John Ahrens

Professor of Philosophy

(812) 866-7223

ahrens@hanover.edu

Education:

Ph.D., University of Iowa

Teaching Areas / Expertise / Specializations:

Teaching Areas: Ethics, Political Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Law

Links:

Paul Battles

Professor of English

(812) 866-7208

battles@hanover.edu

Biography:

Professor Battles joined the English department in 1999. He teaches courses in early and medieval literature, linguistics, literary theory, and fantasy and science fiction. His research interests include Old and Middle English poetry, genre, intertextuality, and Germanic myth.

Education:

Ph.D. (1998) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; M.A. (1992) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; B.A. (1990) Vanderbilt University.

Teaching Areas / Expertise / Specializations:

Medieval literature, Classical literature, Linguistics, Old English language and literature, Germanic myth and legend, Literary Theory, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Publications:

“Of Graves, Caves, and Subterranean Dwellings: Eorðscræf and Eorðsele in The Wife's Lament.” Philological Quarterly 73 (1994): 267-86.

This article has been reprinted in: Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism 55, ed. Jelena Krstovic (Detroit: The Gale Group, 2003), pp. 213-221.

“‘The Mark of the Beast’: Rudyard Kipling’s Apocalyptic Vision of Empire.” Studies in Short Fiction 33.2 (1996): 333-44.

The Christian Elements in Beowulf. (Translation of Friedrich Klaeber, “Die christlichen Elemente im Beowulf,” orig. publ. in Anglia 35 and 36.) OEN Subsidia 24. Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 1996. 92 pp.

“Chaucer and the Traditions of Dawn-Song.” The Chaucer Review 31 (1997): 317-38.

“Genesis A and the Anglo-Saxon Migration Myth.” Anglo-Saxon England 29 (2000): 45-68.

“Magic and Metafiction in The Franklin’s Tale: Chaucer’s Clerk of Orléans as Double of the Franklin.” In Timothy S. Jones and David A. Sprunger, eds., Marvels, Monsters, and Miracles: Studies in the Medieval and Early Modern Imagination. Studies in Medieval Culture 42. Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 2002. 243-66.

“In Folly Ripe, in Reason Rotten: The Flower and the Leaf and the ‘Purgatory of Cruel Beauties.’” Medium Aevum 72 (2003): 238-58.

“Dwarfs in Germanic Literature: Deutsche Mythologie or Grimm’s Myths?” In T. A. Shippey, ed., The Shadow-walkers: Jacob Grimm’s Mythography of the Monstrous. Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies 291. Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2005. 29-82.

“What is ‘Middle-Earth’? Origin, Evolution, and Mythic Function.” In Andrew Wawn, ed., Constructing Nations, Reconstructing Myth. Turnhout: Brepols, 2007. 319-42.

“Sir Gawain’s bryght and broun Diamonds (SGGK, l. 618).” Notes and Queries 252 (2007): 370-71.

“Building a Better Introduction to Medieval English Literature Course.” Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching 15 (2008): 39-46. (With Dominique Battles.)

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Stanzas 32-34.” The Explicator 67 (2008): 22-24.

“Amended Texts, Emended Ladies: Female Agency and the Textual Editing of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” Forthcoming in The Chaucer Review.

Links:

Dave Cassel

Professor of Theological Studies

(812) 866-6747

cassel@hanover.edu

Biography:

J. David Cassel teaches courses in the areas of biblical studies, the history of biblical interpretation, New Testament Greek, C.S. Lewis, religious themes in young adult literature, theology and the environment, and theology and the arts. He is a strong supporter of off-campus study, and he regularly teaches courses in Israel and Italy. Cassel's research interests include studies in the early church, the history of the interpretation of the Adam and Eve story, the theological understanding of sin and Christianity and nature.

Education:

Ph.D. University of Virginia, M.Div. Princeton Theological Seminary, B.A. Grinnell College

Teaching Areas / Expertise / Specializations:

Bible
Jesus
Early Church
History of Biblical Interpretation
Theology and the Arts
Theology and the Environment
C.S. Lewis
Early Christianity in Italy
The Holy Land
The Theology of Sin

Publications:

"Principles of Exegesis Governing Didymus the Blind's Interpretation of Genesis 3" - article submitted for publication.

"Destruction of Jerusalem," "Philo" and "Sophia" in the New Westminster Dictionary of Church History. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 2008.

"Patristic Interpretation of Isaiah." As Those Who Are Taught: The Interpretation of Isaiah from the LXX to the SBL (edited by Claire Mathews-McGinnis and Patricia Hull). Atlanta: SBL Press, 2006, 145-170.

"Patristic and Rabbinic Interpretations of Genesis 3 - A Case Study in Contrasts." Studia Patristica Vol. XXXIX. Leuven: Peeters, 2006, 203-211.

"Who Needs All These Bibles?" Covenant Companion, May 2002.

"Cyril of Alexanderia as Educator." In Dominico Eloquio - In Lordly Eloquence: Essays on Patristic Exegesis in Honor of Robert Louis Wilken. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002, 348-368.

