About
Jennifer Larson is a Professor of Classics at Kent State University's Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies. Her scholarly work bridges ancient Greek religion with cognitive science through extensive collaboration with the Seshat: Global History Databank team.
- Ph.D. in Classics from University of Wisconsin-Madison (1992)
- Specializes in heroine cults, mystery cults, and ritual theory
Recent research focuses on Big Gods theory applications to Greek religious evolution, including empirical studies of:
- Deer sacrifice patterns
- Heracles' Olympian integration
- Nymph cognitive categorization
Key methodologies include:
- Ritual form theory
- Dual process cognitive analysis
- Minimally counterintuitive concepts
- Quantitative historical databasing
Her 2016 monograph Understanding Greek Religion: A Cognitive Approach established frameworks connecting anthropomorphic deity perception to human cognitive defaults.
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