Martha J. Reineke
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Office Address: Department of Philosophy & Religion University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0501
Office Phone: 319-273-6233 Email: martha.reineke@uni.edu
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Web Sites:
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I. EDUCATION
Ph.D. (Religion) Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 1983
M.A. (Religion) Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 1980
B.A. (Philosophy) Earlham College, Richmond, IN 1976
II. ADMINISTRATIVE AND ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Professor of Religion University of Northern Iowa 1999-
(Associate Professor, 1994-98, Assistant Professor, 1984-93)
Administrative Fellow University of Northern Iowa 2005-06
Office of the Provost
Director, Graduate Program
in Women’s Studies University of Northern Iowa 1994-99
Director,
Women's Studies Program University of Northern Iowa 1990-94
III. SIGNIFICANT ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Provost Fellow:
· Assisted the Director, Office of Academic Assessment, with initiatives: e.g., planning, research, workshops, newsletter development. Served as national coordinator for the American Democracy Project Consortium for the NSSE (National Survey on Student Engagement).
· Represented the Office of the Provost on the Committee on Admission/Retention (CARR), Educational Policies Commission, American Democracy Project, Academic Advising Council, and the Intercollegiate Academics Fund Committee (IAF) (chair). My presentation on the IAF to the Student Fees Committee contributed to an 18% increase in the IAF budget.
· Led parent discussions during Transfer Orientation meetings (Fall and Spring).
· Adjudicated student requests (e.g., transfer issues, withdrawal from the university, course substitutions, course/faculty complaints).
· Served on UNI Community Relations Task Force (UNI Campus Conversation): Reviewed data, coded data, researched national trends in community engagement, and wrote the 16-page task force report for the President.
· Developed LEAD: Roundtable in Academic Administration. Cultivating leadership ability among tenured faculty and new or prospective administrators at UNI, LEAD helps fill the pipeline for higher education administration, strengthen a collaborative leadership culture within the Division of Academic Affairs at UNI, and prepare UNI academic leaders for a rapidly changing environment in higher education. LEAD met twice a month this year.
Director, Graduate/Undergraduate Programs in Women’s Studies:
· Oversaw the growth of the Women's Studies minor from 5 students in 1989 to 53 students in 1993.
· Initiated the CROW Forum series. The Current Research on Women Forum series features monthly presentations by faculty drawn from all colleges in the university and offers an opportunity for faculty to share research on gender with the university community.
· Launched and guided the development of the Liberal Arts Core course, "Women, Men, and Society" as well as the revision of the Women's Studies Minor curriculum.
· Undertook the first program development effort for women's studies, which resulted in the Women's Studies Scholarship Fund in the UNI Foundation.
· Initiated, planned, and oversaw approval and implementation of the Master of Arts in Women's Studies. The MA in Women’s Studies is a two-year, thesis-only program with an interdisciplinary core and thematically focused electives. Under advisement of the Graduate Committee in Women's Studies, developed all program materials for the MA in Women’s Studies: recruitment brochures, application forms, a guidebook for students, a guidebook for graduate assistants, evaluation forms for graduate assistantships, policy statements and guides for comprehensive exams and theses, and a Student Outcomes Assessment Plan.
· Initiated and directed development of an innovative graduate assistantship program that offers students in the Women’s Studies MA program an opportunity to conduct research with faculty and includes regular joint meetings of all graduate assistants and supervisors.
· Oversaw a national and international recruiting effort for the MA. The effort attracted students from outside Iowa as well as students from China, India, Japan, Hungary, and Chile.
IV. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN SERVICE
· (2004-08) As Chair of the UNI Coordinating Committee for Disability Accommodations (CCDA), authored first major study in over a decade on services to UNI faculty, staff, and students in need of accommodation. Study and recommendations for action presented to the UNI Cabinet, August 14, 2006. In 2006-07, chaired a CCDA Grants Initiative that developing a three-year strategic plan for grants development in Disability Services.
