Paige Spencer
Lecturer in Religious Studies
Paige Spencer earned a Ph.D. from Syracuse University, where she has also received a certificate in women and gender studies. Her work focuses on ascetic practices in late ancient Christianity. Spencer's dissertation performs readings of ancient Christian ascetic texts that highlight their destructive excesses, resisting a modern lens of health and wellness that casts asceticism as a primarily therapeutic or positive transformative practice.
Research Interests
Early Christian literature; asceticism; martyrdom; performance; gender and sexuality; the body; affect; food; self-mutilation; erotic violence
Professional Affiliations
- Society of Biblical Literature
- North American Patristics Society
- American Academy of Religion
Appointed to the Faculty
2025Educational Background
Ph.D., Syracuse University
M.A., The University of Chicago
B.A., Texas Christian University
