Department of Religious Studies

Susan Hylen

Mellon Assistant Professor of New Testament
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B.A. University of California, 1990

M.Div. Princeton Theological Seminary, 1995

Ph.D. Emory University, 2004

Curriculum Vita (PDF)

In the classroom, Professor Hylen teaches practices of New Testament interpretation. She equips students to become interpreters of the biblical texts and to interact with and evaluate other readings. Her current courses at Vanderbilt include Themes in the New Testament, The Book of Revelation and its Interpreters, The Gospel of John, Early Christian Women, and Theology and the New Testament.

Prof. Hylen's research interests focus on literary aspects of the Gospel of John-in particular, metaphor, irony, and characterization. Understanding John's literary techniques in the light of contemporary Hellenistic Judaism is an important aspect of this research. Her current project is a study of John's characters.

 Publications:

• Allusion and Meaning in John 6. Beiheifte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2005.
• John. Westminster Bible Companion. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. (Co-authored with Gail R. O'Day.)
• "Genealogies and Exegesis." Pages 305-306 in Teaching the Bible: Practical Strategies for Classroom Instruction. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.
• "The Power and Problem of Revelation 18: The Rhetorical Function of Gender." Pages 205-219 in Pregnant Passion: Gender, Sex, and Violence in the Bible. Edited by Cheryl Kirk-Duggan. Semeia 44. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
• Book Review, God Dwells with Us: Temple Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel, by Mary L. Coloe (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2001). Review of Biblical Literature on-line reviews (www.bookreviews.org), 6/7/2003.
• "Forgiveness and Life in Community," Interpretation 54 (2000) 146-57.