Jordan Smith
Lecturer, Biblical Studies
Jordan Smith received his Ph.D. from Florida State University in 2008. He joined the University of Iowa faculty in 2008 as the Lecturer in Biblical Studies.
Research:
Dr. Smith's research program focuses on the interaction of Judaism, Christianity, and Greco-Roman philosophy. Particularly, he is interested in the development of the afterlife and its role in both apocalyptic and martyr literature. He is currently working on an article on the didactic role of martyrdom in the thought of the Church Father Origen of Alexandria. His future research interests concern the role of the afterlife in Judaism and Christianity from 500 BCE to 300 CE as a response to the suffering of the righteous. He has begun work on his first book, which focuses on the use of the afterlife in martyr literature as a means of justifying the current suffering of God's chosen by tranforming God's promises and rewards from this world to the afterlife.
Teaching:
Dr. Smith teaches courses in Bible, Judaism, Christianity, and the Greco-Roman world, several of which are cross-listed in the Departments of Religious Studies and Classics..
- 032:011 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
- 032:012 Introduction to the New Testament
- 032:094 Jesus and His Interpreters
- 032:092 Messianic and Apocalyptic Prophecy in the Bible
- 032:109 (20E:109) The Development of the Afterlife in Judaism and Christianity
- 032:107 (20E:107) In Search of the Good Life
Selected Publications (for complete list, please see Dr. Smith's CV):
- Fritz Cates, Diana and Jordan Smith (forthcoming, 2010). Vice. Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic).
- “Testify: Origen, Martyria, and the Christian Life.” Ph.D. diss, Florida State University, 2008.
Awards & Service:
- Faculty Advisor, The University of Iowa, Students Today, Leaders Forever