"Key Principles in Cyril of Alexandria's Exegesis." Studia Patristica, Vol. XXXVII. Leuven: Peeters, 2001, 413-420.

"Communist Plots and Loose Livers: The Story behind Five of the Most Popular English Translations of the Bible." Covenant Companion, February 2001.

"Top 10 Saints." Covenant Companion, November 1999.

"Cyril of Alexandria." The Encyclopedia of Christianity (eds. Erwin Fahlbusch ... et al.) Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999.

"Response to Scot McKnight." Ex Auditu, Volume 14, 1998.

"Stewardship: Experiencing and Expressing God's Nurturing Love."
American Baptist Quarterly, March, 1998.

"Seven Short Devotionals." The Covenant Home Altar, April-June, 1998.

"Defending the Cannibals." Christian History February, 1998 (reprinted as part of the SIRS Renaissance Computer Data Base for Libraries and Schools, September 1998).

"Defenders of the Faith." in the Christian History study
guide, The Early Church, 1995.

"Cyril of Alexandria: Champion of Christology." Covenant Companion, September 1994.

"Athanasius: Advocate for Equality within the Godhead." Covenant Companion, August 1994.

"Origen of Alexandria: Saint or Heretic?" Covenant Companion, July 1994.

"Irenaeus of Lyons: Defining and Protecting Orthodoxy." Covenant Companion, June 1994.

"Justin Martyr: Defending the Faith until Death." Covenant Companion, May 1994.

"Saints, Heroes, and Heretics." Covenant Companion, April 1994.

"Adult Bible Study Materials Review." Chicago: Department of Discipleship and Christian Education, Evangelical Covenant Church, 1988 (revised edition, 1990).

"Rhythm and Rainbows: A Unique Outreach Ministry." Covenant
Companion, March 1986 (Reprinted in JED Share Magazine, June 1986).

"Fit for the Battle: A Four Part Series on the book of Joshua."
Covenant Companion, August, September, October, and November 1984.

"Retired but not Through." Covenant Companion, May 15, 1983.

"The Covenant Baptismal Debate: A Review and a Proposal." Narthex, September 1, 1981.

"To Build or not to Build?" Covenant Companion, October 1, 1980.

"Mary Who?" Covenant Companion, April 1, 1980.

"New Covenant Sings the New Covenant." Covenant Companion,
February 1, 1980.

John Martin

Professor of Art History

(812) 866-7333

martnj@hanover.edu

Education:

Ph.D., University of Louisville

Teaching Areas / Expertise / Specializations:

19th Century Art, European Art, Ancient Art, Contemporary Art, American Art

Jonathan Smith

Professor of English

(812) 866-7213

smith@hanover.edu

Biography:

Jonathan Smith came to Hanover in 1974, with a doctorate from Indiana University. A specialist in Shakespeare, he has headed Hanover's Shakespeare in England program starting with the 1977 course, taking 18 groups of students to Stratford-upon-Avon to study Shakespeare in conjunction with performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In addition to Shakespeare, Renaissance and Drama courses, he regularly teaches first-year courses in Great Works. Smith has recently been added to the Indiana Historical Society Speakers Bureau list as an expert on the early history of the word "hoosier."

Education:

B.A., Harvard College
Ph.D., Indiana University

Teaching Areas / Expertise / Specializations:

Literature and drama of the English Renaissance
Shakespeare
Shakespeare in England
African American Literature
Great Works

Publications:

"A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Allegory of the Theologians," Christianity and Literature 28 (1979).

"The Denial of the Shepherd," in Roy Battenhouse, ed., Shakespeare's Christian Dimension (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994).

"Not Southern Scorn but Local Pride: The Origin of the Word Hoosier and Indiana's River Culture," Indiana Magazine of History 103 (2007).

"New Findings on the Earliest Written Uses of 'Hoosier,'" Indiana Magazine of History 104 (2008).

"George Keats: The "Money Brother" of John Keats and His Life in Louisville," The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 106 (2008).

Plays:

"Lads of Eastcheap,"adaptation of Shakespeare, performed in 2004, Hanover College Theatre.

Larry Thornton

Professor of History

(812) 866-7201

thornton@hanover.edu

Biography:

Professor Thornton teaches Modern European History and specializes in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s.

Teaching: Tsarist Russia, Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Holocaust, Genocide, French Revolution and Napoleon, World in 1968, World Since 1945.
Travel Courses: History and Literature of Modern Ireland, War in Vietnam, Russia.

International Experience: Travel to +30 countries. HC Faculty International Study Tour to Soviet Union, 1991. HC Faculty International Study Tour to China, 1993. HC Faculty International Study Tour to Holocaust Sites in Netherlands, Belgium, German, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Israel, 2005. Joseph J. Malone Faculty Fellow in Arab and Islamic Studies (travel to United Arab Emirates and Oman), 1993.

Awards: Arthur and Ilene Baynham Award for Outstanding Teaching, 1991 and 2004.

Education:

Ph.D., University of Illinois

Teaching Areas / Expertise / Specializations:

Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. Attitudes about War as Expressed by Oxford University Students, 1919-1939.