· (2004-08) As Chair of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts Student Outcomes Assessment (SOA) Committee, developed processes and procedures for and now oversee SOA throughout the college. Goals: to use SOA to enhance teaching and learning effectiveness, strengthen academic program review and the curricular process in undergraduate and graduate programs, and advance Liberal Arts Core outcomes within the LAC and across all college majors. SOA work readies CHFA for the next HLC/NCA reaccreditation process. Primary responsibilities as chair include overseeing SOA processes in the college, facilitating meetings, serving as an assessment consultant to CHFA faculty, preparing an assessment page for each CHFA newsletter, offering workshops to CHFA faculty on assessment processes and tools, serving as liaison to the University Assessment Committee, and tracking accountability issues in higher education on behalf of the Dean.
· (1984-2007) Offered over fifty presentations to community organizations on timely issues in the area of women, religion, and/or public policy.
· (1993-94) As a member of the Gender Equity in Sports Committee, participated in the development of a landmark plan for achieving gender equity in intercollegiate athletics at UNI.
· (1993-95) As chair of the Human Rights Panel, collected testimony, interviewed complainants, reviewed human rights issues, and developed and wrote reports for the President, the Cabinet, and the Office of Affirmative Action concerning the status of human rights on the UNI campus.
· (1992-96) As Co-chair of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts Committee on Cultural Diversity and Inclusiveness, co-wrote a faculty plan as well as an all-college survey for promoting cultural diversity on campus, planned college fora, panels, and faculty development projects. Authored a successful grant that established UNI as a test site for a Vanderbilt University project on enhancing student race relations (tested on campus 1995-96).
· As Chair of the Graduate Faculty, drafted guidelines for “Fellowships of Distinction” to clarify university support of Fulbright and similar awards and developed protocol for graduate student outcomes assessment. Both were implemented by the Graduate Council. As first representative from the Graduate College to the Committee on Academic Program Review, created model for review of graduate programs.
· As Co-Chair for the campus-based portion of the “Students First” capital campaign, contributed to a development effort that raised $112 million for programs, scholarships, and capital projects.
V. RECENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCES
LEAD (Leadership Education and Development) - A Roundtable in Academic Administration: 2006-07
Annual Meeting of the Iowa Network for Women in Higher Education: 2006, 2007
Higher Learning Commission (North Central Association) Annual Meetings: 2005, 2006, 2007
Higher Learning Commission (North Central Association) Summer Assessment Institute, July, 2006
National Assessment Institute, Indianapolis, IN: 2005, 2006, 2007
A Day at Alverno College: Assessment Workshop: 2004
Assessment Workshop, Grinnell College: 2004
AAC&U (Association of American Colleges and Universities) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC 2002
VI. PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
Professional Leadership positions at UNI:
Vice Chair of the Faculty, College of Humanities and Fine Arts (2007-08).
Chair, University Coordinating Committee for Disability Accommodations Grants Initiative, (2006-08).
Chair, University Coordinating Committee for Disability Accommodations, (2004-08).
Chair, College of Humanities and Fine Arts Outcomes Assessment Committee, (2004-08).
Chair, Intercollegiate Academic Fund Committee, Office of the Provost, (2005-6).
Chair, University Committee on Committees, (2003-5).
Co-Chair, University of Northern Iowa Capital Campaign for Faculty and Staff, (2001-02).
Chair, College of Humanities and Fine Arts Hearst Lecture Series Committee. Internal budget: $55,000; External budget: $9,000 Humanities Iowa grant. (2000-2002).
Chair, the Graduate Faculty, (1999-2000).
Chair, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Search Committee, (1999).
Vice-Chair, University Strategic Plan Reconciliation Committee, (1998-99).
Chair, Graduate Student Academic Appeals Board, (1991-94).
Chair, Graduate Committee in Women’s Studies, (1994-1999).
Chair, College of Humanities and Fine Arts Committee on Multiculturalism and Diversity, (1992-96).
University Liaison, American Association of University Women, (1991-93).
Chair, Women's Studies Advisory Board, (1990-1994).
