Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
As
a constructive theologian, my research and teaching focus on relating the
history of Christianity to contemporary life, issues, and leadership in our
pluralistic world. My scholarship centers on the links between Christian
spirituality, theology, and theological anthropology, as well as interreligious
dialogue, particularly around various Christian and Muslim mystical traditions.
Much of my work seeks to engender constructive dialogue between thinkers,
traditions, and churches that either struggle to understand each other or are
not typically read alongside one another. Moreover, my research is informed by
what Elizabeth Johnson calls “a creative combination of hermeneutical retrieval
of ancient texts and appropriation of contemporary existence.” Drawing from
ancient Christian sources and practices, I seek to uncover wisdom for life in
the postmodern world.
Courses Taught
Theory and Methods of Religious
Studies; Introduction to Christianity; Experiencing the World's Religions; Islam
and Christianity: Conflict, Conversation, Coexistence; Christian Spirituality:
The Quest for God; Religion and Film; The Hebrew Bible; The New Testament and
Early Christian Literature; Contextual Theologies: Black, Latino, Native
American, and Feminist Ventures; Modern Religious Thought: Various Responses to
Modernity (from Descartes to von Balthasar); The Theology of Jürgen Moltmann;
Silence, Submission, Equality: Women in Christian Tradition