Faculty & Staff

Jin Y Park Professor and Department Chair, Philosophy & Religion CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Jin Y. Park is Professor and Department Chair of Philosophy and Religion at American University. She also served as Founding Director of Asian Studies Program from 2013-2020. Park specializes in East

  jypark@american.edu

  (202) 885-2919

 

Graduate Director: Ian Rhoad

Please browse below or use these links for

Contact us: philrel@american.edu

Philosophy and Religion Full Time Faculty

Full Time Faculty

Faculty Research Interests

Faculty by area of specialization:

African and African Diaspora Philosophy

  • Jerome Clarke
  • Kiesha Martin
  • Onaje Woodbine

Asian Philosophy and Religion

  • Joseph Harroff
  • Jin Y. Park
  • Shubha Pathak
  • Yun Woo Song

European Philosophy

  • Cameron Bassiri
  • Farhang Erfani
  • Edward Guetti
  • Ian Rhoad
  • Lauren Weis
  • Perry Zurn

Greek and Roman Religions

Shubha Pathak

Jewish Philosophy and Religion

Gershon Greenberg

Latin American Philosophy

  • Edward Guetti
  • Amy Oliver

African and African Diaspora Religion

  • Onaje Woodbine

Buddhism, Confucianism

  • Joseph Harroff
  • Jin Y. Park
  • Yun Woo Song

Greek and Roman Religions 

Shubha Pathak

Hinduism

Shubha Pathak

Judaism

Gershorn Greenberg

Aesthetics

  • Farhang Erfani
  • Edward Guetti
  • Shubha Pathak

Critical Race Theory

  • Jerome Clarke
  • Ellen Feder
  • Kiesha Martin
  • Onaje Woodbine

Deconstruction, Existentialism, Phenomenology, Postmodernism

  • Cameron Bassiri
  • Farhang Erfani
  • Edward Guetti
  • Jin Y. Park
  • Ian Rhoad
  • Lauren Weis
  • Perry Zurn

East-West Comparative Philosophy

  • Joseph Harroff
  • Jin Y. Park
  • Yun Woo Song

Ethics Moral Philosophy

  • Cameron Bassiri
  • Jerome Clarke
  • Kelso Cratsley
  • Ellen Feder
  • Asia Ferrin
  • Gershon Greenberg
  • Edward Guetti
  • Nabina Liebow
  • Amy Oliver
  • Jin Y. Park
  • Ian Rhoad
  • Yun Woo Song

Political Philosophy and Postcolonialism

  • Cameron Bassiri
  • Jerome Clarke
  • Farhang Erfani
  • Edward Guetti
  • Ian Rhoad
  • Perry Zurn

Postpoststructuralism

Shubha Pathak

Women and Gender

  • Joel Daniels
  • Ellen Feder
  • Amy Oliver
  • Jin Y. Park
  • Lauren Weis
  • Onaje Woodine
  • Perry Zurn


Full-Time Faculty
 

Cameron Bassiri Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | Philosophy/Religion

I joined the community at AU in the fall of 2013. I am currently a Professorial Lecturer and have taught several courses that have focused on ethical theories and issues. I also help co-organize the D

  bassiri@american.edu

  (202) 885-8144

Nicholas Buck Professorial Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Religion CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Nicholas Buck teaches and writes broadly on matters of ethics, religion, and politics. His primary research interests lie at the intersection of religious studies and moral and political philosophy, a

  nbuck@american.edu

Jerome Clarke Acting Assistant Professor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Jerome Clarke joined the AU Faculty in 2023. He writes on Technology Ethics (esp. AI/ML), the Critical Philosophy of Race, and 20th-century Social Philosophy. His book manuscript (under construction)

  clarke@american.edu

Kelso Cratsley Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Kelso Cratsley teaches courses in bioethics, neuroethics, and logic, and his research focuses on issues in – and often at the intersection of – bioethics, mental health, and global health. He has prev

  cratsley@american.edu

  (202) 885-2981

Farhang Erfani Associate Professor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

I joined the AU community in 2005. My teaching and research are focused on democratic theory, globalization, exile, existentialism and aesthetics, particularly philosophy of film.

  erfani@american.edu

  (202) 885-2206

Ellen Feder Professor CAS - Philosophy and Religion

Ellen K. Feder is the William Fraser McDowell Professor of Philosophy and Social Policy. She works at the intersection of contemporary continental philosophy and feminist and critical race theory, par

  efeder@american.edu

  (202) 885-2931

Asia Ferrin Assistant Professor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

I am an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at American University. As a researcher, I work to present counternarratives to what Hilde Lindeman Nelson calls “master narratives.” Master narratives are co

  ferrin@american.edu

  (202) 885-2415

Gershon Greenberg Professor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Gershon Greenberg is the author of three definitive bibliographies of religious thought and the Holocaust, and numerous articles on German-Jewish philosophy, history of Jewish thought in America and r

  greenbe@american.edu

  (202) 885-2912

Edward Guetti Professorial Lecturer CAS | Philosophy/Religion

I am a Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy & Religion. Before arriving at American University, I taught at Hunter College (City University of New York) and Fordham University. I have

  guetti@american.edu

Joseph Harroff Professorial Lecturer CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Joseph Harroff teaches philosophy and religion. His primary research interests are in the field of intercultural comparative philosophy, Chinese philosophy, American pragmatism, and methods of philoso

  jharroff@american.edu

Nabina Liebow Director of CAS Leadership Program and Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Nabina Liebow (she/her) is the College of Arts and Sciences Leadership and Ethical Development Program Director (CAS LEAD) and a Senior Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religi

