Ph.D.
(August, 1998), Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame
Dissertation: How the Old
Law Showed Forth the Precepts of the Natural Law: A Commentary on
Certain Questions
Concerning the Law in the Summa of Theology of Thomas Aquinas
Director:
Ralph McInerny, Grace Professor of Medieval Philosophy, University of
Notre
Dame
Readers:
Alasdair MacIntyre, David Solomon, Alfred Freddoso
M.M.S.
(May, 1991), Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame
M.A.,
(May, 1987), Department of Theology, University of Dallas
Thesis: The Gospel of John
and Neo-Platonic Metaphysics in Augustine’s Literal Commentary on
Genesis:
A Study in Patristic Scriptural Hermeneutics
Associate
Professor
of
Theology,
University of St. Thomas, 2001-present
Undergraduate
Courses
taught:
* Social Justice and the Church
* Christian Ethics and the Law
* Faith and Moral Development
* Modern Challenges to Christianity
* Teachings of the Catholic Church
* Introduction to Sacred Scripture
* Honors
Seminar: From Empire to
Christendom
Graduate
Courses
taught:
* Law and Grace in Aquinas (for
the Center
for Thomistic Studies)
* Community and
the Human Person (for the
Masters of Liberal Arts Program_
* Natural Law and Prudence (for
the Center
for Thomistic Studies)
Visiting
Assistant
Professor
of
Theology, University of Notre Dame, 1998-2001
Courses
taught:
* Foundations of Theology
* Who is Jesus?: Foundations of
Christology
Graduate
Teaching
Assistant, University of Notre Dame, 1991-96
Courses:
*
Asian Philosophy: treated Gandhi, Hinduism, Confucianism, Daoism,
Budhism, and
Zen
*
Ancient Wisdom and Modern Love: used ancient and medieval philosophical
texts
to illuminate contemporary issues facing students
*
Introduction to Philosophy: focused primarily on ethics, philosophical
anthropology, and philosophy of religion
*
Thought of Aquinas (with Prof. Ralph McInerny): a general introduction
to
Aquinas' philosophy
*
Philosophy of Law (with Prof. John Robinson, Univ. of Notre Dame Law
School,
Spring 1996): a case-based introduction to the philosophy of American
jurisprudence
High
School Teacher, Immaculate Conception Apostolic School, Center Harbor,
NH,
1987-89
Courses
taught: World History, U.S. History, Chemistry, Latin, and English
Literature
and Composition.
LANGUAGE
PROFICIENCY:
Latin
(classical and medieval), French, German, Ancient Greek, Spanish
FELLOWSHIPS:
Strake
Foundation
Grant,
1997-98
-
devised and directed a $10,000 university lecture series on the
Catholic
Church’s teaching on homosexuality
Bradley
Foundation
Fellowship,
1994-95;
1996-98
EXPERIENCE
IN ACADEMIC EDITING:
Research
Assistant,
Ambrosiana
Library
(Milan), University of Notre Dame, 1991-92
(Founding)
Assistant
Managing
Editor,
Medieval Philosophy and Theology, 1989-90
Assistant
Editor,
Society of Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy Newsletter,
1989-90
TEACHING
AND
RESEARCH
INTERESTS:
Moral
Theology
(esp.
Natural
Law and Virtue Ethics), History of Christian Thought,
(esp. Patristic and Medieval), and History of Philosophy (esp. Ancient
and
Medieval)
Other
areas of interest: History of Biblical Exegesis, Post-Modernism and
Christianity, History of Architecture, New Urbanism, Theology and
Science
PUBLICATIONS
AND
PROFESSIONAL
PRESENTATIONS:
Publications
In-Print or Accepted for Publication:
“Thomas
Aquinas,” encyclopedia article in Encyclopedia of Christian
Literature,
ed. G. T. Kurian (The Scarecrow Press, 2010).
“The
Hebrew Bible and Creation,” in Green Discipleship: Catholic
Theological
Ethics & the Environment, edited by Tobias
Winright (accepted
for publication and scheduled for print in the Fall of 2011, St. Mary’s
Press).
“Christian
Temperance and Mimetic Desire,” in Temperance, ed. R. E. Houser
(accepted
for publication and scheduled for print in the Fall of 2011, Catholic
University of America Press).
“Don’t
Blame Vatican II: Modernism and Modern Church Architecture,” in Sacred
Architecture (Fall 2007).
Book
review of Russell Hittinger, The First Grace: Rediscovering the
Natural Law
in a Post-Christian World, in Crisis (October 2003).
“Thomas
Aquinas's Semiosis of the Old Law in Terms of the Natural Law,” in Semiotics
2002, ed. Scott Simpkins and John Deely (Ottawa, Canada: Legas,
2003), pp
185-201.
“The
Semiotic Function of the Epigraph in Aquinas' Biblical Prologues and
Sermons: A
Mixing of Memory and Desire,” in Semiotics 2001, ed. Scott
Simpkins and
John Deely (Ottawa, Canada: Legas, 2002), pp.420-438.
“Why
Charity is Necessary to Fulfill the Natural Law,” in Charity,
ed. R. E.
Houser, (forthcoming from Catholic University of America Press).
“The
Old Law as a Textbook of Prudence,” in Prudence, ed. R. E.
