From 1988 to 2000, Dr. Joel Martin taught at Franklin & Marshall College in the Department of Religious Studies. As he reenters the F&M community in his new role as Provost, he has many questions to ask: some historical, some existential and personal, others social and ethical.
- Why was F&M founded?
- How has it evolved?
- Why should others care about its future?
- Why do students choose to join the College?
- Why do faculty?
- Why did he?
- How can everyone work together to strengthen F&M?
Dr. Joel Martin received his Ph.D., with honors, in the history of religious studies from Duke University. In 1988, he joined F&M’s Department of Religious Studies in and became Chair in 1996. In 2000, he left F&M to become Chair of American Indian Affairs and Professor of History and Religious Studies at the University of California-Riverside.
He would later serve as Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at UC-Riverside, and eventually as interim Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. In 2006, he moved to the University of Massachusetts-Amherst as Dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and eventually was named Vice-Provost for Academic Personnel and Dean of the Faculty in 2010.
Dr. Martin’s academic interests focus upon Native America. His book Sacred Revolt: The Muskogees’ Struggle for a New World (Beacon, 1991) was named an Outstanding Book on the Subject of Human Rights in the U.S. Additional publications include Screening the Sacred: Religion, Mythology and Ideology in Popular American Film (Westview, 1995) and The Land Looks After Us: A History of Native American Religion (Oxford, 2001) and Native Americans, Christianity, and the Reshaping of the American Religious Landscape (UNC Press, 2010). His current research examines the lives of New Englanders and Cherokees involved in an early mission.