Humanities faculty and staff

Brother Aelred Woodard, O.S.B. 360-491-4700 (Information Center) br_aelred@stmartin.edu
B.A./B.Ph. 1966, University of Ottawa; theological studies, St. Paul University; M.A., St. John's University Brother Aelred's scholarly interests include fundamental theology, religious enculturation and interdisciplinary studies such as theology and psychology or theology and art.

 

Olivia Archibald Professor, English O'Grady U-3 360-438-4357 oarchibald@stmartin.edu

B.A. and M.A., Marshall University; Ph.D., University of Iowa Archibald's academic interests include creative nonfiction, essay theory, composition theory, early medieval literature, and literary criticism. Prior to coming to Saint Martin's University, she taught creative and expository writing, literature and literary theory, and several interdisciplinary programs at The Evergreen State College and Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa.

 

Todd Barosky Assistant professor, English Old Main 364 360-412-6153 tbarosky@stmartin.edu

B.A., The College of the Holy Cross; Ph.D., The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Todd Barosky teaches and writes about early American literature, history and culture. His interests include the genres of the nineteenth-century novel, the multiethnic autobiography, and poetic traditions before Whitman and Dickinson. He is currently at work on a project that investigates the relationship between counterfeit money and literary genre in antebellum America. Before coming to Saint Martin's, he taught at Hunter College and Fordham University in New York City.

 

Jeff Birkenstein Associate professor and chair, English Old Main 347 360-486-8846 jbirkenstein@stmartin.edu
B.A., U.C.L.A.; M.A., English, Cal State Long Beach; M.A. Teaching English as a Second Language, University of Kentucky; Ph.D., English, ibid. Birkenstein teaches and writes on a wide range of topics concerning American literature and culture, as well as the international short story, short story sequence, and food and fiction.

 

Darrell Born Chair, fine arts Assistant professor, music Kreielsheimer Hall 360-438-4506 dborn@stmartin.edu
B.M., Biola University, 1997; M.M., vocal performance, Wichita State University, 1999

 

Thomas A. Deming Adjunct professor, art

B.A., University of Washington; M.F.A., University of Puget Sound In addition to teaching art survey courses, Deming works in his home studio. Working primarily in ceramics, Deming explores the relationship of color, pattern and three-dimensional form. His works have been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally.

 

Brother Luke Devine, O.S.B. Instructor, religious studies Old Main 373 360-438-4458 (Monastery) br_luke@stmartin.edu

B.A., Saint Martin's College; M.T.S, Weston Jesuit School of Theology (now Boston College School of Theology and Ministry) Brother Luke is interested in methodology in the study of religion - the religious studies - theology, insider-outsider, and phenomenology of religion discourses. He focuses on the study of Christianity as a global religion with special emphasis on Asia, the manifestations of contextual theology and application of Catholic social teachings therein. He is interested in ecumenical and interreligious dialogues, particularly monastic interreligious dialogue with Buddhism.

 

David A. Hlavsa Professor, theatre arts Old Main 343 360-438-4345 dhlavsa@stmartin.edu

B.A., Princeton University; M.F.A., University of Washington David Hlavsa heads the Theatre Arts Department at Saint Martin's University where he has been teaching acting, directing and playwriting since 1989. He is the author of An Actor Rehearses: What to do When – and Why (Allworth Press, 2006). Productions directed at SMU include A Little Night Music, Reaching Through the Frame, Everyman, Goodnight Desdemona Good Morning Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Day Room, The Illusion and The Memorandum. As an actor in SMU productions, Hlavsa most recently played Vincent in Crows over Wheatfield and is looking forward to playing Death in Everyman this coming spring. He is the 2005-6 recipient of the University’s Outstanding Teaching Award, and is currently serving a second term as Faculty President. Hlavsa’s latest play, Pack of Lies, has been widely produced. He is married to Lisa Holtby and is the proud father of Benjamin.

 

Nathalie Kuroiwa-Lewis Assistant professor, English O'Grady L-3 360-438-4533 NKuroiwaLewis@stmartin.edu

B.A., College of St. Scholastica; M.A., SUNY at Albany; M.A., St. Cloud State University; Ph.D., University of Arizona Nathalie Kuroiwa-Lewis enjoys teaching composition, journalism, ESL, and literature. Her research interests include Burkean studies, dramatism, classical and contemporary rhetoric, rhetoric of fiction, rhetoric of the media, journalism, political rhetoric, literary theory and American, British, and world literature. She has taught in Japan, the Czech Republic and the United States.

 

Brother Boniface V. Lazzari, O.S.B. Associate professor and chair, Spanish Old Main 339 360-438-4476
B.A., Saint Martin's College; M.A., Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; S.T.B., Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid Brother Boniface teaches both Spanish and religious studies, as well as taking an active role at Saint Martin's Abbey. He also is director of Abbey Church Events, a highly regarded music and speakers series.

 

Julia McCord Chavez Associate professor, English Old Main 312a 360-412-6132 jchavez@stmartin.edu

B.A., DePauw University; J.D., Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington; M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison.  Julia McCord Chavez’s academic interests include nineteenth-century British literature, novel studies, gender studies, Victorian print culture, and the intersections of law and literature.  She has published articles on the gothic aspects of serial novels by Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell, the pedagogical value of Victorian periodical reading, and the transatlantic publication of Thomas Hardy’s novel The Return of the Native. Prior to coming to Saint Martin’s University, she taught literature and composition courses at Marquette University. She has also worked in the legal and publishing fields.

