Jeffrey
W. Robbins

Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy Lebanon Valley College Annville, PA 17003 Office: Humanities 307D Phone: (717) 867-6720 Email: robbins@lvc.edu

Interests: Continental Philosophy of Religion, Philosophical Theology, Religion and Culture

Education:
Ph.D. (Department of Religion), Syracuse University, 2001
M.Phil. (Department of Religion), Syracuse University, 1999
M.Div. (Brite Divinity School), Texas Christian University, 1997
B.A. (History), Baylor University, 1994

Editorial and Advisory Positions:

Co-editor (with Clayton Crockett), The Davies Group Series on "Contemporary Religious Thought" (http://personal-pages.lvc.edu/~robbins/Religion.htm), including the following titles:

• Carl A. Raschke, The End of Theology, 2000.
• Theresa Sanders, The Body and Belief: Why the Body of Jesus Cannot Heal, 2000.
• Gabriel Vahanian, Anonymous God: an Essay on Not Dreading Words, 2002.
• Charles E. Winquist, The Surface of the Deep, 2003.
• Gabriel Vahanian, Tillich and the New Religious Paradigm (forthcoming)
• Catherine Madsen, The Power to Contain: Rehabilitating Liturgical Speech (forthcoming)
• Leonardo Messinese, The Problem of God in Modern Philosophy (forthcoming)
• Eric Weislogel, The Fall of Judgment (forthcoming)

Associate Editor and member of the Editorial Board, The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory. http://www.jcrt.org.

Member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP), and the American Studies Association (ASA).

Junior Associate Fellow, The International Institute for Hermeneutics (IIH).  http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/iih/

Wye Fellow, The Aspen Institute.  http://www.aspeninstitute.org/index.asp?bid=9145

Courses taught:
REL 140: Encountering World Religions
REL 201: Biblical Literature
DSP 352: Marx and Marxism
REL 110: Introduction to Religion (Fall 2004)
REL 140: Encountering World Religions (Fall 2003)
REL 201: Biblical Literature (Fall 2002)
REL 255: Islam (Fall 2003)
REL 310: History of Christian Thought  (Spring 2004)
REL 312: History of Christianity II (Spring 2003)
REL 313: The Search for Jesus  (Spring 2004)
REL 333: Religion and Film (Spring 2003)
REL 336: Contemporary Religious Thought (Fall 2003)
REL 500: Postmodern Theology, Independent Study (Summer 2004)
REL 500: Bonhoeffer and 'Religionless Christianity', Independent Study (Spring 2004)
PHL 500: Nietzsche and the Death of God, Independent Study (Spring 2003)
Existentialism and Religion (Fall 1999), S.U. Department of Religion
The Problem of Evil (Spring 2000), S.U. Department of Religion
World Religions (Fall 2000, Spring 2001), Cayuga Community College
Modern Philosophy (Fall 2000, Spring 2001), Le Moyne College
Ancient Philosophy (Fall 2000, Spring 2001), Le Moyne College

Books:

• Between Faith and Thought: an essay on the ontotheological condition, "Studies in Religion and Culture", a book series edited by Edith Wyschogrod, Frank Burch Brown, and Garry L. Ebersole (The University of Virginia Press, 2003). http://www.upress.virginia.edu/books/robbins.html
• In Search of a Non-Dogmatic Theology (Davies Group Publishers, 2004).
  http://personal-pages.lvc.edu/~robbins/Non-Dogmatic.htm

Articles:

• “Dietrich Bonhoeffer,” “Emil Brunner,” “Chicago School of Theology,” Jürgen Moltmann,” “H. Richard Niebuhr,” “Reinhold Niebuhr,” “Wolfhart Pannenberg,” “Yale School of Theology." The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press (forthcoming in 2004).
• "The Theological Becoming of Phenomenology," in The Hermeneutical Turn in Phenomenology, Toronto: The Hermeneutics Press (forthcoming in 2004).
  
• “Ontotheology,” "Theology." Handbook for Religious Studies, edited by Kenneth Lokensgard and Osborne Lorentzen. Aurora, CO: The Davies Group (forthcoming in 2004).
• "A Post-National Theology of Empire," in The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory, Vol. 5, No. 3 (August 2004):  http://www.jcrt.org/archives/05.3/index.html
• "WeakTheology," in The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory, Vol. 5, No. 2 (April 2004):  http://www.jcrt.org/archives/05.2/index.html
• "In Search of a Non-Dogmatic Theology." Cross Currents, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Summer 2003): http://www.crosscurrents.org/summer2003.htm
• "Overcoming Overcoming: In Praise of Ontotheology." Explorations in Continental Philosophy of Religion. New York and Amsterdam: Rudopi (2003): http://www.rodopi.nl/senj.asp?BookId=Vibs+143
• "A Hermeneutics of the Law: Kristeva, Zizek and the Case for Hypocrisy." Between the Human and the Divine: Philosophical and Theological Hermeneutics. Toronto: The Hermeneutics Press (2002).
• "The Problem of Ontotheology: Complicating the Divide between Philosophy and Theology." The Heythrop Journal, Vol. 43, No. 2 (2002), 139-151: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/abstract.asp?ref=0018-1196&vid=43&iid=2&aid=188&s=
• "De-Nominating Religion and Postmodernism: A Conversation between Jean-Luc Marion and Jacques Derrida." Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory, Vol. 2, No. 2 (April 2001): http://www.jcrt.org/archives/02.2/index.html?page=robbins.shtml
• "The Enlightenment at the Margins: Giving Place to William Blake and Giambattista Vico." Quodlibet Online Journal of Christian Theology and Philosophy, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Summer 2001): http://www.quodlibet.net/robbins-enlightenment.shtml.
• "From Thinking to Religion: The Opening of Ideality in 19th Century Christian Thought." Journal for Christian Theological Research, Vol. 5, No. 5 (2000).
• "In the Name of the Other: A Response to Johannes Wolfart." CSSR Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 2 (APR 2000): 42.
• "The Promise of Death: God's Self-Inscription of Lack." Quodlibet Online Journal of Christian Theology and Philosophy, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Spring 2000): http://www.quodlibet.net/robbins-lack.shtml
• "Re-Placing Theology: Theologizing the Study of Religion." CSSR Bulletin, Vol. 28, No. 4 (NOV 1999), 118-125.

