Joined the faculty in 1988
Ph.D., University of Chicago
M.A., University of Chicago
B.A., Duke University
Read Susan Henking's Curriculum Vitae
Current Scholarly Interests:
My work is in the general area of religion, gender, and sexuality. I have written on the place of the public intellectual in U.S. debate regarding religion, the history of American sociology, representations of religion in AIDS related memoirs, the intersection of religious studies and lesbian/gay/queer studies, and the theoretical status of religion and psychological studies. I also am series editor of the American Academy of Religion book series, "Teaching Religious Studies" so do a lot of work on pedagogy and have written on the relation of religion, religious studies and higher education in the U.S.
Courses Routinely Taught:
"Imagining American Religion"
"Religion and Social Theory"
"Psychologies of Religion"
"Therapy Myth and Ritual"
"Unspoken Worlds: Women, Religion and Culture"
"Que(e)rying Religion" (lesbian/gay/queer studies and religion)
"The Loss of Certainty" (on secularization)
"God, Gender and the Unconscious"
Published Work:
Henking, Susan and Gary David Comstock, "Quer(e)rying Religion: A Critical Anthology," Continuum, New York: 1997.
In addition, I have published articles on topics mentioned above in scholarly journals such as Religion and American Culture, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, including such works as Religion and Psychology: Mapping the Terrain (edited by Diane Jonte Pace and William Parsons) and Religion, Terror and Violence (edited by Philip Tite and Brian Rennie). I am also an active participant in: Campus Women Lead (2008). I am also co-editor of Mourning Religion (also coedited by William Parsons, and Diane Jonte Pace), which is due out October 2008 from University of Virginia Press.
Professional Affiliations:
American Academy of Religion
Personal Statement:
I am a leader in the American Academy of Religion, having served on its Board of Directors for 9 years, and am currently on its Editorial Committee. In addition, I lead within higher education through my involvement with HERS (Higher Education Resource Services) for whom I serve as co-coordinator of the HERS Bryn Mawr Summer Institute and the HERS Wellesley Management Institute. I have also served as Acting Provost of Hobart and William Smith Colleges.