Paul Dilley

Dr. Paul Dilley is the Erling B. 'Jack' Holtsmark Associate Professor in Classics and Departmental Executive Officer of Religious Studies at the University of Iowa. His research focuses on Late Antique religions, particularly Early Christianity, integrating cultural history, digital humanities, and cognitive studies. He leads projects like the NEH-funded 'Communicating Revealed Texts' and co-edits the Dublin Kephalaia Codex, a 5th-century Coptic manuscript of Manichaean texts. His work employs multispectral imaging and X-ray tomography for textual recovery. He holds grants from the Mellon, Humboldt, and Loeb Foundations, among others, and has been a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study and the Mellon Society of Fellows.

Education: PhD in Religious Studies from Yale University (2008). Teaching includes courses on Abrahamic religions, ancient Mediterranean religions, and digital humanities. Awards include the Newcombe Doctoral Fellowship and Alexander von Humboldt grants. Current projects include books on Manichaean texts and hagiography’s links to Graeco-Roman theater. He co-organized the Mellon Sawyer Seminar on pre-modern Eurasian manuscripts and curates exhibits like 'The Mystery of Mani' at the Chester Beatty Library.

Research Interests: Late Antiquity, Early Christianity, Digital Humanities, Manuscript Analysis, Cognitive Studies of Religion, and Religious Intercrossing. His digital work spans distant reading, open data frameworks, and collaborative editorial projects. He co-edits the Journal of Religious Ethics and serves on the editorial board of Digital Biblical Studies.