectual Activity of the Ancient Mediterranean," Columbus OH, March 16, 2009.
"Porphyry on Sacrifice," invited lecture at "What The Gods Demand," Boston University November 21, 2008.
"Myth and Ritual: Some New Reflections, " at "Le mythe et ses interprétations: réévaluation des théories anciennes," The Fondation Hardt, Vandoeuvres, Switzerland, October 21, 2008.
"Divination in the Derveni Papyrus," invited presentation at a symposium on the Derveni Papyrus held at the Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington D.C., July 7-9, 2008.
"Signs of the Gods," invited lecture at the 2007 Leventis Conference at the University of Edinburgh, November 6, 2007.
Invited paper, "From Disaster to Disaster: Humans, Gods and the Creativity of Ruin," at "The End of Everything: Catastrophe and Community in the Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Worlds," Indiana University October 12, 2007.
"Memory and the Soul," at the University of Michigan, March 17, 2007.
"Demeter, Agriculture and the Discourse of Gender," invited response paper for a panel on women's religions in the ancient Mediterranean at the 2006 meetings of the Society for Biblical Literature. Subsequently given in a new version at the University of Chicago, April 2008.
"Theurgic Texts and Telestic Rites," invited lecture at "Die Chaldaeischen Orakel und ihre Rezeption," Universität Konstanz, November 2006.
"Planning the Future by Remembering the Past," invited lecture at "Intentionale Geschichte," Universität Freiburg, September 2006.
"Who Put the Soul in the Statue?" lecture at "Sacred Images in the Ancient Mediterranean," at the Università degli Studi di Siena, June 2006.
"Making One's Mark: Writing, Reading and the Authorization of Marginal Practices in Ancient Greece" November 20, 2005; American Academy of Religion (refereed paper).
Opening Keynote Speaker, "Sub Imagine Somni: Nighttime Phenomena in Greco-Roman Culture," April 13th-15th, American Academy in Rome and Istituto Svizzero di Roma. Paper given: "Sending Dreams, Restraining Dreams: Oneiropompeia in Theory and Practice."
Invited Respondent, "Religions of the Family in the Ancient Mediterranean," Brown University February 28-March 1 2005.
Invited Lecturer, "Congreso Internacional, Orfeo y el orfismo: Nuevas perspectives," Palma de Mallorca, February 3-5 2005. Paper delivered: "New Reflections on Orphic Anthropogony and Eschatology."
"To the Holy Meadows Once Again," at "Paradise: The Lexicon of Felicity in the Premodern Eastern Mediterranean," University of Illinois at Chicago, November 5th and 6th, 2004.
"The Magic of Syncretism," invited lecture for the 2004 meetings of the Association of Ancient Historians, Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 7th, 2004.
"From Oracles, What Useful Words Can Ever Come to Mortals?" invited lecture at "Apolline Politics and Poetics," Delphi, Greece; July 2003.
"Antigone's Other Choice," invited lecture at "Sex, Marriage and Family and Religions of the Book," a conference convened by Emory University's Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion," March 27-29, 2003.
"Secrecy or Privacy? Problems of Definition and Their Relevance to Ancient Greek Religions," invited lecture at "Secrecy: Histories and Publics" at Sweet Briar College, March 16, 2002.
"Lost in the Shuffle: Roman Divination and its Discontents," invited lecture at "Colloque 'Wissowa 2002,'" Université Geneva, February 15, 2002.
Invited pre-play lecture at the inaugural performance of "Jason and Medea," a new dramatization of the myth by playwright Douglas Heil, based on my 1997 article "Corinthian Medea," University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, Nov. 1, 2001.
Chism Lectures, University of Puget Sound, April 2001. Theme for the lectures and seminar: "The Importance of Being Mythic."
"Delphi and the Dead," invited lecture at "Greek and Roman Divination," a conference held April 20-21, 2001, The University of Pennsylvania. This paper was also given at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (Nov. 2, 2001) and Bryn Mawr University (Dec. 14, 2001).
Halstead Lecture, Drew University. Paper given "Working Overtime in the Afterlife, or: No Rest for the Virtuous." February 23, 2001. This paper was also delivered at "In Heaven as it is on Earth," a conference sponsored by Princeton University, January 14-15, 2001.
Refereed paper, "The Magic of Syncretism—or, Why Scholars of Ancient Magic will be the Last to Embrace Post-Colonial Hybridity," 2000 meetings of the American Academy of Religion.
Invited speaker, "The Metamorphosis of Magic," University of Groningen, June 23-25, 2000. Ancient text presented and analyzed: the Testament of Solomon.
Invited speaker, "Philadelphia Seminar on Christian Origins," April 12, 2000. Paper given: "Creating Rituals: Innovation and Conservatism in the Greek Magical Papyri." This paper was also given at Harvard University, May 6, 1999.
