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R. Christopher Heard Faculty Profile

Christopher Heard

Professor of Religion
Religion and Philosophy Division, Seaver College
APC 278
310.506.4299

Education


  • PhD, Religious Studies, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, 2000
  • MA, Old Testament Studies, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX, 1993
  • BA, Human Communication, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX, 1989

 

  • "Biblical Composition and Biblical Inspiration." Pages 117–144 in Revelation and Leadership in the Kingdom of God: Studies in Honor of Ian Arthur Fair, ed. Andrei Orlov. Gorgias Biblical Studies 72. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias, 2020.
  • "The Tree of Life in Genesis." Pages 75–99 in The Tree of Life, ed. Douglas Estes. Themes in Biblical Narrative. Leiden: Brill, 2020.
  • "In the Creator's Image: Divine and Mundane Self-Reproduction in Science-Fiction Films." Pages 49–59 in T&T Clark Companion to the Bible and Film, ed. Richard G. Walsh. Bloomsbury Companions. London: T&T Clark/Bloomsbury, 2018.
  • "Character-izing Gameful Learning: Using Student-guided Narratives to Motivate, Engage, and Inform Learners." Co-authored with Steven V. Rouse. Pages 127–142 in Teaching Religion Using Technology in Higher Education, ed. John Hilton III. New York: Routledge, 2018.
  • "The Lord Determines How the Dice Fall: Exegesis and Theology in Three Recent Board Games." Stone-Campbell Journal 21 (2018): 75–89.Drawing (on) the Text: Biblical Reception in Animated Films. Pp. 267-283 in The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of Biblical Reception in Film. Ed. Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2016.
  • The Genesis of Identity in the Biblical World. Co-authored with Danna Nolan Fewell. Pp. 109-124 in The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Narrative. Ed. Danna Nolan Fewell. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
  • On the Road to Paran: Toward a Christian Perspective on Hagar and Ishmael. Interpretation 68 (2014): 270-285.
  • Animated Films. Pp. 26-31 in Encyclopedia of Religion and Film. Ed. Eric Mazur. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO/Greenwood, 2011.
  • God. Pp. 197-203 in Encyclopedia of Religion and Film. Ed. Eric Mazur. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO/Greenwood, 2011.
  • What Does the Mob Want Lot to Do in Genesis 19:9? Hebrew Studies 51 (2010).
  • Genesis. Pp. 107-142 in The Transforming Word: A One-Volume Commentary on the Bible. Ed. Mark W. Hamilton et al. Abilene: Abilene Christian University Press, 2009.
  • Triangulating Responsibility: How and Why Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael Offer and Refuse the Gift of Death, and to/from Whom. Pp. 151-166 in Derrida's Bible: Reading a Page of Scripture with a Little Help from Derrida. Ed. Yvonne M. Sherwood. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
  • Dynamics of Diselection: Ambiguity in Genesis 12-36 and Ethnic Boundaries in Post-Exilic Judah. Semeia Studies. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001.
  • They're Not Just Bad, They're Stupid and Ugly, Too: The Depiction of Baal-Worshipers in Nest Entertainment's Animated Stories from the Bible. Pp. 89-103 in Culture, Entertainment, and the Bible. Edited by George Aichele. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
  • Hearing the Children's Cries: Commentary, Deconstruction, Ethics, and the Book of Habakkuk. Semeia 77 (1997) 75-89.
  • Waves of Innovation IV Development Grant (2019-2020)
  • Pepperdine University Technology and Learning Grant (2015-2016)
  • Pepperdine University Technology and Learning Grant (2013-2014)
  • Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies Teaching Grant (2013-2014)
  • Faculty Innovation in Technology and Learning Grant (2009-2010)
  • Seaver Research Council Grant (2009-2010)
  • Howard A. White Award for Teaching Excellence (2007)
  • Seaver Fellow in Religion, 2005-2006
  • Armstrong Fellow in Religion, 2004-2005
  • Society of Biblical Literature (member, 1998-present; co-founder of Genesis section and co-chair, 2011-2016)
  • Society of Biblical Literature, Pacific Coast Region (Regional Coordinator, 2013-present, past president, 2010-2011; president, 2009-2010; vice president, 2008-2009; chair, Hebrew Bible section, 2006-2013)
  • Catholic Biblical Association (member)
  • National Association of Professors of Hebrew (member)

Topics

  • Judean culture, history, and literature in the Persian period
  • Literary features of biblical narrative
  • Reception history and reception theory, focusing on the Bible in popular culture
  • The book of Genesis

Courses

  • Old Testament in Context
  • The Pentateuch
  • The Wisdom Literature
  • Elementary Hebrew I-II
  • Intermediate Hebrew I