Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish History and Ancient Mediterranean Religions
Faculty
Dr. Ashley London Bacchi received her doctorate in Jewish History and Culture at the Graduate Theological Union in May 2015 and her Masters at the GTU and SKSM in Cultural and Historical Studies of Religion focusing on Jewish and Christian Traditions in 2010. She is from New York originally and received her BA in Classics with a double minor in Art History and Philosophy from Hartwick College. She moved to California in 2005 to receive a post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Classics from UC Davis before moving to Berkeley for her MA and PhD. Her dissertation, Uncovering Jewish Creativity: Gender & Intertextuality in Book III of the Sibylline Oracles, represented her background in Feminist and Literary Theory, Art History & Archaeology, and Ancient Mediterranean History.
Ashley has dedicated herself to an interdisciplinary approach to Ancient Mediterranean religions and culture to break down oppressive models that enforce simplistic dichotomies and hierarchies. A primary focus of her scholarship centers on women and power in the literary and material culture of the Hellenistic world to offer counter narratives to uncontested male dominance in Hellenistic literature and culture. This work contributes to feminist historical discourse on issues that have obscured the perception of women and power today such as women’s ordination, women’s reproductive rights, and gender diversity in political leadership. Ashley was the Program Coordinator for the Women’s Studies in Religion Certificate at the GTU for four years and the Program Coordinator for the Center for Jewish Studies at UC Berkeley. She has presented, taught, and published on topics such as manifestations of religious authority and leadership in Greco-Roman cults, Judaism, and Christianity, the role of children in conceptions of the afterlife, the influence of myth, ritual, and iconographic material in literary depictions, and the gendered experience of religion and power.
Ashley is proud to be a part of the SKSM community which embodies active social leadership and transformation through open dialogue, acceptance, and exploration. She is moving to Eureka California with her husband Rev. Dr. Daniel London, the new rector of Christ Episcopal Church. In addition to her academic work, Ashley is a ceramics artist who enjoys gardening and cooking. You can learn more about her research here and some of her art here.
