Dr. Jason Gehrke, a recent Ph.D. graduate in religious studies, has become the first person from Marquette to be awarded the Lilly Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities.
The Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts seeks to strengthen the quality and shape the character of church-related institutions of higher learning. Fellows receive a national network of church-related colleges and universities that sponsor activities and publications that explore the Christian character of the academic vocation; a graduate fellowship program that supports graduate students who are exploring vocations in church-related higher education, and the two-year, residential Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship.
Fellows teach in the honors college and departments at Valparaiso University. In addition, fellows conduct scholarship or creative work, participate in a two-year colloquium and interact with representatives from a national network of 101 church-related colleges and universities.
Gehrke is an historical theologian, whose work explores Christology, political theology and ethics in the ancient and modern world. At Marquette, Gehrke explored patristic receptions of classical political thought and literature (Tertullian to Augustine), Christian views of Islam in the first centuries of Islam, and modern political theology. His research continues to explore the inter-relationship of theology, ethics, and politics in both ancient and modern contexts.
Gehrke hopes to cultivate in his students the capacity for charitable and challenging dialogue informed by close reading of texts and a habit of careful listening. His recent publications can be found online.