Doctoral Students Participate in Asian Theological Summer Institute

Three GTU doctoral students traveled to Philadelphia this week to participate in the 10th annual Asian Theological Summer Institute (ATSI), held at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia from May 31 – June 4, 2016. GTU students Su-Chi Lin (IDS), Therese Bjørnaas (THEO), and Hyun Ho Park (BIBL) are attending this year’s Institute, which gathers Asian scholars and Asian doctoral students in theological education. Student fellows are responsible for travel to and from Philadelphia; all other costs are borne by the ATSI program. ATSI is generously funded by the Henry Luce Foundation.

Described as an “annual mentoring program for doctoral students of Asian heritage,” ATSI offers opportunities for doctoral students to build relationships with established scholars in their own field and others. This year, students of Asian and Asian American descent have the opportunity to interact with renowned scholars such as Kwok Pui-Lan, Peter C. Phan, Wonhee Anne Joh, Jayakiran Sebastian, Paul Rajashekar, and others. ATSI also provides a space in which dissertation projects are read, critiqued, and sharpened by both fellow doctoral students and faculty.

The GTU has been very well represented at ATSI in its 10-year history. GTU Students Kyungrae Kim and Henry Kuo participated in the 2015 Asian Theological Summer Institute (pictured above). GTU alumni and consortial faculty who have served on the ATSI faculty in previous years include Andrew Sung Park, Fumitaka Matsuoka, Tat-siong Benny Lieu, Rita Nakashima Brock, and Boyung Lee. ATSI fellows are also welcome to attend the ATSI Breakfasts at the AAR/SBL Annual Meetings, where they have the opportunity to meet and catch up with fellows and faculty mentors from previous years.