Chair, Women's Studies Curriculum Committee, (1990-1994).
Chair, University Human Rights Panel, (1993-95).
Selected Professional Memberships at UNI:
Search committee, Vice President of Educational and Student Services, (1999, 2007).
College of Humanities and Fine Arts Faculty Senate, (1997-99, 2006-7).
Consortium for Teaching and Learning at UNI (2006-08).
Committee on Admission and Retention (CAR), (2005-6).
American Democracy Project, (2005-07).
President’s Task Force on UNI/Community Relations, (2005-6).
Search Committee, Faculty Representative for Director, UNI Dept. of Residence, (2004).
Research Committee (sub-committee of the Multicultural Coordinating Council), (2003- ).
University Educational Policies Commission, (2003-6).
University Committee on Committees, (2003-6).
Multicultural Coordinating Council, (2002- ).
Sue Follon Leadership Scholarship Committee, (2002).
Minority Mentors, (Faculty representative to Intercollegiate Athletics), (2001-04).
College of Humanities and Fine Arts Advisory Committee for Tenure and Promotion, (2001-02).
University Committee on Academic Program Review, (1999-2001).
Graduate Council, (1999).
College of Humanities and Fine Arts Computer Committee, (1996-99).
UNI Distinguished Scholar Committee, (1998-99).
UNI Diversity Task Force (Office of Academic Affairs), (1998).
University Summer Fellowship Committee, (1995-97).
College of Humanities and Fine Arts Grants and Development Committee, (1992-96).
Minority Mentor Program, (1994-96).
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, (1992-95).
Presidential Search Committee, (1995).
M.Phil. Committee, the Graduate College, (1990-92).
UNI Faculty Senate, (1992; 1995-97).
University Gender Equity in Sports Committee, (1993-94).
Wesley Foundation Board of Directors, faculty representative, (1984‑87).
Graduate Faculty of the University of Northern Iowa, (1984-).
Additional Professional Service:
Academic Program Review, March 2010, Religious Studies Program, University of Nebraska, Omaha.
Professional Association Memberships:
American Academy of Religion
· Program Committee, Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section, American Academy of Religion, (1996-99)
Person, Culture & Religion, a group of the American Academy of Religion
American Philosophical Association
American Theological Society
Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy
Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society
Colloquium on Violence and Religion
· Coordinator, Colloquium on Violence and Religion meeting at the AAR/SBL annual meeting (2006- )
Imitatio (Girard research organization)
· Member of the Research Committee
American Association of University Women
Friends Association for Higher Education
American Association of University Professors
Iowa Network for Women in Higher Education
Community Service:
Member, Casa Montessori Board of Directors, Cedar Falls, IA, (1997-2005).
Member, Cedar Falls/Waterloo Community Review Panel, Iowa Women’s Foundation, (1998, 2004).
Member, Executive Board, Waterloo AAUW (American Association of University Women), (2002-4).
Coordinator, Skyhoundz Canine Disc Championships, Sturgis Falls Festival, (2001-09).
A list of Service Publications and Service Presentations is available upon request.
VII. TEACHING (SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS)
· Teach courses in the Liberal Arts Core (Religions of the World). Support the major in the Study of Religion through courses in the sociology of religion. Build on research strengths in philosophy and psychoanalysis through courses in Existentialism, the psychology of religion, and feminist theory. Support Women’s and Gender Studies through elective and required courses.
· Prioritize critical reflection in all classes. Assign primary sources. Emphasize development of critical writing skills through frequent writing and take-home essay exams. Incorporate innovative
experiential learning opportunities in courses that result in project partnerships between students and local arts organizations and museums.
· Served on the staff for the 2009-10 Workshop on Teaching and Learning for Pre-Tenure Religion Faculty at Colleges and Universities. This two-week and one weekend workshop was funded and sponsored by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion.
