Philippa Townsend

Dr. Philippa Townsend is a Lecturer in Ancient Mediterranean Religions at the University of Edinburgh's School of Divinity. She holds a BA in Classics from King’s College, Cambridge, an MA from University College London, an AM in Religion from Harvard University, and a PhD from Princeton University. Her postdoctoral research included a fellowship at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship at the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research. Before joining Edinburgh, she taught at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania.

• Education: BA (King’s College Cambridge), MA (UCL), AM (Harvard), PhD (Princeton)

Her research focuses on intersections of religion, culture, and history in the ancient Mediterranean world. She combines textual analysis with archaeological perspectives to explore topics such as religious practices, textual traditions, and cross-cultural interactions.

Dr. Townsend has received prestigious fellowships supporting her scholarly work, including postdoctoral grants from the Hebrew University and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in ancient religions and supervises research in her field.