Education
Ph.D., Religious Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, 2021
M.A., Divinity, University of Chicago, 2013
B.A., Philosophy, University of Chicago, 2011
Brian Hillman
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah)
Modern Jewish thought and philosophy
Religion and popular culture
The history of scriptural interpretation
Biography
Brian Hillman (he/him) joined Towson University in Fall 2023 after spending two years as a visiting lecturer in Jewish Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. At Towson, Dr. Hillman often teaches RLST 105 Introduction to the Study of Religious, a course that introduces students to five religious traditions (the Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions) as well as helping students develop the skills to study religion academically. He has also taught RLST 206 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, RLST 210 Introduction to Judaism, RLST 325 Jewish Graphic Novels and RLST 425 Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Judaism. He also teaches courses on mysticism, gender, and graphic novels in the Jewish Studies Graduate program.
Dr. Hillman's dissertation "Textual Authority and Jewish Modernity: The Case of the Lithuanian Mithnagdim" argues that the "school" of the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797) sought to defend the authority of traditional Jewish texts (e.g., the Zohar and rabbinic literature) in historical-critical and philosophical ways. He is developing it as a book project while pursuing his interests in Jewish Studies, religion and literature, and religion and popular culture. He currently serves as the managing editor for the Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy.
Selected Publications
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Journal of Interreligious Studies 49 (2026): 71-107.
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鈥溾��, review of Hunter M. Hampton, The Gridiron Gospel: Faith and College Football in 20th-Century America (University of Illinois Press, 2025), Nordic Sport Science Forum, April 14, 2026.
- 鈥淭heology at the Doctor,鈥� The Jewish Literary Journal, 154 (April 2026)
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鈥�.鈥� Humanities 15, no. 3 (2026): 1-16.
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, review of Tomasz Jache膰, The Myth of Michael Jordan in Popular Culture (Routledge, 2025). Nordic Sport Science Forum, December 17, 2025.
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. Journal of Sport History, 52 no. 3 (2025): 193-194
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and in Judaism in 5 Minutes (ed. Sarah I. Imhoff), Equinox, 2025
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"," Sightings, April 29, 2025
- Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal 20, No. 2 (2025): 1-34
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(Melville House, 2025), Jewish Book Council
- Wabash Center For Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion: Embodied Teaching Blog, 2025
- 鈥�,鈥� Jewish Studies Quarterly, No. 1 (2025): 78-98
- "Protecting the Deli: Jewish Nostalgia and Social Justice in E. Lockhart's Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero." , vol. 17 no. 2, 2024: 143-160.
- in The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Receptions, 2024.
- (Bloomsbury, 2023) by Matt Reingold, Reading Religion, 2023.
- (Yale, 2022), Jewish Book Council, 2022.