Professor of Religion and William Goodwin Aurelio Chair in the Appreciation of Scripture
David Frankfurter teaches in the areas of early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature, early and late antique Christianity, and comparative approaches to magic, popular religion, cults of saints, and religion and violence. His publications include Religion in Roman Egypt: Assimilation and Resistance (1998) and Evil Incarnate: Rumors of Demonic Conspiracy and Satanic Abuse in History(2006), both from Princeton University Press and both winners of the American Academy of Religion’s award for Excellence in the Study of Religion, as well as numerous articles on apocalyptic literature, martyrology, magic, and the Christianization of Egypt.
Courses in Jewish Studies
- The Open Heaven: Apocalyptic Literature in Early Judaism and Christianity (RN 308/608)
- Magical Texts: Literature and Practice (RN 494/794)
- Religions of the World: Western (RN 104)
This past year, David Frankfurter published a book of selected essays with Edinburgh University Press, entitled Magic, Charisma, and Violence in Late Antiquity: Essays in Religion, and a theoretical article: “Ritual and the Enemy Body: A New Approach to Modern Atrocity,” in Comparative Studies in Society and History 67 (2025). Other articles appeared in Jewish Studies Quarterly, the new Italian journal Quotidiana, and several collected volumes. Prof. Frankfurter taught RN 105: Introduction to the World’s Religions for both the Fall and Spring semesters. Next year, he will take a break to teach RN 106: Religion and Death as well as JS 210: The Hebrew Bible and JS 211: From Jesus to Christ.