Elissa Cutter

Dr. Elissa Cutter

Associate Professor of Religious Studies & Theology

School:

School of Arts, Sciences, and Education

Department:

World Cultures & Human Experience

Office Location:

Jeffries Hall 223

Office Hours:

Fall 2025

  • Mondays, 1:00–3:00 p.m.
  • Thursdays, 9:30–10:30 a.m.
  • Fridays, 11:30–1:30 p.m. on Zoom

Educational Background

  • Ph.D. in Theological Studies, Saint Louis University, 2016.
  • M.A. in Theology, Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, 2009.
  • A.B. in French and Theology, Georgetown University, 2003.

Professional Experience

  • Georgian Court University, Religious Studies & Theology, Assistant Professor, 2019–2025; Associate Professor, 2025-present.
  • Loyola Marymount University, Theological Studies, Postdoctoral Faculty Fellow, 2016–19.

Courses Taught:

  • GEN199, Discovering the Self in the Universe
  • RS220, Exploring Christian Theology
  • RS220 (honors), Exploring Christian Theology
  • RS334, Theological Ethics
  • RS334 (online), Theological Ethics
  • RS336, Social Justice Ethics
  • RS336 (honors), Social Justice Ethics
  • RS360 (online), African American Religious Experience
  • RS401, Seminar in Religious Thought
  • RS405, Sources & Methods in Theology
  • TH500, Introduction to Theological Study
Interested in study abroad? Check out the blog reports from our Summer 2024 Ethics: Business, Religion, and History in Paris.

Recent Publications:

  • “Mother Angélique Arnauld’s Reflections on Reform: Creating Unity and Managing Dissent at Port-Royal.” Catholic Historical Review 110, no. 3 (2024), pp. 463–88.
  • “Angélique Arnauld and the Reform of Port-Royal” (introduction to and translation of letter to Louis Macquet). In Jansenism: An International Anthology, edited by Shaun Blanchard and Richard T. Yoder, p. 102–11. Early Modern Catholic Sources series, Catholic University of America Press, 2024.
  • Women and Public Theology: Emerging Voices, with Allison Murray. Paulist Press, 2024.
  • “Apology in the Form of Autohagiography: Angélique Arnauld’s Defense of Her Reform of Port-Royal.” Catholic Historical Review 105, no. 2 (2019), pp. 275–303.

Research / Creativity Interest Area

  • Catholic theological tradition
  • Historical theology
  • Feminist theology
  • Seventeenth-century French spirituality
  • Jansenism
  • Port-Royal nuns
  • Mother Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)

Additional Information

  • Recipient of the 2024 Virginia Graham Award for Teaching Excellence
  • Inspired by feminist and Jesuit pedagogical traditions
  • Proponent of experiential learning, especially service-learning pedagogy and study abroad
  • Participated in: 2022 Wabash Hybrid Teaching and Learning Workshop for Early Career Religion Faculty Teaching Undergraduates; 2023 Interfaith America’s Teaching Interfaith Understanding Seminar; 2024 Carlow Roundtable in Dublin, Ireland; 2025 Wabash Creative Writing Roundtable
  • Co-editor for the blog WIT: Women in Theology
  • For more information, including more detailed information about my research and teaching philosophy, see my academic homepage

Vita

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