Religion, Philosophy & Classics Department

Dr. John Anderson returned to Augustana in Fall 2023, having previously taught at AU from 2010-2012 and as an alumnus (Class of 2004). Prior to Augustana, he was professor of religious studies at Presentation College in Aberdeen, South Dakota. He has also taught at Luther Seminary, Sioux Falls Seminary, Dakota Wesleyan University and Baylor University. His research areas are the character of God in the Old Testament, theodicy, the biblical book of Genesis, lying/deception in the Bible and interfaith relations and learning.

His first published book, Jacob and the Divine Trickster: A Theology of Deception and YHWH's Fidelity to the Ancestral Promise in the Jacob Cycle, explores the portrait of God as trickster in Genesis 25-35. A chapter from this book received the Regional Scholar Award from the Society of Biblical Literature. Dr. Anderson's second book, Wrestling with the Untamable God of the Old Testament, is under contract with Smyth & Helwys publishing.

Dr. Anderson has also authored many peer-reviewed and popular level articles, numerous academic book reviews, contributed to several academic reference works and given many conference presentations. He is the founding member and former chair of the Genesis Program Unit for the Society of Biblical Literature. Dr. Anderson is also a pastor, serving a vibrant rural congregation in Woonsocket, South Dakota.

Outside the classroom, Dr. Anderson enjoys professional wrestling, the music of Billy Joel, and 1980s and 1990s video games.

Ph.D. in Biblical Studies, 2010, Baylor University; Master of Theological Studies, 2006, Duke Divinity School; B.A. in Religion, 2004, Augustana University

Dr. Julie Loveland Swanstrom joined the Augustana faculty in Fall 2018 and received tenure in Fall 2022. She teaches a range of courses including those in philosophy of religion, ancient and medieval philosophy, ethics, philosophy of science, philosophical theology, historical theology and environmental studies, particularly environmental culture. Her dissertation, on Thomas Aquinas’ and Ibn Sina's (Avicenna’s) theories of causation, explores how the concept of divine creation fits within the structures of causation as understood by Aquinas and Ibn Sina. Some of her publications grew out of this dissertation and explore medieval understandings of causal processes, though she also researches and publishes scholarship of teaching and learning, namely methods for improving students’ critical thinking skills. Some recent publications include Aquinas's understanding of secondary causes, Aquinas’s discussion of virtue as it coheres with his understanding of secondary causes, Augustine's and Al-Ghazali's epistemology and Aquinas's reasoning about abnormal creatures. Swanstrom's forthcoming and current research work includes applying medieval philosophical notions to analysis of science fiction and fantasy works such as the Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter heptalogy, Wheel of Time and The Witcher. She earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University and M.A. in biblical studies and theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Sioux Falls, where she double majored in theology & philosophy and history. She has received the Augustana University Carole Bland Cultivating Faculty Excellence award (2021), in addition to several grants from IFYC/Interfaith America (2020-22), the Institute on Teaching and Learning for Campus-Wide Interfaith Excellence (2021-22) and The Christian West and Islamic East: Theology, Science and Knowledge Project Research Award (2020). Swanstrom regularly includes students in research projects, especially ones engaging philosophically or theologically with science fiction or fantasy works.

Ph.D. in Philosophy, 2013, Purdue University; M.A. in Theology, 2008, Fuller Theological Seminary; B.A. in Theology & Philosophy and History, 2005, University of Sioux Falls

Dr. Hans Abdiel Harmakaputra joined the department of religion, philosophy & classics at Augustana as an assistant professor of religion in Fall 2022. Prior to Augustana, he was visiting assistant professor in comparative theology and Christian-Muslim relations at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace in Connecticut, and a Louisville Institute postdoctoral fellow from 2020-22. His research areas are Christian-Muslim comparative theology, constructive theology, interreligious studies and Christian-Muslim relations, especially in Indonesia.

He published a monograph titled "A Christian-Muslim Comparative Theology of Saints: The Community of God’s Friends" (Brill, 2022) and contributed a chapter in "Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies" (Georgetown University Press, 2022). In addition, his works have been published in various journals, such as The Muslim World, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Contagion and Exchange. He is working on a new monograph titled "Christian-Muslim Relations after Conservative Turn in Indonesian Islam" (under contract with the University of Edinburgh Press).

Ph.D. in Comparative Theology, 2020, Boston College; M.A. in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, 2013, Hartford Seminary; B.A. in Theology, 2010, Jakarta Theological Seminary, Indonesia

Ph.D. in Greek and Latin, 2008, The Ohio State University; M.A. in Greek and Latin, 2003, The Ohio State University; B.A. in Classical Studies, 1997, University of California, San Diego

Ph.D., 2006, Fordham University; M.A., 2004, Fordham University; B.A. in Philosophy and B.S. in Mathematics, 1999, Seattle Pacific University

Ph.D. in Theology, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago; Ph.D., M.Div. and Masters of Theology in Systematic Theology, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago; M.A. in Religious Studies, United Theological Seminary; B.A. in Piano, Montana State University

Dr. Leigh Vicens teaches introductory-level courses in philosophy of religion and ethics, as well as advanced courses on consciousness, free will, forgiveness and logic. Her research focuses primarily on issues related to human and divine agency and responsibility, and she is the co-author of God and Human Freedom (Cambridge, 2019) and Theological Determinism: New Perspectives (Cambridge, 2021) and author of Christianity and the Problem of Free Will (Cambridge, forthcoming).

Vicens is the book review editor for Faith and Philosophy, the journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers and she leads philosophy for children programs in a local elementary school and juvenile detention center. She is also an Episcopal priest.

Ph.D. in Philosophy, 2012, University of Wisconsin-Madison; M.Div., 2009, Virginia Theological Seminary; M.A. in Philosophy, 2006, University of Wisconsin-Madison; A.B. in Philosophy, 2004, Dartmouth College

Dr. Richard Swanson teaches courses that explore biblical interpretation, interpretive theory and the ways people live and hope. Because Swanson is convinced that change is the only reliable constant, he spends his time studying how change provokes new readings of biblical texts. He has written five books and numerous articles. His research focuses on the interaction between religion and culture and the interpretive implications of ancient and modern performances of biblical narratives. Interested in performance, Swanson has worked closely with the Augustana Theatre Department for several years. As a result of this collaboration, he has written a number of plays. His play, "When the World Was Wild and Waste," won several awards at the Kennedy Center Regional College Theatre Festival, including awards for scenic design and playwriting. His most recent play, "Real as Air," explores his sister's life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Swanson has served as co-chair of the Bible in Ancient and Modern Media Section for the Society of Biblical Literature, and as a member of the executive board for the Network of Biblical Storytellers, Intl. He has also been invited to participate in translation seminars organized by the Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship in Misano Adriatico, Italy. He earned an M.Div. and Ph.D. from Luther Seminary. Before beginning his doctoral studies, Swanson was a parish pastor for six years. Swanson was also the recipient of the 2016-19 Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values, 2013-14 Carole Bland Cultivating Faculty Excellence Award, 2010-12 Frederick C. Kohlmeyer Distinguished Teaching Professorship, 2008 Vernon and Mildred Niebuhr Faculty Excellence Award and Clara Lee Olson Endowed Chair in Christian Values from 2001-11.

Ph.D. in Scripture & New Testament, 1991, Luther Seminary; M.Div., 1981, Luther Seminary; B.A., 1977, St. Olaf College