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Joseph L. Kimmel

Faculty Member (Theology Department), Part-Time, Boston College

My research interests lie at the intersection of early Christianity, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, and posthumanism(s). I recently completed a PhD at Harvard (Study of Religion) and currently teach at Boston College. My dissertation, entitled "Power in the Name: Towards a Theological Posthumanism," examines onomastic invocations to access otherworldly power in ancient Mediterranean and medieval Tibetan sources. I previously earned an AB in Religious Studies (University of Chicago), an MA in Clinical Psychology (Wheaton College, IL), an MDiv (Harvard Divinity School), and an MA in Study of Religion (Harvard University). Outside of academia, I serve as an Episcopal priest at a parish near Boston.

Experience

  • 2022–present
    Part-Time Faculty Member (Theology Department), Boston College
  • 2018–2021
    Teaching Fellow, Harvard University

Education

  • 2023 
    Harvard University, PhD (Study of Religion: New Testament and Early Christianity)
  • 2019 
    Harvard University, MA (Study of Religion)
  • 2016 
    Harvard Divinity School, MDiv
  • 2012 
    Wheaton College (IL), MA (Clinical Psychology)
  • 2004 
    University of Chicago, AB (Religious Studies)

Publications

  • 2024
    Agentive Names and Posthuman Ontologies: Onomastic Invocations of the “More-than-Human” in Early Christian and Medieval Tibetan Artifacts., Journal of the American Academy of Religion
  • 2023
    The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Comparative Theology: A Collection in Honor of Francis X. Clooney, SJ,
  • 2022
    Coercive Names: Interpreting Mark 5:1-13 with Althusser’s ‘Interpellation, Biblical Interpretation
  • 2021
    Mary in Christ in God: The Intertwined Identities of Mary, Christ, and God Almighty in the Akathistos Hymn, Journal of Malankara Orthodox Theological Studies
  • 2020
    Bedeviling Spirit Possession in Ancient Christian Texts: A Q+A with Giovanni B. Bazzana on His Newest Book, Harvard Divinity Bulletin
  • 2019
    Spiritual Danger and Interreligious Participation, Journal of Interreligious Studies
  • 2018
    Comparative Confession: A Comparative Study of Confession in the Writings of Tertullian, Cassian, and Śāntideva, Journal of Interreligious Studies

Professional Memberships

  • American Academy of Religion
  • Society of Biblical Literature