Invited speaker, "Light, Vision, and Religious Experience," New York University, April 10-11, 2000. Paper given: "Divinity as Light in Neoplatonic Mysticism" (an earlier, shorter version of this paper was delivered at the 1998 meetings of the American Academy of Religion and Society for Biblical Literature).
Invited speaker, "Beyond Initiation: Transitions and Power in Ancient Cultures and Narratives," March 31- April 2, The University of Chicago. Paper given: "'Initiation' in Myth, 'Initiation' in Ritual: The Homeric Hymn to Hermes and Ancient Athletics."
Invited speaker, Prayer, Magic and the Stars, University of Washington, March 4-6, 2000. Paper given: "Divination in the Greek Magical Papyri".
Invited speaker, Boston University, February 24, 2000. Paper given: "Myth, Cult and Poet: The Performative Context of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes." This paper was also given at Princeton University on February 18, 2000.
Invited speaker, conference on the child in Greek cult, Göteborg, Sweden, April 17-19 1999. Paper given: "Charming Children: The Use of Children in Late Antique Divination" This paper was also presented at a colloquium on ancient magic at Tulane University, January 30, 1999, and at the University of Chicago on February 19, 1999.
Invited speaker, conference on ancient Mediterranean magic, Montpellier, France, March 25-28, 1999. Paper given: "Le sacrifice dans les Papyrus de Magie Grecs." This paper was also presented at the University of Geneva on April 20, 1999. English versions were presented at the 1999 meetings of the American Philological Association and at the second international conference on "Magic in the Ancient World," Chapman College; Orange, California; August 2-5, 1998.
Invited speaker, University of Chicago "Workshop on the Ancient World," November 4, 1997. Paper given: "Go West Young Goddess."
Invited participant, Chicago-Stanford symposium on Greco-Egyptian interaction, October 1997.
Invited speaker, Conference on ancient magic sponsored by the Norwegian Institute in Athens, May, 1997. Paper given: "Songs for the Ghosts: Magical Solutions to Deadly Problems." This paper was also delivered at a conference on ancient Mediterranean eschatology, sponsored by the College of Arts and Science at NYU, April 17, 1997 and at the University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana and Loyola University, Chicago, in November of 1997.
Refereed paper, "The Leaf Alone is Nothing: Remarks on the Problem of 'Medicine' vs. 'Magic'," 1996 meetings of the American Philological Association.
Refereed paper, "Thinking Religion: Conversion in Esoteric Religions of Late Antiquity," 1996 meetings of the American Academy of Religion/Society for Biblical Literature.
Invited speaker, Universities of Geneva and Fribourg, March 21 and 22, 1996. Paper: "Hekate and the Dying Maiden." This paper was also given in a shorter version at the 1995 meetings of the American Philological Association and the 1993 meetings of the American Academy of Religion/Society for Biblical Literature.
Invited discussant, Conference in honor of Walter Burkert on the occasion of his 65th birthday, March 19-23, 1996 (Basel, Switzerland).
Invited speaker, University of Michigan, March 11, 1996. Paper: "'Chaldean' Oracles and the Hellenization of Mediterranean Magic."
Refereed paper, "Dionysos in Toledo," 1995 meetings of the American Academy of Religion/Society for Biblical Literature.
Invited speaker, Hunter College, April 7, 1995, and NYU, April 20, 1995. Paper: "On the Importance of Demons: Coping with Reproductive Disasters in Ancient Greece."
Invited speaker, University of Chicago "Workshop on the Ancient World," Jan. 26, 1993. Paper given: "Obstetrical Charms." This paper also was given in a shorter version at the panel on ancient Mediterranean demonology, 1992 meetings of the American Academy of Religion/Society for Biblical Literature.
Invited speaker international conference on "Magic in the Ancient World," Lawrence, KS, Aug. 20-22, 1992. Paper Given: "Ass-legs and Aoroi: The Greek Child-Stealing Demoness."
Invited speaker, Ohio Wesleyan University, Sept. 19, 1991. Paper given, "Seductive Death: The Greek and Roman Witch."
"Colchis and Corinth: Reconciling the Maiden to the Murderess," refereed paper given as part of "Maiden and Murderess: Panel on the Portrayal of Medea in Greek and Roman Literature," 1991 APA meetings. This paper also was given in a longer form as an invited lecture at Cornell University in October, 1991 and at Indiana University in April, 1992.
"Female Demons in Greek and Roman Literature," paper given at "Magic and Literature," a colloquium held Oct. 19- 20, 1990 at The Ohio State University. Revised version delivered at Cornell University, April 5, 1991.
Commentator, "Masks of Dionysus," an NEH conference held Oct. 11-13, 1990 at Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University.
Invited Lecturer, "Cultural Archaism and Classical Erudition in the Second-Century A.D.," a refereed panel organized for the April, 1990 meetings of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Paper given: "Eros Theurgikos."
Participant, "The Demonic in Greek Tradition," a refereed panel jointly sponsored by the Modern Greek Studies Association and the American Philological Association, organized for the Dec., 1989 APA meetings. Paper given: "Theurgical Daemones."
