Naomi Janowitz

Naomi Janowitz is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Davis, where she serves as Undergraduate Faculty Advisor. She received her B.A. with honors in Religious Studies from Brown University, an M.A. in History of Religions from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. from the Department of Early Christian Literature at the University of Chicago. Additionally, she is a graduate of the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. Her research specializations include religions of late antiquity, methods for the study of religion, psychoanalytic approaches to religion, Judaism in the Greco-Roman context, Hellenistic religions, ritual practices, magic, and semiotics. Janowitz has made significant contributions to understanding ancient religious practices and their semiotic ideologies.

Janowitz has published extensively, with key books including Acts of Interpretation: Ancient Religious Semiotic Ideologies and Their Modern Echoes (de Gruyter, 2022), The Family Romance of Maccabean Martyrdom (Routledge, 2017), Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (Penn State University Press, 2002), Magic in the Roman World (Routledge, 2001), and The Poetics of Ascent: Theories of Language in a Rabbinic Ascent Text (SUNY Press, 1989). Her articles have appeared in prominent journals such as Religions, History of Religions, Signs and Society, Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies, and Journal of Early Christian Studies, covering topics like the semiosis of blood in sacrifice, divine names, love magic, and martyrdom fantasies. She has received the Fulbright Fellowship for research in Israel (1985-1986), American Council of Learned Societies Research Fellowship (1987-1988), Outstanding Academic Book Award from Library/Choice Journal for Icons of Power (2002), Committee on Special Research and Training Essay Prize from the American Psychoanalytic Association (2004), and Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award (2005). She has served as President of the UC Davis Kappa Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and hosts the Office Hour podcast on KDVS radio, discussing ethics with UC Davis faculty.

Professional Email: nhjanowitz@ucdavis.edu