Dan Clanton

Associate Professor

Phone Number: 402.826.8229
Department: Philosophy & Religious Studies
Office: GA230
Email: [email protected]
Primary Campus: Crete
Credentials: BA, MA, PHD

About

 

Dan W. Clanton, Jr. holds a Ph.D. in Religious and Theological Studies from the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology, with an emphasis in Biblical Studies.  His MA in Biblical Interpretation was awarded from Iliff, and he received a BA in Religion from Hendrix College.  He has taught at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs; the University of Denver; the Iliff School of Theology; and Arapahoe Community College.  Beginning in August 2008, he is the Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Doane University.

 

His research interests include artistic, musical, and literary interpretations of biblical literature as well as the intersection between religion and culture. Along these lines, he has presented and published on topics such as:

 

• The NBC drama Law & Order.
• The view of Hanukkah in such shows as Friends and South Park.
• The Jewish identities of modern musicians such as Matisyahu and the Hip Hop Hoodios.
• The portrayal(s) of Jesus in modern American popular culture.
• How sexual violence is understood in the Prophetic books and on television police procedurals like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
• The overlap between the book of Jonah and the comic book series Jonah Hex. 

 

He served for several years on the Editorial Board for the Society of Biblical Literature’s online publication, the SBL Forum, where he published a series of articles examining the reception of the Bible in graphic novels.  His first book, The Good, the Bold, and the Beautiful: The Story of Susanna and Its Renaissance Interpretations, was published in 2006 by T&T Clark.  Clanton has also contributed extensively to a book published by the Society of Biblical Literature in November 2007 titled Teaching the Bible through Popular Culture and the Arts.  His 2009 book—titled Daring, Disreputable, and Devout: Interpreting the Hebrew Bible's Women in the Arts and Music—focused on aesthetic and scholarly interpretations of biblical women.  He has recently edited or co-edited two books: The End Will Be Graphic: Apocalyptic in Comic Books and Graphic Novels; and Understanding Religion and Popular Culture, both published in 2012.

 

In addition to spending time with his family and reading comic books, he enjoys collecting and listening to classical, jazz, and Americana music, and watching far too much television.