Faculty in History
Dr. Jay Bregman
Professor of History
207-581-1918
330 Stevens Hall
E-Mail:
jay.bregman@umit.maine.edu
I teach all the courses offered by the department on the ancient
classical Mediterranean world and its culture, with particular attention
to the transition from the ancient to the medieval world, and Greek
religions of that era, known as late antiquity. Currently I teach the
introductory survey of European Civilization I (HTY 105), two one
semester advanced level courses on Greece and Rome (HTY 401,402), and
alternating every other year a one semester course on Classical
Mythology and the Greek and Roman influences on N. American civilization
(HTY 433, 434). I have taught Senior Seminars and the End of the Ancient
World, Conflict of Religions in Later Antiquity, Who Are the Greeks?,
The Classical Tradition and Philosophy of History. I also have a
background in Music and Musicology and I teach a course every Spring
Semester on the History of Jazz (HTY 484)
My research has focused on the religious transformation of the Hellenic
world in the centuries leading up to and following the Christianization
of the Roman Empire. More recently on the influence of thet late antique
"philosophical religion", Neoplatonism, on American thought, especially
New England Transcendentalism and its offshoots. I have attended five
National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminars in the areas of my
expertise. I am on the board of directors of the International Society
for Neoplatonic Studies and a member of the American Academy of Religion
and the Association of Ancient Historians
Representative Publications:
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Synesius of Cyrene, Philosopher Bishop. University of California Press
Series on the Transformation of the Classical Heritage, Berkeley, LA,
1982.
Recent Articles:
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"Elements of the Emperor Julian's Theology"
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"Julian the Byzantine and Synesius the Hellene"
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"Alcott's Transcendental Neoplatonism"
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"Neoplatonism and American Aesthetics" (forthcoming)
