Greg Schmidt Goering

As an undergraduate, I studied physics, math, and chemistry, because I wanted to become an engineer, but a J-term course in Israel and the West Bank during my 4th year of college piqued my interest in the religions of the region. After a 5-year break from academia working for an international development agency in Cairo and Washington, DC, I began graduate work in religious studies. Since 2007, I’ve taught Hebrew Bible, Early Judaism, and Biblical Hebrew in the Department of Religious Studies. I love to travel, because exposing myself to other peoples, places, and cultures not only helps me understand my world, it also helps me understand myself and my culture. My study abroad experience in college made me a big believer in experiential learning, which impacts the way I teach. I love to study history for the same reason I love to travel. As L.P. Hartley says, "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." Invariably, I discover major differences in the ways ancient Israelites and early Jews sensed and made sense, which helps me understand myself and my world better.