  liebow@american.edu

  (202) 885-6383

Kiesha Martin Instructor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Kiesha Martin is a Jamaican, PhD Candidate in the department of Philosophy at Marquette University. Her research lies along the interface between Philosophy and Caribbean Theory. Her dissertation, “

  kiesham@american.edu

Amy Oliver Assoc Professor CAS - Philosophy and Religion

Professor Oliver's teaching and research on Latin America explore philosophical topics such as marginality, feminism, nepantlismo, and transfronterismo. She works on the Hispanic ess

  aoliver@american.edu

  (202) 885-2140

Shubha Pathak Associate Professor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Shubha Pathak is a historian of religions who interprets epic myths from Greece, India, and Rome. In addition to teaching courses on intersections of religion, philosophy, and politics in classical an

  pathak@american.edu

  (202) 885-2957

Ian Rhoad Professorial Lecturer and Director of Graduate Studies, Philosophy & Religion CAS - Philosophy and Religion

I am a Professorial Lecturer at American University, where I teach classes in the history of philosophy, ethics, and politics. In my philosophical research I work primarily in continental philosophy,

  ianr@american.edu

  (202) 885-2493

Yun Woo Song Professorial Lecturer CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Yunwoo Song specializes in Chinese philosophy, with added focus on Confucianism and natural philosophy. His research focuses on the conceptions of the universe, problems of determinism, free will, and

  ywsong@american.edu

Lauren Weis Sr Professorial Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Philosophy CAS | Philosophy/Religion

I earned a PhD in Philosophy from Boston College specializing in Continental and History of Philosophy with a focus on ethics, metaphysics and epistemology, gender studies and feminist theory. Since j

  weis@american.edu

  (202) 885-2926

Onaje Woodbine Associate Professor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Onaje X. O. Woodbine’s research explores the varieties of black religious experience, especially as they are lived on the margins of power and outside the bounds of established institutional authority

  woodbine@american.edu

  (202) 885-6733

Perry Zurn Provost Assoc Professor CAS - Philosophy and Religion

Perry Zurn is Provost Associate Professor of Philosophy at American University, and affiliate faculty in the Department of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies, the Honors Program, and the Antir

  pzurn@american.edu

  (202) 885-2964

Adjunct Faculty

Roshan Abraham AUx Instructor & Advisor UEAS

Roshan Abraham (he/him/his) holds a PhD in Classical Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Before coming to his current position at AU, Roshan was an Assistant Professor of Classics and Religio

  rabraham@american.edu

Erik Cooke Adjunct Instructor CAS - Philosophy and Religion

Erik Cooke (he/they) has worked in the disability, aging, anti-hunger, and international development fields for more than 20 years. Currently, they direct grant and business development for Easterseal

  erik.cooke@american.edu

Jerome Copulsky Scholar in Residence CAS - Jewish Studies

Jerome Copulsky is a research fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, specializing in modern Western religious thought, political theory, and church/state issues. His scholar

  copulsky@american.edu

  (202) 885-6740

Jordan Corner Adjunct Instructor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

I am an adjunct professor in the department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at American University. My areas of specialization are Philosophy of Language and Metaethics. I work with semantic based

  corner@american.edu

Veronica Davalos Jaramillo Adjunct Instructor

Verónica Dávalos J., originally from Quito, Ecuador, currently works as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University and

  vd5121a@american.edu

Jason Emami Adjunct Instructor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Jason Emami has been an adjunct instructor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion since 2021, specializing in teaching political and moral philosophy. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics (

  jaemami@american.edu

Sooil Kim Adjunct Professorial Lecturer CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Sooil-Pascal Kim graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the field of Buddhist Studies (ABD) and the Academy of Korean Studies (PhD). His areas of interest include Yogacara Buddhism and

  spkim@american.edu

  (202) 885-6300

Robert Osborne AUx Instructor & Advisor UEAS

Carry Osborne (he/him) holds a PhD in Philosophy from Northwestern University. He joined AU in 2021 as a First Year Advisor and AUx Instructor. He began teaching in the Department of Philosophy and Re

  rosborne@american.edu

Bryant Oskvig University Chaplain SA | Kay Spiritual Life Center

The Reverend Bryant M. Oskvig, an ordained elder of the United Methodist Church, has been working on university campuses since 2006. Rev. Oskvig received his Master of Divinity from Boston University,

  revo@american.edu

  (202) 885-3336

Carrie Peffley Adjunct Instructor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Carrie Peffley holds graduate degress from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Cambridge University in Cambridge, England. Her main areas of interest are history of philosophy and ethics

  peffley@american.edu

Tereza Sarkisyan Adjunct Instructor CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Tereza Sarkisyan was born in Queens, New York and received her double Bachelor's Degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from Florida Atlantic University in 2016. She went on to receive her Master

  ts9177a@american.edu

David Shope Adjunct Professorial Lecturer CAS | Philosophy/Religion

David Shope received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of California, Riverside and recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the NIH Department of Bioethics. Though he has primarily spe

  dshope@american.edu

Ariel Simms Scholar-in-Residence CAS | Philosophy/Religion

Ariel Simms (they/them or she/hers) is the President and Chief Executive Officer of RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so people with disabilities ca

  simms@american.edu

Affiliate Faculty

Richard C. Sha Professor CAS | Literature

Professor Sha is the author of three books, the latest of which is Imagination and Science in Romanticism (Johns Hopkins, 2018). This book won the 2018 Jean-Pierre Barricelli Prize for the best book p

  rcsha@american.edu

  (202) 885-6300

Emeritus Faculty