Amy E. Meverden, MA, MDiv, PhD `18
Visiting Assistant Professor of New Testament and Director, Writing Center
CONTACT
3041 Broadway, AD 414
New York, NY 10027
212-280-1362
ameverden@uts.columbia.edu
EDUCATION
B.A., Colorado Christian University
M.Div, Fuller Theological Seminary
M.A., Fuller Theological Seminary
M.A., Fuller Theological Seminary
M.A., New York University
Ph.D., Union Theological Seminary
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Meverden is the Writing Center Director and Visiting Associate Professor of New Testament.
She is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary’s Ph.D. program in Biblical Studies—New Testament with a minor in Hebrew Bible. Her research involves the intertextual relationship between the New Testament and Hebrew Bible, visual exegesis—the reading of images with texts, and intersectionality in the Bible with a specific focus on power, ecology, and access.
Dr. Meverden founded and continues to direct the Writing Center at Union Theological Seminary. She teaches a number of writing courses at Union Theological Seminary that focus on the holistic nature of empowered graduate writing and meets with students weekly at the Writing Center. She has a passion for helping students overcome writer’s anxiety and strives to inspire students to thrive in their academic performance.
Her first book, Grasping for Power from the Tree of Life: A Visual Reading of Revelation 22, a forthcoming publication with Fortress Press, focuses on the intersection of imperial visual imagery and the text image of the Tree of Life in Revelation 22.
PREVIOUS COURSES
Graduate Writing Seminar
Thesis Writing for Graduate Students
The Revelation to John: Empire, Power, and the Tree of Life
Foreigners, Migration, and Hospitality Across the Bible
Introduction to Biblical Languages: Hebrew and Greek
Summer Biblical Hebrew Intensive
Summer Biblical Greek Intensive
RECENT COURSES
JANUARY 2021, JANUARY 2022
This course provides a basic introduction to biblical Hebrew and Greek to help future pastors and church leaders explore biblical texts in their original languages. While not a replacement for biblical language study, it familiarizes students with a range of ancient language resources to aid in biblical study and interpretation of biblical texts. Students learn both the Hebrew and Greek alphabets and gain experience with lexical tools, including interlinear bibles, dictionaries, concordances, and computer resources.
SUMMER 2020
A sequential introduction to the basic grammar and vocabulary of biblical Greek. The course also focuses on skills in reading and writing Greek.
SUMMER 2021
A sequential introduction to the basic grammar and vocabulary of biblical Hebrew. The course also focuses on skills in reading and writing Hebrew.
FALL 2020
This course teaches essential skills of exegeting biblical texts in a practice-oriented way. Both testaments and different genres are covered. While current theories of interpretation and the broad range of exegetical methods are briefly outlined, the focus is on the practical work of reading, analyzing, and understanding texts both on the literary level as well as in their socio-historic contexts. The section has a specific focus reflected in the title: Exegesis; Foreigners, Migration and Hospitality Across the Bible.
SPRING 2021
Revelation is perhaps one of the most notorious and misunderstood books of the Bible. Given the violent warfare, natural disasters, beasts of empire, and ominous portents, the average readers of Revelation find themselves perplexed by its symbolism and at a loss for its contemporary relevance. This course seeks to “decode” Revelation through a prominent image that opens and closes the book and speaks directly to the abuses of empire and power: The Tree of Life. An empire-critical, visual-exegetical framework is employed to Revelation in order to engage themes of power, ecology, and identity. Students engage Revelation’s Roman imperial context and visual imagery while performing a close reading of the biblical text to produce contextual interpretations for a world in desperate need of hope and transformation.