“Perhaps the most satisfying experience for me is to see the ‘lightbulb’ go on for gen ed students who did not expect to be interested in the class, but find themselves intrigued enough to take more courses and perhaps become majors or minors.”

Burnight’s research focuses on the Hebrew poetry of the biblical Book of Job, and he is currently engaged in a multi-stage project involving a monograph and a series of articles in which he proposes that the Joban poet uses intertextuality and allusions to other biblical texts to effect a series of rhetorical ‘reversals’ of traditional biblical themes.

The overarching argument is that Job is best read as one of the world’s earliest examples of sociopolitical and religious protest literature: one that “speaks truth to power” and challenges the dominant Israelite theology of its time period.

Outside of his teaching and research at UNI, Burnight has served on the University Faculty Senate, University Strategic Planning Committee and the University Budget Advisory Committee to the President.

He is the recipient of several awards and honors at UNI, including the University Book and Supply Outstanding Teacher Award and the UNI Excellence in Liberal Arts Core Teaching Award. 

“John exemplifies the teacher-scholar model that UNI values,” said Susan Hill, head of the UNI Department of Philosophy and World Religions. “He is an excellent teacher and mentor to students. As a scholar, he has contributed much to Old Testament studies; his work on the Book of Job has been published in the top journals in his field. And, he steered the faculty as senate chair through the pandemic, demonstrating his commitment to faculty governance and service to the institution. I am grateful to have John as my colleague. He is generous with his time, is a great conversation partner, and is exactly the kind of colleague one would wish for.”

Keep up the great work, John!