معرفی
Michelle M. Lelwica is a Professor of Religion at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, teaching courses on the intersection of religion, gender, culture, and the body including Women’s Religious History, Religion and the Body, and Religion, Race, and Social Justice.
She earned a Master of Theological Studies in Christianity and Culture (1989) and a Doctorate of Theology in Religion, Gender, and Culture (1996) from Harvard Divinity School.
Her research pioneers the religious dimensions of eating disorders and body image issues among women and girls, explored in acclaimed books such as Shameful Bodies: Religion and the Culture of Physical Improvement (2017), The Religion of Thinness (2009), and Starving for Salvation (1999). She investigates spiritual hungers behind food obsessions and connections between ecological awareness, mindfulness, and social justice.
Dr. Lelwica received a Centennial Grant for juvenile justice system research conducted with Concordia students. Her innovative pedagogy includes mentoring at-risk youth at detention centers, Aikido labs, mindfulness meditation, and community garden field trips to experientially link spirituality with ecological issues.