Refereed paper, "Invigorating Victory: A Closer Look at Pindar's Charites," Jan., 1989 meetings of the American Philological Association.
Invited speaker, Tenney-Frank Symposium on Archaic Greece, University of Kansas, Sept. 1988. Paper given: "Pre-Aeschylean Erinyes."
"Birds, Wheels and Daemones: Elucidating the Varied Portrayal of the Iynx," refereed paper for "Techniques of the Magician," 1987 APA meeting.
Refereed paper, "Enter Aegeus: Euripides' Medea and the Corcyrean Affair," Fall, 1987 meetings of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States.
Refereed paper, "Suppers, Corpses and Spells: Rituals at the Crossroads," 1986 meetings of the American Philological Association.
Refereed paper, "Cosmic Crossroads: Hekate in Late Mystic Literature," 1985 meetings of the American Philological Association.
Refereed paper, "Philostratus' Pure and Pious Shaman: Vita Apollonii 8.26," 1984 meetings of the American Philological Association.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE:

Executive Committee, American Society for the Study of Religion, 2008—.
Invited Member, American Philological Association ad-hoc committee on reforming the Program, 2003-2004.
Elected Member, American Philological Association Program Committee, 1999-2002.
Invited Board Member, program unit on "Europe and the Mediterranean in Late Antiquity," American Academy of Religion, 1994-2004. Chair, January 2002-December 2003.
Member, American Philological Association Editorial Board for Monographs, 1992-97.
Faculty Participant, NEH Summer Seminar at Ohio State, "Narrating Our Lives: Myths, Values and Community in Multicultural America," 1994.
Invited Member of a 6-person committee chosen by the Boards of the meetings of the American Philological Association and the Society for Biblical Literature to delineate a monograph series on ancient Mediterranean religions (1991).
Referee for the University of California Press, Cambridge University Press, Princeton University Press, Oxford University Press, University of Texas Press, Routledge, American Philological Association monograph series (American Classical Studies), CP, Helios, ICS, TAPA, CW, AJP, the NEH, CUNY's Research Award Program, the American School of Classical Studies in Athens NEH Award program, the Swiss National Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.

UNIVERSITY AND DEPARTMENTAL SERVICE (selected):
Departmental (Greek and Latin):
During my years at Ohio State, I have served as Graduate Director (1998-99 and 2005-2007) and as Acting Chairperson during the Summer, 1995 term; I have served on the Chairperson's Advisory Committee (four years); the committee to revise the departmental web-site (2005); the Self-Study committee (1995/6); the Curriculum Committee (five years; chair in 1994/95 and 2000/2001); several search committees (1989, 1990/91, 1993, 1995/96, 1996/97, 2007/08, including chairing a search committee in 2004/05); the Undergraduate Honors/Woodhead Prize Committee (three years); the Undergraduate Studies Committee (three years); the Graduate Studies Committee (six years); the Salary Committee (two years); committee in charge of external review (2006/07); the Renovation Committee (2006-09); the Lecture Committee (2006-09); and as the Department's representative to the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies for six years (1995-99 and 2000-2002).
College and University (selected):
Director, Center for the Study of Religion, 2006—; Promotion and Tenure Committee, College of Humanities, 2005-2007; Oversight committee, Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities, 2004-2007; Interim Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2002-03; College of Humanities representative to the University Bookstore Advisory Committee (2002—); Board of Editors, Ohio State University Press (2002-2005); Library Renovation Planning committee (2003—); Founder and continuing co-organizer, Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean, 2001—; College of Humanities Appeals and Complaints Committee; Ad-Hoc Planning Priorities Committee (1998-99); College of Humanities Salary Appeals Committee (1995-97); Dean's Committee to review Chairs' Compensation (1995); Dean's Advisory Committee (1988-90); Curriculum Development Committee, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (1998-99) Self-Study Committee for the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (1995/6); Conference committee of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (1996/7; Chair); Advisory Committee for the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (1994 and 1996-2002); Grants Committee, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (1994); Affiliate, Division of Comparative Studies (1994); advising member, search committee for position in Comparative Literature, 1995; Member, search committee for a position in religious studies, Undergraduate Director, Concentration in Religious Studies within the Department of Comparative Studies (1996/97).

TEACHING (at Ohio State):
Department of Greek and Latin: I have taught the full range of classes, from beginning languages and our huge mythology course, to numerous graduate seminars and undergraduate honors courses; a complete list is available upon request, as are student evaluations.
Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies: I created and regularly teach MRS 240 "Witchcraft and Magic in the Middle Ages and Renaissance," a 100-student lecture course.
Department of Comparative Studies: I have taught CS 270 (Introduction to Comparative Religion) CS 541 (Myth and Ritual) CS 651 (a seminar on sacrifice in ancient Mediterranean religions) and CS 620 (Foundational Approaches to Religion).
Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities: I participated in their 2003 "Big Ideas" undergraduate seminar on Evil.