ASOR FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
CHRIS HAYS
Chris teaching at Qumran on a Fuller trip to Israel in 2012
What was your most memorable moment during the excavation season you participated in?
Finding a Neo-Assyria ballista stone in the square where I was excavating at Tell Halif. It was really amazing to stand at the top of the tell and imagine the Assyrian army marching through the valley toward it. The whole experience really helped to bring the history of the period alive for me.
What advice would you give a fellow recipient?
Immerse yourself in your excavations, but also make time to tour around and see other sites. There’s so much to absorb all over Israel and the Middle East.
Are you still affiliated with ASOR as a member?
Yes, I am still an ASOR member. I attend meetings, and I donate to its fundraising campaigns. Archaeology is more important to me now than ever. It seems to me that the public and my students really need guidance in interpreting what has been found and how it actually impacts our interpretation of sacred texts. They’re certainly not being well served by mass media in any form.
What is the current status of your career or education (or other project)?
About a year after my grant, I accepted the D. Wilson Moore chair of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, Ca. Here, I teach ancient languages such as Hebrew, Aramaic, Ugaritic, and Akkadian, and I direct master’s and doctoral programs in ANES. I get to teach seminars on Historiography and on ANE Religion, which make a lot of reference to archaeological data.
How did the scholarship/grant help you with your career?
I could never have been an effective teacher of ANE Studies, or even the Hebrew Bible alone, without a firsthand understanding of where archaeological data comes from — how a dig works, how finds are processed, the politics in the field, etc. My time on the ASOR fellowship was an indispensable part of my education in those areas. Now that I take students to the Middle East myself, I tell them the same thing: It will transform the way you teach.
