James Eric Siburt, Ph.D.

512 Hempfield Hill Road, Columbia, PA. 17512

(717) 203-4940

JamesEricSiburt@gmail.com

Education
Ph.D., Leadership, Defended 2018, Alvernia University, Reading, PA., Focus:
Philosophy of Leadership & Semiotics, Dissertation: Rendering Visible Tolkien's
Ethical Understanding of Power in Leadership in the Silmarillion's Creation Mythology:
Ainulindalë and Akallabêth. Chair: Dr. Kevin Godfrey

Master of Arts, 2008, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, PA., Philosophy of

Religion and Cultural Hermeneutics. Presidential Scholarship Recipient. Advisor: Dr.
Lee Barrett

Bachelor of Science, 1999, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster, PA., Biblical and
Theological Studies.

Academic and Academic Leadership

Adjunct Faculty, 2008-Present, Alvernia University, Reading PA, Humanities and
Business.
Undergraduate Courses Taught
Foundations of Theology (Online and Traditional Classroom)
Medical Moral Theology (Blended and Traditional Classroom)
Introduction to Philosophy (Online and Traditional Classroom)
Ethics: Value and Quality of Life
Problems in Philosophy
Introduction to Sociology (Online and Blended)
Sales and Sales Management (ACBSP Accredited)

Graduate Courses Taught

Organizational and Professional Ethics
ST: The Gift of Self-care for Leaders

Research Sabbatical, July 2018 - June 2019, Dedicated time to complete doctoral
research, defend dissertation, prepare for publication of dissertation, research and
write new publications for conference presentations and journal publications.

Assistant Professor of Sociology and Chair, General Education Division,

2016-2018, Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences, Lancaster PA; Oversight and
Development of the General Education Program, New Program Development and
Expansion, Faculty/Staff Oversight and Development. As the interim Vice President,
Academic Affairs provided oversight and development of Deans, Faculty, and
Academic Programs, Development of New Organizational Structure to Introduce the
New Roles of Deans of the College and Department Chairs,

Course Development
 IPC 601 Role Development & Leadership (Course Design and Adjunct Faculty
Development)
LIT 350 Healthcare in Popular Culture (Course Design and Development)
CMP 150 Digital Foundations Seminar (Team Leader Course Design and
Development)
Initiated New Core Course Restructuring
Committees
Leadership Council
Curriculum Committee
Assessment Committee
Academic Affairs
Workshops
Professional Development; Fall 2016: Ethical Leadership
Faculty Development; Fall 2016: Would You Take Your Own Course?

Assistant Director Adult Degree Completion Program, 2012-2016, Eastern

Mennonite University, Lancaster PA; Student Academic Advising, General Education
Program, Educational Design, Online Course Development, Adjunct Faculty
Development and Supervision, Admission Advisor Supervision

Undergraduate Courses Taught

Senior Seminar: Issues & Values
Nurses as Adult Learners
Effective Communication (Guest Lecturer)
Nursing Management (Guest Lecturer)
World Religions (Developed for Online & Taught)
Ecology & Science Fiction (Developed for Online & Taught)

Graduate Courses Taught

The Parables of Jesus

Other Courses
Faculty Development: Creating a Pedagogical Narrative

Director of Educational Technology and Instructor of Communications,

2009-2012, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster PA; Teaching and modeling to
faculty how to best use current technologies to deliver course content in a traditional,
hybrid and online classroom environments. Preparing professors to embrace online
concepts as they transition traditional classroom pedagogical concepts into an online
environment.
Graduate Courses Taught
Introduction to Theology (Teaching Assistant – Full Teaching Privileges)
Church and Society (Teaching Assistant – Full Teaching Privileges)
New Media Theory and Design (Course Designer and Instructor)
Christian Social Ethics (Instructor)
Organizational Communication Theory and Practice (Course Designer and
Instructor)
Research Methods and Digital Resources (Doctorate of Ministry Seminar)
 Digital Literacy for the Contemporary Church: Online Course (Course Designer
and Instructor)
Committees
President's Cabinet
Informational Technology
Accreditation Steering Committee
Accreditation Curriculum Working Group

