#5 - Jennifer Veninga

Our fifth episode features Mike Avery’s conversation with Jennifer Veninga. Dr. Veninga is an assistant professor of religious and theological studies at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX. In this episode, she talks about her discernment of both academic and ministerial calls, including what it’s like to be a United Church of Christ minister teaching theology at a Catholic University. They also discuss surviving the academic job market, what makes someone a good teacher, and Dr. Veninga’s research on Scandinavian culture and theology.

Jennifer Elisa Veninga is an assistant professor of religious and theological studies at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. She holds an M.T.S. degree from Harvard Divinity School (2002) and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union (2011). Her research interests include imagination and theology, Søren Kierkegaard and Danish culture, Islam and the West, and media and religion. Her first book,Secularism, Theology and Islam: The Danish Social Imaginary and the Cartoon Crisis of 2005-2006 was just published by Bloomsbury Press in London in May. She frequently spends time in Denmark researching and enjoying the cool Danish summers. She is traveling back to Copenhagen this summer for research on her next project, which will be on trauma, healing and theology. Dr. Veninga is also an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and serves as Ecumenical Minister for the St. Edward’s Campus Ministry Program. In this capacity, she coordinates worship services and supports interreligious dialogue efforts on campus. Her passions include working for social justice, studying the Danish theologian Søren Kierkegaard, and spending time with her rescue pug, Bubba.

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