John Gager, the William H. Danforth Professor of Religion, and Paul
Lansky, the William Shubael Conant Professor of Music, have received
Princeton's Behrman Award for distinguished achievement in the
humanities. They were honored at a May 7 dinner.
Gager, a faculty member since 1968, teaches and conducts research on
religions of the Roman Empire, especially early Christianity and its
relations to ancient Judaism. He also has written on the theme of
religion and magic. His books include "Moses in Greco-Roman Paganism";
"Kingdom and Community: The Social World of Early Christianity"; "The
Origins of Anti-Semitism: Attitudes Toward Judaism in Pagan and
Christian Antiquity"; "Curse Tablets and Binding Spells From the
Ancient World"; and "Reinventing Paul."
Gager served as master of Forbes College from 1992 to 2000. In 1998, he
received the President's Award for Distinguished Teaching. A graduate
of Yale University, he earned his Ph.D. from Harvard.
Lansky earned a Ph.D. in composition from Princeton and has been a
faculty member at the University since 1969. He has composed some 75
pieces primarily for the medium of computer-generated sound. He also
has done work in software development and music theory and analysis.
He has published nine solo compact discs, and his works also have
appeared in numerous collections and been performed widely. His most
recent CD is "Alphabet Book" (2002). In 2000 he was the subject of a
documentary film made for European television, "My Cinema for the
Ears," now available on DVD. Several of his works have been
choreographed and performed by noted dancers, including the Bill T.
Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Eliot Feld Ballet. A graduate of
Queens College, Lansky has received numerous commissions for his works.
In 2000, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States.
Bestowed annually, the Behrman Award was established in 1975 by a gift
from the late Howard Behrman, a physician and book collector.
