Chris Paris

Chris Paris has an MA, MTS, and PhD in Religion from Vanderbilt University as well as an MA in Humanities and a BA in English and Religious Studies from Western Kentucky University. Growing up in a small southern town with no traffic lights has made him appreciate the many wonderful opportunities his university experiences have given him to meet people from different nations, cultures, and religions.

He currently serves as a board member for the Institute for Educational Volunteer Programs. Through this organization, he helps aspiring citizens to “Make America Home” by improving English skills as well as their access to education and jobs.

Paris is a narrative critic of the Hebrew Bible and is the author of Narrative Obtrusion in the Hebrew Bible. He has taught at Johns Hopkins University, Vanderbilt Divinity School, South University, American Intercontinental University, and Excelsior College. He enjoys conducting literary analysis of the Hebrew Bible while also looking for biblical references in popular culture, especially in graphic novels and comic books. His pop culture interests have expanded his audiences. Through Vanderbilt’s Programs for Talented Youth, he instructed middle and high school students in a summer course on the connections between superheroes and religion. He also served as a lecturer for Nashville Public Library’s Zombie Day.

He has taught the following courses at JHU: Literary Analysis of the Hebrew Bible, Apocalyptic in the Bible, Religion, and Popular Culture, and Religion of Politics, Politics of Religion.