Join us for a public conversation about the past, present, and future of Dead Sea Scrolls research. We will be joined by three world-renowned experts on the Dead Sea Scrolls: Matthew Goff (Professor of Religion, Florida State University), Maxine Grossman (Associate Professor of Jewish studies and Religious Studies, University of Maryland), and Alex Jassen (Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University). The conversation will be moderated by own Daniel Falk (Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Jewish Studies). This event will be aimed at public audience and will be accessible for undergraduate students and interested members of the State College community and beyond!

Matthew Goff is a professor in the Department of Religion, part of Florida State University’s (FSU) College of Arts and Sciences. He earned his master of theological studies degree from Harvard Divinity School in 1997 and his doctorate from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 2002, both in biblical studies, before joining FSU’s faculty in 2005. He was appointed president of the American Academy of Religion - Southeast Region in 2024. His publications focus on the Dead Sea Scrolls and ancient Judaism. Goff’s most recent book, The Apocrypha: A Guide, was published by Oxford University Press in September 2024 and provides an introduction to a collection of sacred texts, examining their themes and historical significance.

Maxine Grossman includes among her research interests the study of ancient Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls; methods and theories in the study of religion; gender studies; and articulations of lived religious experience in contemporary society. Her books include Reading for History in the Damascus Document: A Methodological Study (Brill, 2002), and the edited collection, Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls: An Assessment of Old and New Approaches and Methods (2010). Her scholarly work on the Dead Sea Scrolls has included articles on priesthood, sectarianism, and postmodern approaches to the scrolls, and her current scholarship focuses on gender, sexuality, embodiment, and sectarian identity in the scrolls.

Alex P. Jassen is the Ethel and Irvin Edelman Associate Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in Jewish studies and Near Eastern languages and civilizations from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in Hebrew and Judaic studies from New York University. He has published widely on the Dead Sea Scrolls and ancient Judaism and is a member of the international editorial team responsible for publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is the author of Mediating the Divine: Prophecy and Revelation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism (Brill, 2007), winner of the 2009 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise; Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Cambridge University Press, 2014); as well as many articles and reviews; and co-editor of Scripture, Violence, and Textual Practice in Early Judaism and Christianity (Brill, 2010).