Houser
(forthcoming from Catholic University of America Press).
“How
to Read a Sermon by Thomas Aquinas,” (scheduled for publication in Nova et Vetera)
What
the Old Law reveals about the Natural Law According to Thomas Aquinas,”
(scheduled for publication in The Thomist)
Recent
Scholarly Presentations:
“If
Wonder is the Wellspring of Philosophy, then Christianity is the Best
Foundation for Philosophy” – paper delivered at the annual Notre Dame
Center
for Ethics and Culture Conference: “Younger than Sin: Retrieving
Simplicity
Through the Virtues of Humility, Wonder & Joy” (18-21 November
2010).
“A New Model for University Management:
Getting
Rid of the “Middle Man,” U-6 Forum on International Cooperation and
Education,
Anhui University, Hefei P.R. China (10-12 October 2010).
“Sovereignty
and the Natural Law” – paper delivered at international colloquium on
“La
souverainete dans tous ses etats,” Institut Catholique d’Etudes
Supérieures, La
Roche Sur Yon, France (7-8 April 2010)
“Hope
and History” – paper delivered at 44th International Congress on
Medieval
Studies, Western Michigan University (May 2009)
“The
Natural Law and Charity” – paper delivered at the annual Patristic,
Medieval,
and Renaissance Philosophy Conference, Villanova University (October
2008).
The
Delay of Marriage and the Destruction of Adolescence” – paper delivered
at
Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture 9th Annual Fall Conference,
“The
Family: Searching for Fairest Love” (November 2008).
“Faith
and Courage: Seeing the World Truly While Saving Lives – Far From
Walden Pond,”
– paper delivered at 43rd International Congress on Medieval
Studies, Western Michigan University (May 2008).
“We’ve
Got to Represent!:From Enlightenment
Rights to Post-Modern Virtues,” – paper delivered at Center for Ethics
and
Culture 8th Annual Fall Conference, “The Dialogue of Cultures”
(November 2007)
“Thomas
Aquinas and the Possibilities of a Post-Modern Phenomenology of Faith,”
– paper
delivered at 42nd International Congress on Medieval
Studies,
Western Michigan University (May 2007)
“The
Old Law as a Textbook of Prudence” – paper delivered at the 41st
International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University
(May
2006).
“Natural
Law and Grace” – paper delivered at Calvin College Conference on the
Natural
Law (May 2004), the follow-up conference to a six-week Summer Seminar
on the
natural law led by Prof. J. Budziszewski of the University of Texas.
“Why
Charity is Necessary to Fulfill the Natural Law” – paper delivered at
the 39th
International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University
(May
2004).
“Christianity
and the Liberal Arts: Intellectual Community as a Foundation for Faith”
– paper
delivered at Baylor University Conference, “Faith as a Foundation for
Intellectual Community” (March 2004).
“Toward
a Liturgical Architecture: Modernism and Modern Church
Architecture,” –
invited lecture at the Savannah School of Design, Savannah, Georgia
(April
2004).
"Re-consecrating
Public Space: Churches and the Naked Public Square," – invited lecture
at
St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, (November
2003).
“From
Modern Rights to Post-Modern Virtues” – paper delivered at the annual
American
Maritain Association meeting in Chicago, Illinois (October 2003).
“Judicial
Despotism and a Judicial Review Amendment to the U. S. Constitution” –
paper
delivered at the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture 4th
Annual
Conference (October 2003).
“Re-consecrating
Public Space: Churches and the Naked Public Square” – invited lecture
at the
Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, University of California
at
Berkeley Consortium of Graduate Schools, Berkeley, CA (April 2002).
“The
Eucharist and the Risen Body of Christ” – invited paper at the
University of
St. Thomas Twelfth Annual Lenten Lecture Series, “Reflections on the
Eucharist”
(March 2002).
“The
Loss of Civic Virtue in America and the Role of Embodied Communities of
Faith”
– paper delivered at Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture 3rd
Annual Conference, “From Death to Life:Agendas
for Reform” (October 2002).
More Popular
Publications (Both On-Line and
In-Print):
“Our Numbered Days: Certain Death & the Last Lectures of
Socrates
& Jesus,” Touchstone, March-April 2011, Volume 24, Issue 2.
“Quick, Call the Police!It’s
an
Academic Lecture,” The New Oxford Review,January-February
2011, Volume 78, Number 1.
“Waiting for God? On the Meaning of
“Providentially, Just in
Time,” Touchstone, January-February
2011, Volume 24, Issue 1.
“Revelations
Public and Private,” The Catholic Thing,
28 January 2011.
“The
Missing Foundation of Social Justice,” The
Catholic Thing, 23 December 2010.
“Studying
With Ralph McInerny,” The Catholic Thing,
22 September 2010.
“Say
It Again: What Is There To Talk About In Heaven?” Touchstone,
September-October
2010, Volume 23, Issue 5.
“Fides et Ratio:The Aeterni
Patris of this Generation?” The
Catholic Thing, 19 August 2010.
“Reading
the Church Fathers and Doctors,” The
Catholic Thing, 13 June 2010.
“Books
and the Hungry Soul,” The Front Porch
Republic, 8 June 2010.
“But
I by Backward Steps Would Move,” The
Front Porch Republic, 26 February 2010)