Other Programs
Developed the Youth & Young Adult Ministry Certificate Program
Developed and Designed the Online Course Offerings

Assistant Director of Recruitment and Marketing, 2008-2009, Lancaster

Theological Seminary, Lancaster PA; Design and implement recruiting and marketing
initiatives to grow the enrollment of the Seminary.
Teaching Assistant, 2008-2009, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster PA;
Assistant to the Professor of Theology and Professor of Cultural Studies; prepare
classroom presentations on the theological significance of literature and the visual
arts; lead classroom discussions on everyday theology and cultural relevancy.
Educational Technology (Contracted), 2007-2008, Lancaster Theological
Seminary, Lancaster PA; Supporting faculty use of instructional technology to
enhance teaching and learning in classroom settings and as a supplement to the
classroom. Facilitating the design, development, and delivery of electronic
instructional materials while serving as an internal consultant to identify needs and
develop and implement solutions.

Grant Writing and Grant Programing

Awarded: $20,000, Classroom Technology Enhancements, The Carpenter
Foundation, December, 2011.
• Leadership Now: Spiritual Formation With Youth, Lancaster Theological Seminary,
Lilly Endowment, Inc., Advisor and Instructor for Theology and Communication,
2008-2011.
• Center for Leadership and Continuing Education, Lancaster Theological Seminary,
Lilly Endowment, Inc., Advisor and Instructor for Communication, Leadership, and
Marketing, 2008-2011.

Professional Societies and Associations

Lancaster Learns Conference Planning and Program Development, 2014 - 2016

American Academy of Religion, 2006-2015

• President, 2012-2013, Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Academy of
Religion
• Vice President, 2011-2012, Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Academy of
Religion
• Graduate Student Representative for the Executive Committee,
2010-2011, Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Academy of Religion
• Section Chair for Religion and Popular Culture, 2009-2014, Mid-Atlantic
Region of the American Academy of Religion
 • Section Chair for Religion and Leadership, 2012, Mid-Atlantic Region of the
American Academy of Religion
• Section Chair for Undergraduate Panel, 2013–2014, Mid-Atlantic Region of
the American Academy of Religion

American Studies Association, 2008-2017

Popular Culture Association, 2008-Present

Semiotic Society of American, 2009-Present

International Leadership Association, 2012-2015

Academic Papers and Presentations

“Who's Watching Me? Panopticonic Forms of Command and Control,” Annual
Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Academy of Religion, Baltimore,
MD., March 2013.

“The Mythological Key to Organizational Change,” Explores the Heliand and the role
Medieval Philosophy plays in understanding power. International Leadership
Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO, October, 2012, proposed.

“Distant AND Communal: Exploring New Forms of Online Pedagogy,” American

Academy of Religion Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, November, 2010.

“The Zombie as Symbol: A Semiotic Look at the Zombie in Television and Film,”
International Semiotic Society of America Conference, Louisville, KY, November,
2010.

“The Zombie as Symbol: A Semiotic Look at the Zombie in Religion,” Mid-Atlantic

Region American Academy of Religion, New Brunswick, NJ, March, 2010.

“More Human Than Human: Battlestar Galactica's Religious and Political Fields of
Cultural Production,” Mid-Atlantic Region American Studies Association /
Pennsylvania Political Science Association, Elizabethtown, PA, March 27-28, 2009.

“SciFi's New Enlightenment: A Reexamination of the Origin of Religion,” Mid-Atlantic

Region American Academy of Religion, Baltimore, MD, March 26-27, 2009.

“Issues of Temporality in Medieval Philosophy and 21st Century Science Fiction

Films,” presentation, Mid-Atlantic Region American Academy of Religion, New
Brunswick, NJ, March 28, 2008.
Publications
Book Review - Keightley, E., & Pickering, M. (2012). The Mnemonic Imagination:
Remembering as a Creative Practice. Palgrave MacMillan, Journal of American
Studies, Fall 2013
Book Review - DiPaolo (2011). War, Politics and Superheroes: Ethics and
Propaganda in Comics and Film. Mcfarland & Co Inc., ImageTexT Journal, Fall 2012
Book Review - Bado-Fralick, N., & Norris, R. S. (2010). Toying with God: The World
of Religious Games and Dolls. Baylor University Press., Journal of Religion and
Popular Culture, Spring 2011
Research/Works in Progress
Tolkien, Truman, Trump: Dark Leaders or Dark Times?: Proposed chapter for Dark
and Destructive Leadership edited by Peter Harms, University of Alabama; for a
volume in Leadership Horizons.

