• 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/ABD 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 focuses broadly on the history of early Christianity and its formative encounters with the cults, philosophies, myths 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 formation of “religion” as a category of thought. Situating Lactantius in various classical & late ancient intellectual contexts, Daniel traces the emergence of “religion” in relation to • theories of justice, humanism, and critiques of empire; • the history of philosophy, rhetoric, and (Christian) Platonism; and • discourses of slavery, freedom, and religious liberty as a human right. What emerges from this study, Daniel argues, is an evocative portrait of one ancient person’s struggle against imperialism, tyranny, and oppression through the thinking of (and thinking about) “religion”, resonant with (perhaps even foreshadowing) modern liberation movements and theologies.

Daniel’s teaching expertise includes courses on: • Christian scriptures, apocrypha, 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; (and) • Magic, demonology, medicine, health, and healing in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. Daniel has designed and taught, assisted with, and/or guest-lectured in religious studies and writing courses at Syracuse & Lehigh University (see CV). In 2024, nominated by the faculty of SU's Department of Religion, they received the Graduate School of Syracuse University’s Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.

Daniel has served in numerous positions cultivating shared governance, advocacy, and inclusivity at Syracuse University, including: • (currently) 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. They are also an active member of the North American Patristics Society (NAPS) as well as the American Academy of Religion (AAR), where they are a member of the Platonism & Neoplatonism Unit Steering Committee.