Gary Dorrien
Encyclopedia
Gary Dorrien is an American
theologian
, the Reinhold Niebuhr
Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
, and Professor of Religion at Columbia University
. An Episcopal priest and multi-sport athlete, he was previously the Parfet Distinguished Professor at Kalamazoo College
, where he taught for 18 years and also served as Dean of Stetson Chapel and Director of the Liberal Arts Colloquium.
Prof. Dorrien is the author of 14 books and approximately 250 articles that range across the fields of ethics, social theory, theology, philosophy, politics, and history. He is described by Princeton University philosopher Cornel West
as "the preeminent social ethicist in North America today"; and by Boston University philosophical theologian Robert Neville as "the most rigorous theological historian of our time, moving from analyses of social context and personal struggles through the most abstruse theological and metaphysical issues."
Prof. Dorrien's books include acclaimed works on economic democracy, social ethical theory, theories of myth and interpretation, Barthian neo-orthodoxy, and neoconservative politics. More than forty reviewers have described his trilogy, The Making of American Liberal Theology, as the definitive work in the field. The Expository Times called it "an endeavor best described, by all accounts, as magisterial, definitive, and authoritative." The Journal of Markets and Morality called it "monumental, encyclopedic, breathtaking."
Prof. Dorrien's recent work, Social Ethics in the Making (2009), a comprehensive interpretation of social ethics as an academic field and a tradition of public discourse, has received similar praise. The Christian Century described it as "magnificent, sprawling, monumental, captivating, expertly written, and exhaustively researched...Social Ethics in the Making will soon be recognized as a classic."
A frequent lecturer at universities, conferences, civic groups, and religious communities, Prof. Dorrien is a recent past president of the American Theological Society and has a long record of involvement in social justice organizations. His book, Imperial Designs, grew out of his extensive lecturing against the U.S.'s invasion and occupation of Iraq. His new book, Economy, Difference, Empire: Social Ethics for Social Justice (Columbia University Press, 2010), features his recent lectures on economic democracy, racial and gender justice, and anti-imperial politics.
He is currently writing a book on Kant, Hegel, and the impact of philosophical idealism on religious thought and teaches part-time as the Paul E. Raither Distinguished Scholar at Trinity College. Prof. Dorrien's wife, Brenda Biggs, a Presbyterian minister, died of cancer in 2000, and his daughter Sara Biggs Dorrien is a student at Columbia Theological Seminary.
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theologian
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, the Reinhold Niebuhr
Reinhold Niebuhr
Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr was an American theologian and commentator on public affairs. Starting as a leftist minister in the 1920s indebted to theological liberalism, he shifted to the new Neo-Orthodox theology in the 1930s, explaining how the sin of pride created evil in the world...
Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
, and Professor of Religion at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. An Episcopal priest and multi-sport athlete, he was previously the Parfet Distinguished Professor at Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College, also known as K College or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1833, the college is among the 100 oldest in the country. Today, it produces more Peace Corps volunteers per capita than any other U.S...
, where he taught for 18 years and also served as Dean of Stetson Chapel and Director of the Liberal Arts Colloquium.
Prof. Dorrien is the author of 14 books and approximately 250 articles that range across the fields of ethics, social theory, theology, philosophy, politics, and history. He is described by Princeton University philosopher Cornel West
Cornel West
Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America....
as "the preeminent social ethicist in North America today"; and by Boston University philosophical theologian Robert Neville as "the most rigorous theological historian of our time, moving from analyses of social context and personal struggles through the most abstruse theological and metaphysical issues."
Prof. Dorrien's books include acclaimed works on economic democracy, social ethical theory, theories of myth and interpretation, Barthian neo-orthodoxy, and neoconservative politics. More than forty reviewers have described his trilogy, The Making of American Liberal Theology, as the definitive work in the field. The Expository Times called it "an endeavor best described, by all accounts, as magisterial, definitive, and authoritative." The Journal of Markets and Morality called it "monumental, encyclopedic, breathtaking."
Prof. Dorrien's recent work, Social Ethics in the Making (2009), a comprehensive interpretation of social ethics as an academic field and a tradition of public discourse, has received similar praise. The Christian Century described it as "magnificent, sprawling, monumental, captivating, expertly written, and exhaustively researched...Social Ethics in the Making will soon be recognized as a classic."
A frequent lecturer at universities, conferences, civic groups, and religious communities, Prof. Dorrien is a recent past president of the American Theological Society and has a long record of involvement in social justice organizations. His book, Imperial Designs, grew out of his extensive lecturing against the U.S.'s invasion and occupation of Iraq. His new book, Economy, Difference, Empire: Social Ethics for Social Justice (Columbia University Press, 2010), features his recent lectures on economic democracy, racial and gender justice, and anti-imperial politics.
He is currently writing a book on Kant, Hegel, and the impact of philosophical idealism on religious thought and teaches part-time as the Paul E. Raither Distinguished Scholar at Trinity College. Prof. Dorrien's wife, Brenda Biggs, a Presbyterian minister, died of cancer in 2000, and his daughter Sara Biggs Dorrien is a student at Columbia Theological Seminary.
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Books
- Logic and Consciousness: The Dialectics of Mind, Hastings Press, 1985.
- The Democratic Socialist Vision, Rowman & Littlefield, 1986.
- Reconstructing the Common Good: Theology and the Social Order. Orbis Books (June 1990). ISBN 978-0883446591
- The Neoconservative Mind: Politics, Culture, and the War of Ideology, Temple University Press, 1993, 1994.
- Soul in Society: The Making and Renewal of Social Christianity, Fortress Press, 1995.
- The Word as True Myth: Interpreting Modern Theology, Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.
- The Remaking of Evangelical Theology, Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.
- The Barthian Revolt in Modern Theology: Theology Without Weapons, Westminster John Knox Press, 2000.
- The Making of American Liberal Theology: Imagining Progressive Religion, 1805 - 1900 (v. 1). Westminster John Knox Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2001). ISBN 978-0664223540
- The Making of American Liberal Theology: Idealism, Realism, and Modernity, 1900-1950 (v. 2). Westminster John Knox Press; 1 edition (February 2003). ISBN 978-0664223557
- Imperial Designs: Neoconservatism and the New Pax Americana. Routledge (August 31, 2004). ISBN 978-0415949804
- The Making of American Liberal Theology: Crisis, Irony, and Postmodernity: 1950-2005. Westminster John Knox Press (November 1, 2006). ISBN 978-0664223564
- Social Ethics in the Making: Interpreting an American Tradition. Wiley-Blackwell; illustrated edition edition (December 22, 2008). ISBN 978-1405186872
- Economy, Difference, Empire: Social Ethics for Social Justice. Columbia University Press; (November 2010). ISBN 978-0-231-14984-6.
External links
- Faith and Economic Justice. Gary Dorrien, Cornel West and Serene Jones appeared as guests on Bill Moyers Journal. This program originally aired July 3, 2009 on PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....