معرفی
Robert Orsi holds the Grace Craddock Nagle Chair in Catholic Studies at Northwestern University, with joint appointments in Religious Studies, History, and American Studies. A leading scholar of modern religion, he specializes in American Catholicism, ethnographic history, and methodological theory. Previously taught at Harvard Divinity School, Indiana University, and Fordham University. Served as American Academy of Religion president (2002-03).
Education: PhD in History from Yale University (1983). Research focuses on religious experience, urban culture, and gendered devotional practices. Current projects explore 20th-century Catholic childhood and masculinity formation in Jesuit education.
Principal interests include:
- Intersection of religious theory and empirical history
- Catholic popular piety and institutional dynamics
- Urban religious landscapes
Recent scholarly contributions examine:
- Catholic responses to climate change
- Historical methodology's temporal dimensions
- Material culture in religious practice
Holds fellowships at University of Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Studies (2020-21) and Radcliffe Institute (2016-17). Married to theologian Christine Helmer, with two sons.
Awards include:
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences membership
- Guggenheim Fellowship (2003)
- NEH Senior Fellowship (2001)
Active in public scholarship through lectures like the 2023 Kroc Institute dialogue on religion and climate activism. Directs Northwestern's Material History Lab, exploring material dimensions of religious experience.
