Doctor of Philosophy in Spirituality

The Sisters of Missionaries of Charity.

Vietnam

• When I was considering options for doctoral studies, I felt limited by the two doctoral paths typically available for students of Christianity: pastoral ministry and theology. During my search, I came upon OST’s doctorate in Christian Spirituality, an avenue that greatly excited me for its contemporary application and academic seriousness. Through my studies of classical spiritual writers, I am growing increasingly equipped to meet each individual in their depths and vulnerabilities. From my experience as a religious sister in Vietnam and my six years studying at Oblate, I have come to see how Spirituality is a highly relevant academic discipline that concerns contemporary “lived human experience” in relation to the Christian tradition. As a minority religion in Vietnam, Catholicism is called to humbly confront the numerous social challenges and worldly character borne out of what Pope Francis calls a “growing technocratic paradigm,” while demonstrating our fidelity to the unprecedented complexities of global Catholicism. OST’s Spirituality programs afford us the opportunity to stand on the shoulders of the multitude of saints, mystics, and theologians who have come before us so that we can see from a new, creative vantage point, a vantage point that will help me meet the varied spiritual and sociopolitical challenges that are present in my home country.
• Research
  • I am a 6th-year Ph.D. candidate in Spirituality. In my research I am working to unpack Teresa of Avila’s spirituality as a model that promotes and sustains individuation in the spirituality of Vietnamese Catholic women religious. Teresa, working in the dynamic secular challenges of 16^th century Spain, provides a profound feminine model of faith that transforms her secular reality in a way that can also illuminate the Vietnamese context in the 21^st century, especially in light of its existence as a minority religion. The director of my dissertation is OST professor Dr. Cliff Knighten, while Dr. Xuan Hy and OST Affiliated Professor of Spirituality, Jungian, and Teresa of Avila scholar Dr. Peter Tyler are assisting me as readers.
• Publications       
  • Publication: Nguyen, Thach. “Black Amerasian Spirituality: A Study of Unheard Voices.” . Offerings: A Journal of Christian Spirituality and Practical Theology  17, Spring 2023, 69-87. Offerings Volume 17 – Crossroad (crossroadpublishing.com)

Batavia, New York

• I choose Oblate School of Theology (OST) for a number of reasons. First, it is the only school in the United States that offers a PhD in Spirituality which I envision as a critical framework to integrate, teach, mentor, research, and publish in the Roman Catholic spiritual tradition in tandem with my lifelong experience in healthcare and leadership. Secondly, my undergraduate degree was obtained at Niagara University, a Vincentian school whose mission embraces serving the worlds poor. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate share this mission making study at OST a natural integration of charisms while providing a spiritual home.  Thirdly, OST offers the unique opportunity to study with some of the most accomplished and respected scholars in the academic discipline of spirituality testifying to the quality of the school’s  educational offerings.
• Research
  • The focus of my research explores the phenomenon of aging in the contemporary context and the spiritual practice of renunciation utilizing the hermeneutical lens of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. This research examines the paradox of growth and diminishment encountered in the life stage of late old age within the tetradic boundaries of liminality, the spiritual practice of renunciation, late life stages in human development, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s paradigm of the spiritual life. This research is being done in collaboration with Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, Dr. Philip Sheldrake, and Daniel Horan, OFM.
• Publications
  • Bowen, Mary Beth. 2021. “The Way Up Is Down: Becoming Yourself by Forgetting Yourself.” Τέλειoς/Teleios1 (1): 99–101. https://search-ebscohost-com.deol.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLAiGW7221202001534&site=ehost-live.
  • Bowen, Mary Beth. 2022. “A Biblical Hermeneutic of Stranger: A Christian Anthropological Application.” Τέλειoς/Teleios2 (2): 51–68. https://search-ebscohost-com.deol.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLAiG4K221202000307&site=ehost-live.
  • Bowen, Mary Beth. 2022. “A Time of Reflection and Transition.” Editors Preface. Offerings: A Journal of Christian Spirituality and Practical Theology 15: v-vii.
  • Bowen, Mary Beth. 2022. “Navigating Tension.” Editors Preface. Offerings: A Journal of Christian Spirituality and Practical Theology 16: v-vii.
  • Bowen, Mary Beth. 2023. “Change is Afoot.” Editors Preface. Offerings: A Journal of Christian Spirituality and Practical Theology 17: v-vii.
  • Bowen, Mary Beth. 2023. “Summertime at Oblate School of Theology.” Editors Preface. Offerings: A Journal of Christian Spirituality and Practical Theology 18: v-vii.

