• Degree: Began Ph.D. program in 2018
• Concentration: Texts and Contexts/ Religions of the Classical and Late Ancient Mediterranean
• Advisor: Dr. Virginia Burrus

Daniel J. Kimmel (they/them) is a PhD Candidate in Religious Studies at Syracuse University.

Specializations: • Late Ancient Christianity • Religion in the Roman Empire • Magic in Antiquity • Neoplatonism & Theurgy • Method & Theory in the Study of Religion

Languages: • Latin • Ancient Greek • French • German

Daniel’s research and teaching encompasses the study of religion, philosophy, and magic in the ancient Mediterranean, with a particular focus on the history of early Christianity and its constructive encounters with the cults, philosophies, literatures and arts of Greco-Roman antiquity. In their dissertation, they provide a cultural history of the early 4th century Roman North African writer, Lactantius, and on the role of his magnum opus—the Divine Institutes—in the conceptual formation of religion and the human animal in late antiquity. Situating the Divine Institutes of Lactantius in its classical & late ancient intellectual contexts, Daniel unfolds the emergence of a conception of religion in relation to • Greco-Roman thought on justice, the social contract, and humanity/the humane; • ancient conceptions of philosophy as a way of life, Neoplatonic theurgy, and Christian Platonism; (and) • ancient discourses on slavery, the idea of freedom, and religious liberty.

Daniel’s teaching expertise includes courses on: • Christian scriptures, apocrypha, saints lives, and other literatures; • Key themes of late ancient Christianity, such as martyrdom, asceticism, polemics, apologetics, heresy, and orthodoxy; • Religion, philosophy, and art in the Roman empire, particularly in ways that highlight early Judaism and early Christianity as products of that historical context; • Magic, demonology, medicine, health, and healing in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East; • Religions of the World; (and) • Introduction to the Study of Religion. Daniel has instructed, assisted, and guest-lectured in religious studies and writing courses at Syracuse & Lehigh University, including developing and teaching an upper-division Ancient Magic course and teaching a lower-division course on religion in the Roman empire (i.e., Greco-Roman Religion). Nominated by the faculty of SU's Department of Religion, Daniel received the Graduate School of Syracuse University’s Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in 2024.

Daniel has served in numerous positions within the systems of shared governance at Syracuse University, including: • (presently) President & Chief Executive Officer of Syracuse University’s Graduate Student Organization; • Vice President & Chair of the Senate of Syracuse University’s Graduate Student Organization; (and) • Co-President of Syracuse University’s Religion Graduate Organization. In doing so, they have honed skills that include chairing efficient and equitable deliberative meetings, managing large organization budgets with strategic foresight, and building diverse coalitions around policies and initiatives that matter to the university community in life together. They are also an active member of the North American Patristics Society (NAPS) and the American Academy of Religion (AAR), where they are a member of the Platonism & Neoplatonism Unit Steering Committee.