· Chosen as one of fifty professors in 2004-6 to participate in a national study, “Teaching the Introductory Course in Theology and Religion: Lessons from the Practices of Fifty Effective Teachers.” Sponsors: the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion and the University of Notre Dame (principal investigator: Barbara Walvoord, U. of Notre Dame); Selected as one of four study participants from the study invited to co-present with Dr. Walvoord at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Washington DC, November, 2006. Dr. Walvoord’s book on this research project was published by Blackwell in 2008.
· With Amir Hussain, offered a seminar on Religious Literacy in a Globally Interdependent World (AACU Annual Meeting, 2002). Seminar for senior academic officers focused on the importance of including the academic study of religion in the liberal arts core in order that students be prepared to interact with neighbors, colleagues, clients, etc. whose religious affiliations span the world religions.
· With Joseph Hallman (University of St. Thomas), received a grant from the Lilly Foundation and the American Academy of Religion for a two-year, multi-session, teaching-enhancement workshop for twenty professors of religion at public and private colleges/ universities (1996-98).
VIII. GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2008 UNI Professional Development Assignment (Spring semester 2009)
2008 UNI Summer Research Fellowship
2000 Humanities Iowa Project Grant for “Picturing Faith” a four-month celebration of religious diversity in our community ($9,000)
1999 Graduate College Research Grant
1999 CHFA Faculty Development Award, AAR/Lilly Teaching Workshop
1999 UNI Summer Mini-Grant Award
1998 UNI Summer Mini-Grant Award
1998 CHFA Faculty Development Grant, Seminar on Critical Race Feminism
1997 Graduate College Research Grant
1996 from Lilly Foundation; for American Academy of Religion Teaching Workshop, shared with the University of St. Thomas ($90,000)
1996 UNI Professional Development Leave (Spring semester 1997)
1996 UNI Summer Research Fellowship
1995 from Vanderbilt University Program in Public Policy; for Diversity Opportunity Tool test-site (a multi-media program for enhancing student race relations) ($400.00)
1993 from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium (NASA); for a symposium on "Race, Gender, and Science ($3,500)
1992 UNI Summer Research Mini-Grant Award
1992 UNI Summer Research Fellowship
1991 UNI Summer Research Mini-Grant Award
1989 UNI Professional Development Leave (Fall semester)
1989 UNI Summer Research Fellowship
1987 UNI Summer Research Fellowship
IX. AWARDS AND HONORS
2010 UNI Diversity Matters Award
2009 Liberal Arts Core Outstanding Teaching Award from the University of Northern Iowa
2009 Ross Nielson Award for Outstanding Service from the University of Northern Iowa
2007 Way Up Recognition Award, 2007 Way Up Conference, for outstanding contributions to the advancement of women in higher education
2006 2006 George and Pat Poage Award for Outstanding Service, Casa Montessori School
2005 Finalist, ACE Fellowship
2000 UNI nominee for CASE Professor of the Year
1999 Omicron Delta Kappa, University of Northern Iowa
1998 Distinguished Faculty Award, for exemplary contributions toward creating a climate of gender equity in education and demonstrated excellence in research, teaching and service, from the Iowa American Association of University Women
1998 Nominee for American Academy of Religion’s Educom Medal Award for Outstanding Use of Technology in the Classroom.
1997 Regents’ Award for Faculty Excellence
1995 Award for outstanding contributions to the Women's Studies Program presented by the Women's Studies Advisory Board, UNI
1995 Salute Award, for outstanding professional achievement and the advancement of women, Northeast Iowa Chapter of Women in Communications.
1994 "Women Helping Women" Award from Seroptimist International of the Americas, North Central Region for advancing the status of women
1976 Phi Beta Kappa, Earlham College
IX. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN SCHOLARSHIP
· Contribute to scholarship in religion that utilizes gender analysis and psychoanalytic theories.
· Developed and currently employ an innovative model for the analysis of sexually differentiated violence that draws on the work of Jacques Lacan, Julia Kristeva, and René Girard.
· Promote and enhance research on mimetic theory in religion, the psychoanalytic study of religion, and feminist theory in the study of religion, through editorial and review responsibilities.
X. RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP
Book:
Intimate Domain: Desire, Trauma, and Mimetic Theory, book manuscript to be submitted to Michigan State University Press fall, 2011.
Sacrificed Lives: Kristeva on Women and Violence, Indiana University Press, 1997.
Journals:
“After the Scapegoat: René Girard’s Apocalyptic Vision and the Legacy of Mimetic Theory” forthcoming, Fall, 2011 in “Violence and the Sacred,” a special issue of Philosophy Today, ed. Maria Margaroni, U. of Cyprus.
“Transforming Space: Creativity, Destruction, and Mimesis in Winnicott and Girard,” in Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture, Vol. 14, Fall 2007, 79-96.
"Mimetic Violence and Nella Larsen’s Passing: Toward a Critical Consciousness of Racism,” in Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture, Vol. 5, Spring, 1998, 74-97.
"In the Shadow of the Herms: A Critique of Myths and Mysteries of Same-Sex Love," in Historical Reflections/ Réflexions Historiques, Vol. 19, No. 1, 1993, pp. 81-101.
"'This is My Body:' Reflections on Abjection, Anorexia, and Medieval Women Mystics," in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. LVIII\2, 1990, pp. 245-265.
"'The Devils Are Come Down Upon Us:’ Myth, History, and the Witch as Scapegoat," in Union Seminary Quarterly Review (44), 1990, pp. 55-83.
"Life‑Sentences: Kristeva and the Limits of Modernity,” in Soundings, Vol. LXXI, No. 4, Winter, 1988, pp. 439‑461.
"In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Alice Walker and The Analogical Imagination," in Philosophy and Theology, Vol. II, No. 3, Spring, 1988, pp. 277‑300.
"Lacan, Merleau‑Ponty, and Irigaray: Reflections on a Specular Drama,” in Auslegung, Vol. XIV, No. 1, Winter, 1987, pp. 67‑85.
"The Politics of Difference: A Critique of Carol Gilligan,” in the Canadian Journal of Feminist Ethics, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring, 1987, pp. 3‑20.
Contributions to Anthologies:
“Proust’s Suffering and Ignatius’ Tears: Intimate Mediation in Kristeva and Girard” to be published in René Girard and World Religions, Michigan State University Press, 2012.
“Not a Country for Old Men: Mimesis and Violence in Santa Varvara,” in Murder, Revolt, and Betrayal in the Novels of Julia Kristeva, ed. Benigno Trigo, forthcoming in 2012 from SUNY Press.
“Transforming Space: Creativity, Destruction, and Mimesis in Winnicott and Girard,” Critical Issues and Creative Possibilities for Mimetic Theory: Mimesis, Creativity and Reconciliation, eds. Vern Redekop and Tom Ryba. Rowman and Littlefield, Fall, 2011.
“Sacrifice and Sexual Difference: Insights and Challenges in the work of René Girard,” in For René Girard: Essays in Friendship and in Truth, eds. Sandor Goodhart, Jorgen Jorgensen, Tom Ryba, and James G. Williams, East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2009, pp. 247-258.
“Our Vital Necessity: Julia Kristeva’s Theory of Sacrifice,” in French Feminism and Religion, Eds. Kathleen O’Grady, Morny Joy, and Judith Poxon (New York: Routledge, 2003), pp. 101-116.
“Analyses of Violence in Becker and Kristeva: What Does a Body know?” in Death and Denial: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Legacy of Ernest Becker, ed. Daniel Liechty, (Greenwood Press, 2003), pp. 197-208.
"The Mother in Mimesis: Kristeva and Girard on Violence and the Sacred," in Body/Text in Julia Kristeva: Religion, Woman, Psychoanalysis, ed. David Crownfield, (New York; State University of New York Press, 1992), 67-85.
"A Whirlwind on the Hard Red Clay: The Black Woman Artist as Theologian," in Images of the Self as Female: The Achievement of Women Artists in Re-envisioning Feminine Identity. Eds. Kathryn N. Bensel and Lauren Pringle De La Vars (New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1992), 91-106.
