Oxford University Press has announced the publication of a book by Dr. Laura Carlson (GHS ’04), titled “Archival Historiography in Jewish Antiquity.” Carlson is a faculty member at Indiana University (IU) in Bloomington, Indiana where she teaches in the Religious Studies Department and the Jewish studies Program. In simple terms, Carlson said that her book uses the framework of trauma and recovery as a way to make sense of the peculiar ways history is told in the Bible. “The book tries to explain why the Bible is sometimes difficult to understand. Certain parts of the Bible strike us, as contemporary readers, as stilted and strange. My book tries to show why a specific section of the Bible, though weird to us, would have been meaningful to its ancient readers,” she said.

After graduating from Gordon College (MA) in 2008, she continued her education and earned a MDiv from Yale Divinity School in 2011. She developed an interest in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament because it combined her interests in ancient languages, literature, history, and religion. She earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Yale in 2018.

She returned to Maine and taught at Bates College for a year before accepting a position at IU. Except for her challenging commute to Lewiston during the winter months, she was thrilled to be back in Maine for awhile.

At IU, she teaches classes in Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism. Teaching is a challenging profession. She said, “Engaging students in conversations about their values and ancient texts, and what those things might have to do with one another, is one of the very best parts of my job.” It has also given her renewed respect for others in the profession, no matter at what level they teach.

Balancing time between teaching and research, both of which she loves, is difficult. She has contributed articles to a number of scholarly publications and is currently working on projects about ancient Jewish prophecy and representations of Persia.

As a young student, Carlson enjoyed school and had quite a few “favorite” teachers. First and foremost, of course, is her mother Karen, a recently retired Gorham elementary teacher. Carlson said, “I could not have asked for better elementary teachers than Aggie Lane, Cindy Bishop, and Jane Esty at Village School. Each of these women exuded passion for teaching and intellectual curiosity.”

At GHS, she credits Michael Lawrenson with introducing her to the fun of ancient languages. “My Latin is currently a little rusty, but it still comes in handy in my current field,” she said. English teachers Christina Stone, Pam Daniels, and Jean Davis were instrumental in giving her “the tools to be a better writer as well as the courage to try to be one,” she said.

Carlson played soccer while at GHS and continued to play in college. She joined an intramural team during grad school because it gave her an excuse to get out of the library. Following an ACL injury, she doesn’t play much soccer now. In her spare time she enjoys watching the US Women’s national soccer team and following the successful Gorham girls’ soccer team. She also likes keeping up with the Boston Celtics in her rare spare time.

She and her husband Josh now live in Bloomington, Indiana. Josh earned his PhD in Religion and Literature from Boston University last year and currently teaches in the English department at IU. They have no pets, but are aspiring cat owners.

Laura is the daughter of Karen and Jim Carlson; Siblings: Britt (GHS ’99) who lives in Massachusetts and works in advancement and development for Gordon College; and Elizabeth (GHS ’02) who is currently working as a director in Philadelphia and teaches theater at Temple and Rowan Universities.