Dr. Marmorstein has been teaching at Northern since the fall 1988 semester and is the current mace-bearer, the distinction given the longest-serving Northern faculty member. He uses the handle "Ancient Art" because he's a specialist in ancient history and the most ancient of the NSU faculty members. He teaches lower division Western survey classes and upper division classes in ancient history, covering ancient Rome, ancient Greece, early church, and world religions.
Dr. Marmorstein did his undergraduate work at Stanford, earning his B.A. in drama (1974). After several years teaching high school English and drama, he returned to graduate school, eventually earning a Ph.D. in history at the University of California, Davis (1988).
NSU and Community Involvement
Dr. Marmorstein is the advisor to the NSU Chess Club, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and CRU. He is a frequent guest lecturer for various on-campus and off-campus groups, speaking on topics like Men, Women, and Other Mythological Creatures and The Death of Love. He also writes regular colums for the Aberdeen American News.
Courses Taught
Surveys
History 121 Western Civilization to 1600
History 122 Western Civilization 1600--
History 152 U.S. History 1877--Present
Upper Division Classes
History 413 Ancient Israel
History 424 Early Church
History 422 Ancient Rome
History 440 Ancient Greece
REL 492 Christian Apologetics
HIST/REL 492 World Religions
Other classes
IDL 190 College Success
INED 411 South Dakota Native American
SEED 415/615 Social Science Methods
Publications and Presentations
“Eschatological Inconsistency in the Ante-Nicene Fathers?” Andrews University Seminary Studies, Spring 2001.
“God within the Shadow: The Biblical Framework of Shakespearian Theater.” Northern Great Plains Early British Literature Conference, Spring 2001.
“Why Johnny Can’t Translate: The 1611 Versions and Their Modern Equivalents.” Northern Great Plains Early British Literature Conference, Spring 2002.
“Gluing Students to Their Seats and Other Fun Activities” Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT), March 2006.
“Classrooms Fall of Stars: Theater Games in the Social Studies Classroom.” Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT, March 2006
“The Tragedy of the Common Demagogue: Jonson’s Catiline and Its Sources.” Northern Great Plains Early British Literature Conference, Spring 2012.
“The Tragedy of the Common Cuckold: Richards’ Messalina and Its Sources.” Northern Great Plains Early British Literature Conference, Spring 2013.
“To Rectify Man’s Ways to Man: Milton, Hobbes, Locke and the Paradox of Tolerance.” Northern Great Plains Early British Literature Conference, Spring 2015.
“Charging Toward Armageddon: Bull Moose Eschatology and the 1912 Election.” Iowa Conference on Presidential Politics, Fall 2015).
“The Tragedy of the Common Madman; Nathaniel Lee’s Nero and Its Sources.” Northern Great Plains Early British Literature Conference, Spring 2016.
“We’re Still Here: Congregation B’Nai Israel and the Jewish Diaspora of Northeastern South Dakota.” Dakota Conference on the Northern Plains, April 2017.
Coauthor “Fewer Rabbis than U.S. Senators: Jewish Political Activism in 20th Century South Dakota.” In The Plains Political Tradition: Essays on South Dakota Political Culture, Volume 3. South Dakota State Historical Society Press, September 2018.
“Correct Me if I am Wrong: The Perils of Higher Education Gobbledygook,” Great Plains Sociological Association Annual Conference, Fall 2018.
“The Tragedy of the Common Patriot: Nathaniel Lee’s Brutus and Its Sources.” 27th Annual Northern Plains Conference on Early British Literature, Spring 2019.
“Many a Truth: Jester Candidates and the Common Good.” Iowa Conference on Presidential Politics, Fall 2019.
Personal Interests
Dr. Marmorstein and his wife, Donna, have six kids and 12 (soon to be 13) grandchildren.