dr. Silvia Castelli

In the field of Early Judaism, stemming from my first PhD dissertation, I have written extensively on Jewish texts in Greek, notably Josephus’ text, biblical interpretation, narrative, and reception, but also on Philo of Alexandria, the Septuagint, and the Greco-Roman context of first-century Judaism. My publications (see Research output.) show a sustained engagement with this research line. 

In the area of New Testament studies, I have been working on the history of New Testament textual criticism, with a focus on the history of methodology (conjectural emendation, criteria for evaluating readings, text types). My second PhD dissertation, on the history of the criteria for evaluating variant readings, was published in Brill's NTTSD series in 2020 (see here).

In response to the lack of a coherent interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of biblical studies and spiritual care, I initiated and now co-chair, together with Peter-Ben Smit, the SBL Annual Meeting program unit Biblical Studies and Spiritual Care: Intersections of Pastoral Praxis and Biblical Hermeneutics. The unit fosters methodologically rigorous research through sustained interdisciplinary collaboration and actively works in partnership with other SBL units and the AAR Innovations in Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care unit. A volume on Biblical Interpretation and Spiritual Care in the Context of Healthcare is forthcoming, and a second volume on the carceral context is in preparation. Several further initiatives are connected to this research, and please feel free to contact me if you are interested in this line of inquiry.

Trained as a Classicist and a firm believer in interdisciplinary research and team science, I have also worked on the role of agency in innovation for the project Anchoring Innovation (Dutch National Research School in Classical Studies) at Leiden University. The volume resulting from that research was published by Brill in 2023 and is available Open Access (see here).

In my early career, I undertook several funded research stays abroad. I held a 18-months fellowship at the Institut für Europäische Geschichte in Mainz and I was a one-year Lady Davis Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During my first PhD, I also conducted a three-month research stay at Yale University.

For an updated overview of my publications, see my Research output.

My teaching history includes courses at all academic levels. At the University of Trento, Italy (2004-2009) I have been teaching several courses of Greek and Roman History open to third year BA as well as MA students: Ancient Greek historiography of the Near-East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia, Palestine; Ancient Judaism from a Greek perspective; Diaspora: Jewish Interaction in the Greco-Roman World; Ancient Greek Religion: An Introduction; Ancient Greek divination; Early Christianity in the Roman empire; Roman Palestine: A Geographic and Archaeological Approach; Anti-Semitism in ancient Rome? Problem and Sources; Ancient Roman Religion: An Introduction; The Jewish Community of Ancient Rome. 

At Leiden University (2021-22 and 2023-24), I have been teaching the (Res)MA course Shem in the Tents of Japhet: Exploring Cultural Negotiation in Greco-Roman Jewish-Greek Literature. 

In 2022 I have been a Visiting Professor at the University of Pavia, where I taught the MA course History of Judaism in the Roman Age.

At VU, I am the coordinator of the BA Greek courses (Greek I-II-III), I teach myself Greek II and III, and I am responsible for the Reading group NT Greek, specifically aimed to PhD students but open to other students as well. 

Supervision

I am currently (co-)supervising four PhD students: Marie-Josée Fortin, working on composite citations in the NT, Ramy Shenouda, working on the Samaritans in the NT, Henk Veldhuijzen, working on Hebrews 13, and Charlotte Gibson, working on intertextuality in Luke 1-2.

I enjoy the supervision activity and welcome PhD students in the area of Early Judaism, Greco-Roman and Jewish backgrounds of the NT, Research Methods of the NT, Textual History of the Greek New Testament, and the intersection of Biblical Studies and Spiritual Care.

No ancillary activities

Ancillary activities are updated daily