BERKELEY, CA – April 27, 2022 – The Graduate Theological Union is pleased to announce that Dr. Deidre N. Green has been named Assistant Professor of Latter-day Saints/Mormon Studies at the GTU. Dr. Green will join the faculty on July 1, 2022, and she will begin offering courses in the Fall 2022 semester. A global scholar of religion whose work incorporates the philosophy of religion, feminist theology, and activism, Dr. Green brings a fresh perspective to the interpretation of scripture and other theological sources, such as in her forthcoming volume, Latter-day Saint Perspectives on Atonement, co-edited with Eric D. Huntsman (University of Illinois).
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Green to the GTU community,” said Dr. Elizabeth S. Peña, Interim Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Her research offers many fruitful avenues for collaborating with GTU faculty colleagues and mentoring GTU students, while contributing to community outreach and interreligious dialogue.”
Dr. Green’s Fall 2022 course, “Forgiveness and (its) resistance,” will explore various facets of forgiveness from religious perspectives, with special consideration of issues such as power dynamics, gender, trauma, and collective forgiveness.
The GTU’s legacy of supporting Latter-day Saints-focused areas of inquiry includes the visiting professorships of Dr. Truman G. Madsen in the 1970s and Dr. Robert A. Rees since 2008. Dr. Green’s appointment represents the GTU’s first full-time hire of a Latter-day Saints faculty member, which will foster even greater depth of interreligious dialogue among GTU students and centers.
“The search committee was especially impressed with Dr. Green’s experience, scholarship, and pedagogical philosophy. She has a wide range of interests, which align wonderfully with the spirit of scholarship and activism at the GTU,” said Dr. Rebecca Esterson, Assistant Professor in Sacred Texts and Traditions and Dorothea Harvey Professor of Swedenborgian Studies, who served on the search committee for the Assistant Professor of Latter-day Saints/Mormon Studies position. “Dr. Green engages philosophical and theological systems that privilege multiculturalism and postcolonial methodologies, for the sake of advancing human dignity and raising up voices from the margins. As a Latter-day Saint theologian whose work includes feminist theology, she will be a valuable partner in building the interreligious learning community that characterizes the GTU.”
Dr. Green earned a PhD in Religion and an MA in Continental Philosophy from Claremont Graduate University, after receiving an MA in Religion and Feminist Studies from Yale Divinity School and a BA in Philosophy from Brigham Young University. She holds a certificate in Africana Studies from Claremont and another in Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery from Harvard Medical School. She is the author of Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction (Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2020) and Works of Love in a World of Violence: Kierkegaard, Feminism, and the Limits of Self-Sacrifice (Mohr Siebeck, 2016), in addition to other scholarly articles and papers.
In the 2017–18 academic year, Dr. Green joined the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University as a postdoctoral research fellow. Prior to her appointment at the Maxwell Institute, Dr. Green was a summer fellow at St. Olaf College’s Kierkegaard Library, an adjunct professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, a visiting scholar at the Maxwell Institute, and a recipient of an American-Scandinavian Foundation fellowship to research at the University of Copenhagen’s Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre.
“I am humbled and honored to be selected as the incoming Assistant Professor of Latter-day Saint/Mormon Studies at GTU,” said Dr. Green on her appointment. “This position is an exciting development as it will facilitate the exploration of Latter-day Saint/Mormon Studies in the academy in a specifically theological context, whereas most similar positions have been primarily concerned with history. I look forward to working with students and colleagues of various backgrounds and perspectives in the GTU’s diverse and interreligious community.”
The Assistant Professor of Latter-day Saints/Mormon Studies position comes to the GTU thanks to a partnership with the Bay Area Mormon Studies Council (BAMSC). In addition to being a member of the GTU’s Rostered Faculty and participating in all aspects of the life of the GTU academic community, she will be presenting lectures and “firesides,” and participating in events with the BAMSC community.
“As a deeply caring theologian, Dr. Green is an example of someone who not only studies religious philosophy, thought, and the word of God, but has also worked with people who have been traumatized by war and tragedy, to help them heal,” said David Longhurst, President of BAMSC. “We anticipate increased opportunities for Bay Area Latter-day Saints to participate in interfaith cooperation and dialogue in connection with Dr. Green’s appointment at the GTU. Dr. Green will also be a resource to the Latter-day Saints in the Bay Area, strengthening faith and devotion through speaking engagements and discussion forums.”
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Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is a world leader in the study of religion and theology, as well as a vibrant home for spiritual exploration through online learning opportunities with global reach.
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