James W. Watts
James W. Watts
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
CONTACT
Religion
501 Hall of Languages
Email: jwwatts@syr.edu
Office: 315.443.5713
PROGRAM AFFILIATIONS
Jewish Studies Minor / Modern Jewish Studies
Middle Eastern Studies
Degrees
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Yale University, 1990 Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Theology (Th.M.) in New Testament, Southern Seminary, 1985, 1986 Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Philosophy, Pomona College, 1982
Social/Academic Links
Courses Taught
- REL/JSP 114 The Bible in History, Culture, and Religion
- REL/JSP 215 The Jewish Bible/Christian Old Testament
- REL 301 Ancient Near Eastern Religions and Cultures
- REL/JSP 307 The Temple & the Dead Sea Scrolls
- REL/JSP 311 The Bible As Literature
- REL/JSP 316 The Torah/Pentateuch
- HON 340 Writing Scripture Law
- REL 610 Textual Practices: The Torah/Pentateuch
- REL 620 Textual Scripts: Iconic Books and Performative Texts
- REL 630 Textual Bodies: Pollution and Purity in Leviticus
- REL 690 Textual Archives: The Functions of Scriptures
I teach Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern textual traditions with courses range from biblical studies to the religions and literatures of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ugarit, and Israel, including Second Temple Judaism. My research involves the overlaps between rhetoric, ritual and scriptures. An assignment to write a large commentary on Leviticus has me focused on very detailed texts in their ancient Near Eastern and later Jewish and Christian contexts, while the Iconic Books Project provides a vehicle for considering the functions of scriptures from trans-cultural and trans-historical perspectives. At the graduate level, I teach mostly in the Texts & Contexts concentration of the Religion MA and PhD programs. I am interested in directing graduate research on iconic books, biblical ritual texts, and scripturalization.
Professor, Syracuse University, 2007-present
Chair, SU Department of Religion, 2009-2015
William P. Tolley Professor in the Humanities, 2011-2013
Chair, SU Humanities Council, 2010-2012
Director of Graduate Studies, SU Department of Religion, 2006-2009
Associate Professor, Syracuse University, 1999-2007
Core Faculty, Renée Crown Honors Program, 2004-07
Undergraduate Coordinator, SU Department of Religion, 2000-2004
Director, SU Religion & Society Program, 2002-2004
Chair, Pentateuch Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, 1998-2003 Associate Professor, Hastings College, 1998-1999
Assistant Professor, Hastings College, 1993-1998
Adjunct, Stetson University, Barry University, Valencia Community College 1991-1993
Visiting Assistant Professor, Stetson University, 1990-1991
Instructor, Yale Divinity School, 1989
(Nov. 8, 2017)
Religion Professor James Watts examines first five books of Bible
(April 15, 2016)
Watts is visiting fellow at Ruhr University in Germany
