Full-Time Lecturer
History and Philosophy; Program of Jewish Studies
701E Pray Harrold
Dr. Whitters has written 20 articles for juried publications such as Harvard Theological Review, Irish Theological Quarterly, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Journal for the Study of Judaism, Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigraphia, and Journal of Biblical Literature. Past research topics were in the area of cognate literature for the Jewish and Christian scriptures, but more recently his focus has been on the literary contexts surrounding the Qur’an and early Islam. He has given many papers in the US and abroad on topics of philology, religious studies, the ancient world, and the Middle East. He has served as president of the Midwest Society of Biblical Literature, a scholarly guild with 1200 members in eight states and Ontario. Lately he has been active in new strategies to enhance student engagement in the classroom through educational gaming. He often brings students to make presentations at national and regional pedagogical meetings. In 2017 and 2019 he authored two books that capitalize on a new pedagogy called “Reacting.” He now serves as a liaison for EMU and the national Reacting movement.
Whitters has traveled throughout the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern world for extensive periods of time, and has passed proficiency exams in modern Hebrew and standard Arabic. He lives in Detroit where he is involved with interracial dialogue and urban youth programs. He is secretary and board member for YouthWorks-Detroit, a neighborhood education and charitable program, and actively incorporates social outreach into his classes. He has recently produced the first season of a podcast series on urban issues and the need for dialogue called "Reconnecting the Threads."