Maria E Doerfler

Maria E. Doerfler serves as Assistant Professor of Late Antiquity in Yale University's Department of Religions Studies. Her work focuses on individuals' and communities' interpretation of authoritative texts -- whether law, philosophy, or Scripture -- in times of crisis.

Her forthcoming book, Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son: The Death of Children in Late Antiquity, addresses Christian responses to childhood mortality in an era in which communities lost as many as 50% of their children to premature death. The book explores the deployment of biblical narratives -- including those of Eve and Adam, Abraham and Jephthah -- to develop a pedagogy of emotions for grieving families.

She is currently working on another monograph on the intersection of writing law and creating sacred histories.