Constantina Rhodes Bailly
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Ph.D., Columbia University

Professor Bailly’s research interests lie in Kashmir Shaiva Hinduism and in the Goddess traditions of India. She spent two years in India collecting and translating manuscripts of sacred Sanskrit poetry, which resulted in a book, Shaiva Devotional Songs of Kashmir: The Shivastotravali of Utpaladeva. She also coauthored a book on a contemporary school of yoga with roots in Kashmir Shaivism, Meditation Revolution: A History and Theology of the Siddha Yoga Lineage, served as an editor for south Asian religions on the Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. by Mircea Eliade, and has served as President of the American Academy of Religion/Southeast. A member of the Letters Collegium, she teaches courses on various facets of religion in Asia, shamanism, and the Goddess, including some courses in the Women’s and Gender Studies program.

Davina C. Lopez - Prof. Lopez's Website
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Ph.D., Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York

Professor Lopez's research and teaching interests include Pauline studies, the Greek, Jewish, and Roman imperial contexts of the New Testament writings, and art and performance as critical modes of interpreting biblical texts and traditions. She also has interests and training in the interdependence of visual and literary cultures as well as the study of gender and sexuality. She is the author of several articles and reviews, and currently serves as the Student Director on the American Academy of Religion's Board of Directors. A member of the Letters Collegium, Professor Lopez teaches courses in biblical studies that emphasize the relationship between ancient and modern worlds, methodology in biblical interpretation, and the continuing relevance of the Bible as a significant site for articulations of power relationships, community identity-construction, and meaning-making.

David J. Bryant
Professor of Religious Studies
Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary

Christian thought and life is Professor Bryant’s primary area of research and teaching. A strong interest in the role of imagination in religion led to the publication of a book, Faith and the Play of Imagination: On the Role of Imagination in Religion. His other research and teaching interests include the interaction of religion and Western culture, the influence of religion on our treatment of the natural environment, and the impact of Christian faith on our understanding of what it means to be human. He is a coordinator for the Environmental Studies major and is a member of the Letters Collegium.