"'The Devils Are Come Down Upon Us:' Myth, History, and the Witch as Scapegoat," in The Pleasure of Her Text, ed. Alice Bach (Philadelphia: Trinity Press, 1990), 117-145.
"Out of Order: A Critical Perspective on Women and Religion," in Women: A Feminist Perspective, 4th ed., ed. Jo Freeman (Mayfield, 1989), pp. 395‑413. Published also in the 5th edition, (Mayfield, 1995), pp. 430-448.
Proceedings:
"Embodiment: A Conversation with Simone de Beauvoir and Maurice Merleau‑Ponty," in Proceedings of Women & Men: Connecting Research & Experience (La Crosse: University of Wisconsin, 1984).
Publications on Teaching:
"Tales of Terror: On Building a Course around the Theme of Women, Christianity and Abuse." In "Spotlight on Teaching," Religious Studies News, Vol. 7, No. 4, (1992), pp. 3-4.
"Liberation Theology," in Christian/Marxist Studies in United States Higher Education. Eds. Romwald Maczka and Mark R. Elliot. (Wheaton, IL: Institute for the Study of Christianity and Marxism, 1991), pp. 181-86.
Publications in Reference Volumes:
"Desire in Language by Julia Kristeva," in Masterplots II: Women's Literature (Pasadena: Salem Press, 1994), 573-577.
"Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women by Caroline Walker Bynum," in Masterplots II: Women's Literature (Pasadena: Salem Press, 1994), 1045-1049.
Published also in Masterpieces of Women's Literature, ed. Frank N. Magill (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., 1994), 259-261.
Book Reviews:
Abraham’s Curse: The Roots of Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Bruce Chilton, New York: Doubleday, 2008 and The Virgin Mary, Monotheism, and Sacrifice by Cleo McNelly Kearns, Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 2008 . Published in the Bulletin of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion, No. 34, May, 2009. pp. 10-16
“Critical Thinking and the Academic Study of Religion by Richard Penaskovic.” Review essay published in the Southern Humanities Review, 33/3, Summer, 1999, pp. 304-307.
“Deep Symbols by Edward Farley.” Review essay published in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 66/2, Summer, 1998, 423-426.
"Homosexuality and World Religions," ed., Arlene Swidler. Review essay published in the International Journal of Comparative Sociology, XXXIX, 2, 1998, 262-63.
"The Power to Speak, by Rebecca Chopp. In the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. LX, No. 1, Spring, 1992, pp. 150-53.
"Contested Lives: The Abortion Debate in an American Community," by Faye D. Ginsburg, published in The Christian Century, Vol. 106, No. 36, November 29, 1989, pp. 1125‑26.
"Dorothy Day: A Radical Devotion" by Robert Coles, published in The Christian Century, Vol. 105, No. 1, January 6‑13, 1988, pp. 28‑29.
Book Notices: Approximately twenty for Religious Studies Review.
Selected Professional Presentations:
“Lacanian and Girardian perspectives on Blood That Cries Out From the Earth. The Psychology of Religious Terrorism, by Jim Jones.” Presented at a joint session of the Psychology, Culture, and Religion Group and the Colloquium on Violence and Religion at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Atlanta, GA, November 2, 2010.
“Girard and the Feminist Critique of Religion,” invited paper for a Symposium on “René Girard and World Religions,” April 14-16, 2011 Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA.
“Breathing New Life into Latin Tomes:” Ovid and Tibullus in The Old Man and the Wolves, PhiloSOPHIA Society, Vanderbilt University, May 5 2011.
“Heraclitus, Kristeva, and the Question of Good Mimesis,” a response to James Williams’ “Hamerton-Kelly on Violence and Mimesis: A Critical Appreciation.” Plenary Lecture and Discussion, Colloquium on Violence and Religion, U. of Notre Dame, June 30, 2010.