Reviews:

Review for Theological Studies:

• The Wisdom of Love in the Service of Love: Emmanuel Levinas on Justice, Peace, and Human Rights, by Roger Burggraeve (forthcoming).
  

Review for Political Theology:

• For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery, by Rodney Stark (fothcoming).
  

Reviews for Bridges: an Interdisciplinary Journal of Theology, Philosophy, History and Science:

• Biocosm: The New Scientific Theory of Evolution, by James Gardner
• Bonhoeffer, written and directed by Martin Doblmier.

Reviews for The American Journal of Theology and Philosophy:

• The Metaphysical Club: a Story of Ideas in America, by Louis Menand.
• Secular Theology: American Radical Theological Thought, edited by Clayton Crockett.

BookNotes for Religious Studies Review:

• Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo: Theological Reflections on Nihilism, Tragedy, and Apocalypse, by David Toole.
• The Contemporary Jesus, by Thomas J. J. Altizer.

A Theology of Life: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Religionless Christianity, by Ralf K. Wustenbeg, translated by Doug Stott. In Religion and Literature, Volume 32, Number 3 (Autumn 2000): 129-131.

Conference Presentations:

• Scheduled, "Becoming Theological: Rethinking Philosophy and/of Religion."  American Academy of Religion Annual Conference, Philosophy of Religon Group.  San Antonio, TX  (Fall 2004).
• "Phenomenology, Pragmatism, and the New Hypothesis of God." Questioning God: The British Society for Phenomenology Summer Conference. University of Greenwich, London, U.K. (Summer 2003)
• "Postmodernism, Orientalism, and the Politics of Theory: a Discussion of Carl Olson's Dialogues on the Margins of Culture." AAR-EIR. Mercyhurst College (Spring 2003).
• "A Hermeneutics of the Law: Kristeva, Zizek and the Case for Hypocrisy." International Congress on Hermeneutics. St. Bonaventure University, NY (Spring 2002).
• "The Advance of a Theological Ontology: Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Continuing Contribution to Continental Philosophy of Religion." American Academy of Religion Annual Conference. Denver, CO (Fall 2001).
• "The Postmodern Liberation of the Word: Reflections on Theological Hermeneutics." ETS Conference on Postmodernism. New York, NY (Spring 2001).
• "Passion and Responsibility: The Question of Ethics in Kierkegaard and Levinas." American Academy of Religion Annual Conference. Nashville, TN (Fall 2000).
• "The Theological Measure: Subjecting Religious Studies to the Voice of the Other." Congress 2000: The Future of the Study of Religion. Boston, MA. Sponsored by Boston University and Harvard University (Fall 2000).
• "Overcoming Overcoming: Tracing Religion and Replacing Theology." Continental Philosophy of Religion Conference. St. Martin's College, Lancaster, U.K. Sponsored by the British Academy (Summer 2000).
• Organized and Moderated Panel: "Religion without Religion." AAR-EIR, Syracuse University (Spring 2000). Included paper presentation entitled, "Theology without Religion: Karl Barth's Theological Critique of Religion and Philosophy."
• "The Theological Responsibility of Religious Studies." Alumni and Graduate Student Conference on Religious Studies and Cultural Engagement. Syracuse University (Spring 2000).
• "Holding Philosophy to Account: The Ethics of Emmanuel Levinas." Midwest Regional Meeting of the SCP on Jewish and Christian Resources for Social and Political Philosophy. Baylor University (Spring 2000).
• "A Hermeneutics of Becoming: Giambattista Vico and the Counter-Enlightenment." SSIPS/SAGP Conference, Institute of Global Cultural Studies. Binghamton University, SUNY (Fall 1999)
• "The Promise of Death: God's Self-Inscription of Lack." AAR-EIR. Hobart and William Smith Colleges (Spring 1999). Winner of Graduate Student Prize for outstanding paper submitted to Regional Conference.
• "Religious Diversity and the Enounter with the Intolerable." AAR-EIR. University of Toronto (Spring 1998).

Awards:

• Who's Who in America (2005)
• HyPE LVC Teaching Award (2004)
• Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award, Eastern International Region of the American Academy of Religion (1999)
• Passed Ph.D. Comprehensive Exams with Distinction (1999)
• Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Syracuse University (Initiated 1999)
• Theta Chi Beta/Theta Alpha Kappa Religion Honor Society (Initiated 1999)
  

Links:

American Academy of Religion (AAR)
The International Institute for Hermeneutics (IIH)
Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP)
American Studies Association (ASA)
"Postmodern Secular Theology," a recording of a lecture given by Charles Winquist at the Slought Foundation (University of Pennsylvania) on Feb. 16, 2000.

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