Research Interests

Main Research Fields

Thematic fields of expertise: 1) The formative roles of religious narratives, 2) religion and media, 3) the aesthetics / sensory / emotional dimensions of religion, 4) the fantastic and monstrous in the history of religions, 5) religion and the environment, wilderness mythologies and religion/’nature’-intersections, 6) forms of radical religion and total devotion.

Empirical fields of expertise: 1) Religion in ancient Mesopotamia, 2) The Hebrew Bible and 2nd Temple Judaisms, 3) ancient forms of Christianity, and 4) religion and contemporary popular culture, fantasy, and the contemporary spiritual landscape.

Education

• PhD, The Study of Religion, Aarhus University: October 30, 2009.
• Cand.mag. (MA), Assyriology, University of Copenhagen: April 19, 2004.

Employment

• 12/2023 - : Professor of the Study of Religion, Dept. of Culture and Languages, University of Southern Denmark
• 12/2012 – 11/2023: Associate Professor, The Study of Religion, Dept. of History, University of Southern Denmark.
• 10/2010-11/2012: Assistant Professor, History of Religion, Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen. Incl. “Adjunktpædagogikum” (university teacher training), on a DFF-post-doc grant.
• 09/2009- 08/2010: Post-doc, The Centre for Canon and Identity Formation in the Earliest Literate Societies, University of Copenhagen.
• 08/2009: A one-month post-doc grant from Aarhus University.

Maternity leaves

• 1) May 2005 - April 2006
• 2) Nov 2007 – Nov. 2008.

Philological qualifications

Philological competences: Research proficiency: Ancient languages: Sumerian, Akkadian, Biblical Hebrew, Greek (koine), Latin. Modern languages: English, German, French. Some proficiency: Modern: Ivrit (modern Hebrew, rama bet). Ancient: Arabic (Examen Arabicum), Phoenician.