Madadh Richey studies discourses of mythology, magic, and monstrosity in ancient Middle Eastern religions. Her current book project, Visions of Gods and Monsters, explores religious and social functions of divine-combat images in visual art of the Levant and Mesopotamia during the Iron Age. She is also at work on queer- and horror-theoretical aspects of ancient Middle Eastern demons and the semantics of decapitation in the biblical Deuteronomistic History and beyond. In an effort to broaden the source basis for these broader inquiries, Madadh publishes first editions and studies of epigraphic texts in late-second- and first-millennium B.C.E. Northwest Semitic languages, including Ugaritic, Phoenician and Punic, and various dialects of Aramaic. Her ongoing work in this area includes publications of new inscriptions from Zincirli (ancient Sam’al) and of forgotten sources for Aramaic-language magical praxis.

Fall 2020

REL 354: Advanced Biblical Hebrew: Violence and the State in the Hebrew Bible
(HA) Graded A-F, P/D/F, Audit Total Course Enrollment 30
Professor(s): Madadh Richey
11:00am – 12:20pm M Class
9:00am – 10:20pm F Class
Department Area Requirement: Does NOT satisfy sub-field requirement; does NOT count as departmental.