Orizaba, México

• OST is a great hub for intellectual and personal encounter, I was very pleased to find a small and yet diverse and rich community open to the exploration of new avenues for theology, spirituality, philosophy and Christian life, and at the same time well rooted in the continuous dialogue with the riches inherited from the Christian tradition.
• Research
  • Paniel is a first year PhD Student in Spirituality focused in the Eastern Byzantine Tradition of Hesicast Spirituality, He previously was awarded his MPhil and PhD in Philosophy by The University of Sheffield, UK. In his PhD Thesis he researched the place of Scholastic Realism in Peirce’s Pragmatist Philosophy under the supervision of Professor Christopher Hookway and Steve Makin. Though Paniel’s approach is centered in the pragmatist tradition, he has a wide range of theological and philosophical interest: Paniel has published papers on spirituality, philosophy of mathematics, metaphysics, medieval philosophy, philosophy of religion and German Idealism. Paniel has ample participation in academic conferences in many different countries and is founder of the Peirce Latin-American Society. In Oblate School of Theology, he has worked closely to Fr. John Markey OP, who has helped Paniel to see the relevance of a semiotic paradigm for the academic study of Spirituality. 
• Books
  • Reyes Cárdenas, Paniel. (2018) Ideas in Development: Essays in the History of Philosophy. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Publishing Scholars https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-0887-3
  • Reyes Cárdenas, Paniel (2018) Scholastic Realism: A key to understanding Peirce’s Philosophy. Oxford: Peter Lang Press.  https://www.peterlang.com/document/1113428
  • Reyes Cárdenas, Paniel (2023) A Semiotic Theory of Community: Josiah Royce and Absolute Pragmatism. Lexington Books. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666907087/A-Semiotic-Theory-of-Community-Josiah-Royce%27s-Absolute-Pragmatism
• Journal Articles
  • “William James and Charles Sanders Peirce on Experience and Perception: A Radical Exploration of the Universes of Experience” William James Studies. Vol 18, n. 1 (Spring 2023) 104-125 https://www.jstor.org/stable/48724667?typeAccessWorkflow=login
  • “Introduction: James, Peirce, and Pragmatism” co-authored with Daniel R. Herbert. William James Studies. Vol 18, n. 1 (Spring 2023) i-x https://www.jstor.org/stable/48724662?typeAccessWorkflow=login
  • “Analytic Theology and Spirituality” Offerings, Journal of Spirituality and Practical Theology. 15 n. 1 (November 2022) p. 73-92 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366655517_Analytic_Theology_and_Spirituality
  • “Philosophy, History and Development: Interview to Daniel R. Herbert” Revista A&H. 14, vol. 7 (October 2021)  https://revistas.upaep.mx/index.php/ayh/article/view/245
  • “Bringing emotions to reason” in: Journal of the Philosophy of Emotion. 2, (Fall 2021) https://www.jpeonline.org/issues/2021-volume-3-no-1-summer/bringing-emotions-to-reason-paniel-reyes-càrdenas
  • “Royce on Communities and Families” in: Correlatos (Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies on Family), 5, vol. 1 (2021) 47-58 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354657947_Josiah_Royce_on_Families_and_Communities
  • “A Pragmatist Holistic Reading of Dewey’s Philosophy of Education” Co-authored with Marques-Serdan, Simone, in: Revista Pasajes (UNAM National University of Mexico) 13 (2021), 1-18 https://revistapasajes.site/2021/07/numero-13-julio-diciembre-2021/ 

San Antonio, TX

• The choice to study at OST has been a Spirit-influenced endeavor. The PhD in Spirituality program is unique, and frankly, the Spirituality discipline suits me, particularly at this stage of its development, because the frontier is still relatively open. As an inherently interdisciplinary field of study, bridges are still being built between different elements of theology and the social sciences (and others). I enjoy having the liberty to “range around” and find connections among the different fields.
• Research 
  • Grady is currently in his sixth year as a PhD student and is in the writing phase of his dissertation, which is being directed by Professor Philip Sheldrake. Grady’s research interests and concentrations include modernity, narrativity, eschatology, and the French and Desert traditions of spirituality.
• Publications
  • I have one published article (Offerings, vol. 15) that comparatively analyzes Flannery O’Connor and Charles Taylor, particularly with regard to grace and modernity. Some of my poetry has been selected for upcoming publication (Teleios).