“Moral Panic, Mimetic Theory, and Trust.” A pre-play lecture on the new play, Trust, written by Andy Belin and David Schwimmer; directed by Heidi Stillman and David Schwimmer, Lookingglass Theatre, Chicago, IL
“Violence and Mimesis in The Old Man and the Wolves,” presentation at the 18th Annual Meeting of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion. St. Mary's University College, Twickenham, England, July 9, 2009.
“Transforming Space: Creativity, Destruction, and Mimesis in Winnicott and Girard,” presentation offered at the Colloquium on Violence and Religion, Ottawa, Canada, June 2006.
“A Cartography of the Undead: Mapping Mimesis in Frankenstein,” panel presentation offered at the Colloquium on Violence and Religion, Ottawa, Canada, June 2006.
“The Eternal Irony of the Community: Tragedy, Ethics, and Maternity in Antigone,” presented at the Colloquium on Violence and Religion, Purdue University, June 6, 2002.
“Encounters with a Double-Faced Ghost: Feminist Scholarship in the New Millennium,” presented in the University of Northern Iowa Millennium Lecture Series, October 16, 2000.
“Reassessing Mystification and Agency in Women’s Rituals: Who Really Knows?” presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Boston, MA, November 21, 1999.
“Judaism in Cyberspace: The World Wide Web and Electronic Ethnography in an Introductory Class,” presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Orlando, FL, November 22, 1998.
“Ernest Becker and Julia Kristeva: A Conversation about Death-Work.” Invited lecture to the annual meeting of the Ernest Becker Foundation. Seattle, WA, October 31, 1998.
"Enveloped by the Waters: The Material Ethos of Some Ba'alot Teshuvah Women in Midwestern Lubavitch Communities,” presented at a session on Twentieth-Century Judaism; North American Religions Section, at the 1996 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, New Orleans, LA, November, 1996.
"A Blind, Inclusive Vision? Reassessing Efforts to Infuse Materials on Women in the World Religions Course," presented to the section on Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion, November 20, 1995.
"When Bodies Matter: Julia Kristeva, Judith Butler, and the Discursive Limits of Violence,” presented to the Feminist Theory and Theology Consultation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago, IL, November 1994.
"New Research on René Girard," presentation at the Colloquium on Violence and Religion, Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, November 19, 1993, Washington, D.C.
"A Mother's Body and a Father's Law:" Kristeva and Girard on Violence and the Sacred," presented to the American Theological Society, Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL, October 26, 1990.
"The Mother in Mimesis: Kristeva and Girard on Violence and the Sacred," paper presented in the Psychology Subsection of the Religion and the Social Sciences Section of the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA, November 18‑21, 1989.
"Methodological Considerations in Theories of Sacrifice," respondent to four papers on sacrifice, presented to the Religion and the Social Sciences: Anthropology Section, at the 1988 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago, IL, November 19‑22, 1988.
"'This is My Body:' Reflections on Abjection, Anorexia, and Medieval Women Mystics." Paper presented to the Consultation on The Spatial Dimension of Religious Life at the 1988 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago, IL, November 19‑22, 1988. Revised version given by invitation of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, UNI, at the Sociology and Anthropology Seminar, April 14, 1989.
"Julia Kristeva's Au Commencement etait l'amour: Psychanalyse et foi, a discussion and critique." Paper presented in a panel on psychoanalysis, religion, and feminism, to the Consultation on Feminist Theory, at the American Academy of Religion National Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November, 1986.
"Sexual Embodiment and Feminist Foundational Theology: A Critique of L'écriture Feminine." Paper presented to the Philosophy of Religion Section, American Academy of Religion National Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November, 1986.
Editorial Positions:
Past:
Member, Editorial Board, Reflection and Theory in Religion, a book series published by the American Academy of Religion and Oxford University Press (1998-2001)
Member, Editorial Board, "Violence and the Sacred," a book series published by Syracuse University Press.
Current:
Member, Research Committee, Imitatio, (organization dedicated to promoting mimetic theory and the scholarship on René Girard).