The Weaponization of Medieval Philosophy: An in-depth analysis of cultural

appropriation in Medieval Philosophy, specifically the Heliand, and the role narrative,
mimesis, and mythology played as mechanisms of power.

Retelling: The podcast, cohosted with another colleague, explores the power of story
and its role in shaping culture. Particular interest is on Science Fiction and Fantasy
stories that are told and retold, across a variety of media. The podcast explores the
philosophical, sociological, ecological, and theological aspects of these stories.

Lectures, Workshops, Panels

“Gaming Your Course Design” Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences, Lancaster,
PA; A Semester length workshop applying game design principles to course design
and development, Fall 2017.

“Heutagogy, Andragogy, Pedagogy: What's the Difference?” Lancaster Learns

Conference, Lancaster, PA., February 2016.

“Synectics and the Use of Science Fiction for Teaching Ethics and Leadership,”
Alvernia University Faculty Workshop, Reading, PA. May. 2015.

“From Blackface to Black Panther: The Evolution of the Depiction of Black Super
Heroes,” Co-organizer, Consultant, New York Comic Con., Comic 2015.

“From Blackface to Black Panther: The Evolution of the Depiction of Black Super
Heroes,” Co-organizer, Panelist, NAACP Black History Month Event, Barnes & Nobles
Lancaster, PA., February 2015.

“Social Power Dynamics in the Mediation of Lived Religion: An Analytic Framework for
Social Power Dynamics,” Organizer and Panelist, Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic
Region of the American Academy of Religion, Newburgh, NY., March 2014.
“Perspectives on Contemporary Religious Identity: Who Defines the Other?”
Organizer and Panelist, Annual Meeting of the Eastern American Studies Association,
Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA., March 2013

“The Orphans of Academia and the Journey Home,” Presidential Address, Annual
Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Academy of Religion, Baltimore,
MD., March 2013.

“Who Do You Say I Am? - Defining the Religious Other in American Culture,”
Organizer and Panelist, Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American
Academy of Religion, Baltimore, MD., March 2013.

“Citizenship Film Series: Philadelphia,” Faculty Panelist, The O’Pake Institute for
Ethics, Leadership and Public Service, Alvernia University, February 2013.

“The Role of Leadership in a Multicultural and Pluralistic World,” Organizer and

Presider, Panel discussion on Religion and Leadership, Annual Meeting of the Mid-
Atlantic Region of the American Academy of Religion, New Brunswick, NJ., March
2012.

“An Introduction to Servant Leadership: Issues of Power and Followership,” Alvernia's

2012 Leadership Berks Core Program at Wyomissing, PA., December, 2011.

“The Mythological key To Cultural Change: How a Study of the Heliand Exposes the
Issue of Cultural Appropriation in Leadership,” 48th Annual meeting of the New York
Conference of the United Church of Christ at Silver Bay, N.Y., June, 2011.

“Distant AND Communal: Exploring New Forms of Online Pedagogy,” Graduate

Luncheon, Society for Biblical Literature & American Academy of Religion Mid-Atlantic
Regional Conference, New Brunswick, NJ, March, 2011.

“The Wired Podium: Visual Culture and the Signs of Our Time,” Theology with a Twist
Lecture, Kutztown, PA, February, 2011

“Effective Leadership Communication in a Technological World,” Southern

Conference of The United Church of Christ, Raleigh, NC, January, 2011.

Interviews
“Smart Talk: Portrayals of Blacks in Pop Culture,” Radio Talk Show, WITF Harrisburg,
PA, February 17, 2015.

“Alvernia Faculty Spotlight,” Interview, Alvernia University Magazine, Winter/Spring

2013 Issue.

“James Siburt: Zombies, Semiotics, and Dollhouse,” Research Interview,

TheoFantastique.com, December, 2010.