 

Kathleen McKain Associate professor, French Old Main 363 360-438-4337 kmckain@stmartin.edu
B.A., Pacific Lutheran University; M.A., Middlebury College McKain attended L'Universit de Paris while working on her thesis, and has taught French at Pacific Lutheran University and The Evergreen State College. She teaches courses in French language, civilization and literature and, during the summer, directs an intensive French language camp for children.

 

Father Kilian J. Malvey, O.S.B. Professor and chair, religious studies Old Main 361 360-438-4342 fr_kilian@stmartin.edu

B.A., Saint Martin's College; Heythrop College, University of London; M.A., Marquette University; D.Min., University of California, Berkeley; M.T.S., Boston Theological Institute Father Kilian chairs the University's religious studies department and he is the founder of the Spiritual Life Institute, a summer program that has played host to renowned theologians, religious scholars, and advocates for social justice for the last twenty-five years. His scholarly interests include the Hebrew Scriptures, transcendentalist writers of mid-19th century America and American Southern writers of short fiction. He has studied at a number of Jesuit universities in this country and in England.

 

Stephen X. Mead Professor and acting chair, English Old Main 312b 360-438-4336 smead@stmartin.edu
B.A., S.U.N.Y., Purchase; M.A., English, Indiana University; M.A., creative writing, ibid.; Ph.D., ibid. Mead, who chairs Saint Martin's humanities division, has presented and published several papers on Shakespeare and renaissance drama. His other interests include anthropology and drama, epic, film and poetry.

 

Jamie Olson Assistant professor, English Old Main 352 360-438-4302 jolson@stmartin.edu

B.A., The College of Saint Scholastica, 2002; M.A., University of Michigan, 2004; Ph.D, ibid., 2008. Jamie Olson’s teaching and research interests include international modernism, 20th- and 21st-century poetry, textual studies, Irish literature, Caribbean literature, and Russian literature – especially poetry and fiction written by Russian émigré authors who lived (or still live) in the U.S. He also translates contemporary Russian poetry into English.

 

Father David Pratt Assistant professor, philosophy Old Main 373 360-438-4309 David.Pratt@stmartin.edu

B.A., Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology, Berkeley; M.Div., St. Vladimir's Seminary, New York; M.A., Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology, Berkeley; STL, Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley; Ph.D., STD(Cand) Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Louvain, Belgium Fr. Pratt focuses on moral philosophy. His most recent publications have been on clemency, desires and commodification: "The Reconciling Community: Dostoevsky, Pardon and Ontology" in Believing in Community (Leuven: Peeters, 2009) and "Looking to the East for Our Morals: Liturgical Wisdom and Western Consuming Desires," Naukovi zapysky UKU (Scientific/Academic Records of the Ukrainian Catholic University) 1 (2009) 255-263. He is preparing a monograph on the feminist philosopher and legal scholar Martha Nussbaum entitled Action and Ecstasy: The Moral Psychology of Martha Nussbaum. Other topics of interest include human trafficking, embodiment, just war ethics, action and decision theory.

Father George J. Seidel, O.S.B. Professor and chair, philosophy Old Main 373 360-438-4416 gseidel@stmartin.edu
B.A., Saint Martin's College; Pontificium Athenaeum Anselmianum, Rome; M.A., University of Toronto; Ph.D., University of Toronto. The author of seven books in the area of philosophy, Father George's most recently published works are "Fichte's Wissenschaftslehre of 1794: A Commentary on Part 1" and "Angels."

David W. Suter Professor, religious studies Old Main 366 360-438-4360 dsuter@stmartin.edu

B.A., Davidson College; B.D., University of Chicago; M.A., ibid.; Ph.D., ibid. Suter is interested in the interaction of religious studies with various disciplines, including history, philosophy, literary studies, sociology, anthropology and theology. His academic and professional interests include Early Judaism, biblical studies, comparative religion, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the problem of evil and biblical interpretation on peace and justice issues. He is a member of the Enoch Seminar, an international group of scholars who meet on alternate years in Italy to pursue research into the world of Judaism in the Greek and Roman periods, and has published extensively in this area.

Ian C. Werrett Associate professor, religious studies Old Main 365 360-438-4290 iwerrett@stmartin.edu

B.A., Saint Martin’s College; M.A. Trinity Western University; Ph.D., University of St Andrews Werrett’s areas of interest include Biblical Studies, ancient Judaism, early Christianity, Islam, the Dead Sea Scrolls, ritual purity, and semiotics. As a scholar of ancient Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls, he has traveled to Israel on several occasions in order to work on ancient manuscripts and to participate in an archaeological excavation at the Byzantine site of Ein Gedi. In addition to his role as a professor of religious studies at Saint Martin’s, he is also the director of the Spiritual Life Institute, which is a summer program that that explores the spirituality of today’s world. Werrett has lived in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom and he has presented academic papers at a number of colleges and universities around the world.