Jorunn J. Buckley

Associate Professor of Religion, Chair of Religion Department

Phone (207) 725-3687
Title Associate Professor
Department Religion
Work Location 23 Ashby House
E-Mail jbuckley@bowdoin.edu
Jorrun Buckley: Bowdoin College: Religion

Education:

Cand. mag. (Oslo),
Cand. philol. (Bergen)
Ph.D. (Chicago)

Jorunn J. Buckley, a historian of religions (comparative perspective), works in Gnostic religions, particularly with the Mandaeans, who are the last, still-living Near Eastem Gnostics from ancient times. Involvement with the Mandaeans themselves, including advocacy, especially in political and religious asylum cases on behalf of Mandaeans. In February 2006 she recorded a podcast at Bowdoin College on her work on–and with–the Mandaeans. One of her latest book is The Great Stem of Souls: Reconstructing Mandaean History. She has edited a manuscript collection of Iraqi folktales, published together with a reissue of a long out-of-print book (from 1931) by by E. S. Drower. The current book’s title is Drower’s Folk-Tales of Iraq (see below). Bowdoin College Museums’ etching by William D. MacLeod, Arab Story Teller, graces the book’s cover.

Since the late 1970s, Buckley has held official positions in the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature. She has taught more than 30 courses in 12 institutions over a 27 year period. Her background in psychology and philosophy continues to inform her focus on myths, rituals, and theory and method in the study of religion.

Selected Publications

Books

Drower’s Folk-Tales of Iraq (edited by J. J. Buckley), Gorgias Press, 2007

The Great Stem of Souls: Reconstructing Mandaean History, Gorgias Press, Piscataway, New Jersey. 2005

The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Contemporary People, Oxford University Press/ Scholars Press. 2002

Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen. Drower's Folk-Tales of Iraq   The Great Stem of Souls: Reconstructing Mandaean History   The Mandaeans Ancient Texts and Modern People

The Scroll of Exalted Kingship (Diwan Malkuta 'Laita) (A Mandaean Priest Initiation Text), American Oriental Society Translation Series vol. 3, New Haven, CT: The American Oriental Society. 1993

Female Fault and Fulfillment in Gnosticism, The University of North Carolina Press. 1986

Plus: a co-authored autobiography, in Norwegian, published in Norway, 2002.

Articles And Book Chapters (46 of them), Book Reviews (ca. 37), and Encyclopedia and Dictionary entries (ca. 27)

Active Professional Memberships

American Academy of Religion
Society of Biblical Literature
American Oriental Society