Professor Maria Doerfler named among American Academy of Religion’s 2021 Book Award Winners

Best First Book in the History of Religions

Maria E. Doerfler

Jephthah’s Daughter, Sarah’s Son: The Death of Children in Late Antiquity

University of California Press

From the jury:
In this lucidly and lyrically written book, Maria E. Doerfler plumbs the fragmentary historical record for evidence of how members of Christian communities in Late Antiquity responded to the deaths of children. In examining a variety of textual genres including commentary, homilies, hymns, prayers, and letters, Doerfler deftly illuminates the variegated ways in which Christians were urged to understand and experience their grief.