Marie-Elisabeth Perschthaler

Marie-Elisabeth Perschthaler serves as a Scientific Associate at the Institute for Protestant Theology and Religious Education within the Faculty of Theology at the University of Würzburg, working under Junior Professorship for Systematic Theology, Contemporary Issues & Ethics since September 2023. Previously, she held a similar research position at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich's Chair of Church History II in 2023.

Her educational background includes:

• 2022: First Theological Examination (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria)
• 2016-2022: Studies in Evangelical Theology at institutions in Munich and Berlin

Ms. Perschthaler's research centers on reconstructing French philosopher Corine Pelluchon's work for Protestant ethics, with primary focus on environmental and climate ethics, animal ethics, multispecies justice, and virtue ethics. Her dissertation explores how Pelluchon's "philosophy of corporeality"—emphasizing human vulnerability, relationality, and receptivity—offers solutions to contemporary crises like ecological collapse and animal exploitation through an ethical "schema of appreciation." This work bridges Enlightenment philosophy reinterpretation with theological ethics, specifically addressing transformation as an ethical imperative in the "age of the living."

As a doctoral candidate in the Graduate School for the Humanities (enrolled SS 2024) under primary supervisor Prof. Dr. Katharina Wörn, she is affiliated with the "Environmental Humanities" class. Her academic service includes co-organizing the LMU Munich Dies Academicus on "Queer Theology" (December 2023) and presenting at multiple international conferences on Pelluchon's relevance to ecological crises and ethical transformation. Teaching responsibilities encompass seminars in ethical theology, Christian history, and interdisciplinary courses on sustainability ethics at Würzburg.

She maintains active membership in the Working Group on American Theology and operates from the Hubland-Nord Campus (John-Skilton-Str. 4a, Room 03.B.19), with office hours by appointment via email.