Member, Editorial Board, Studies in Violence, Mimesis, and Culture, a book series published by Michigan State University Press.
Member, Editorial Board, Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture
Referee: Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion; Hypatia, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography
Review book proposals and/or manuscripts for: Columbia University Press, SUNY Press, University of Chicago Press, Indiana University Press, Routledge, Longmans, University of Notre Dame Press.
Selected Workshops and Symposia (Planner and Facilitator):
“Workshop for Pre-Tenure Colleges & Universities Faculty Workshop for 2009-10,” a national workshop for 19 pre-tenure faculty sponsored by the Wabash Center for Teaching in Theology and Religion (3 sessions over two years).
“What Do We Want Students To Learn? A Workshop on the Introductory Course in Religion,” 9 am- 3:30 p.m., Saturday, October 4, 2008. NICC Town Clock Center for Professional Development. Workshop for college faculty in the Dubuque area, funded by the Wabash Center for Teaching in Theology and Religion.
“Demystifying the Introductory Course in Theology and Religion: Examining the Evidence and Strategies for Bridging the Gap Between Faculty Objectives and Student Expectations,” Upper Midwest AAR/SBL Regional Workshop, sponsored by the Wabash Center for Teaching in Theology and Religion, St. Paul, MN March 28, 2008. (One of four planners/leaders)
“What do we Really Want our Students to Learn in Introductory Religion Courses” Midwest AAR/SBL Regional Workshop, sponsored by the Wabash Center for Teaching in Theology and Religion, Chicago, IL, April 4, 2008. (One of three planners/leaders).
“Symposium on the Future of Higher Education,” April 27, 2007. Sponsored by LEAD: Roundtable on Academic Administration and the Faculty Senate Speakers Fund.
“Make it and Take it: Rubrics for Graduate Outcomes,” workshop for CHFA faculty, April 9, 2007.
“Introduction to Rubrics” and “Intermediate Rubrics,” two assessment workshops for CHFA faculty offered February 26, March 6, March 26, and April 3, 2007.
“Are You a Sage on the Stage or a Guide on the Side?” Panel discussion, March 30, 2007, UNI Consortium on Teaching and Learning.
“Students Say They Want More Discussion, So Why Won’t They Talk?” facilitator for panel discussion, February 8, 2007, UNI Consortium on Teaching and Learning.
“Critical Thinking Skills,” an assessment workshop for CHFA faculty, January 29, 2007.
“Graduate Student Outcomes: A ‘Make it and Take it’ Workshop,” offered to faculty of the UNI College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Nov. 13, 2006. Workshop facilitated the revision and/or development of graduate student outcomes processes in CHFA Graduate Programs.
“Student Outcomes Assessment in the Liberal Arts Core Category Review for Humanities and Non-Western Cultures,“ August 26 and September 12, 2005. Workshops to assist faculty members who teach in the category in conducting SOA.
“Seminar on Religious Literacy in a Globally Interdependent World,” presented with Amir Hussain at the American Association of Colleges and Universities Annual Meeting, Washington, DC January 24, 2002.
"An Open Dialogue on College Teaching and Learning," sponsored by the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching, UNI, March 15, 1995.
(Co-Planner) "Women, Work, and Welfare," a conference co-sponsored by the Graduate Programs in Public Policy and Women's Studies, UNI, February 1, 1995.
(Co-Planner) "Renaming Leadership: Celebrating the Diversity of Women's Strengths," an all-day conference planned for women faculty and students at UNI, Sept. 15, 1994.
"Symposium on Gender Equity in Sports," sponsored by the Women's Studies Program, April 5, 1994.
"Symposium on Race, Gender, and Science;" co-sponsored by the Women's Studies Program, College of Natural Science, Department of History; March 31, 1993.
"Diversity in Our Courses: How Close and How Far Away," faculty workshop on including gender-diverse and multicultural perspectives in our classrooms. Tuesday, September 17, 1992.
Faculty Workshop with Kesho Scott: "Institutional Racism," February 24, 1992.
