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.

Personal Interests

Dr. Marmorstein and his wife, Donna, have six kids and 11 grandchildren.