Matthew Larsen's work focuses on the cultural and material histories of Jewish and Christian communities in classical and late antiquity. He came to Princeton from a teaching position at Yale University, where he also received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies in May 2017.
He is the author of Gospels before the Book (Oxford University Press, 2018), which won a Manfred Lautenschlaeger award, and an Italian translation of which is forthcoming through Editrice Queriniana. Matthew Larsen's research has appeared in such venues as the Journal for the Study of Judaism, the Journal for the Study of the New Testament, the Journal of Early Christian Studies, and Studies in Late Antiquity, and been featured in The Daily Beast, CHOICE, and Christian Century. His current research and teaching interests include ancient writing practices, archaeology and material culture, and carceral studies. At present, he is working on a book manuscript on early Christians and the history of incarceration, as well as an analytical sourcebook on incarceration in Mediterranean antiquity.