IAN CLAUSEN - Lilly Fellows Program

IAN CLAUSEN
H u m a n i t i e s a nd Theolog y
P h D Un i v e r s ity of Ed inb urg h
FELLOW 2013-2015
219.464 .6840
Ian .Cl au se n @val po.ed u
Ian Clausen received his BA (summa cum laude) in English and religious studies from
the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In 2008 he earned the British Marshall
Scholarship for graduate studies in the UK, and opted to take a theology degree at the
University of Edinburgh. While a Marshall Scholar at Edinburgh, he completed his
Master’s in Theological Ethics (MTh, Distinction, 2009) and his PhD in Theology and
Ethics (2014). The Lilly Fellows Program in
Humanities and the Arts seeks to
strengthen the quality and shape
the character of church-related
institutions of higher learning.
Three closely related initiatives
have been designed to accomplish
this mission: a National Network
of Church-Related Colleges
and Universities that sponsors
a wide variety of activities and
publications that explore the
Christian character of the academic
vocation; a Graduate Fellowship
Program that supports graduate
students who are exploring
vocations in church-related higher
education, and the two- year,
residential Postdoctoral Teaching
Fellowship. As of 2014-2015 the
Program has awarded sixty-eight
two-year postdoctoral fellowships
to teacher-scholars who seek to
renew and enrich their intellectual
and spiritual lives while preparing
for teaching and leadership roles
at institutions of church-related
higher education. Fellows teach in
the honors college (Christ College)
and departments of the College of
Arts and Sciences at Valparaiso
University. In addition, Fellows
conduct scholarship or creative
work, participate in a two-year
colloquium, and interact with
representatives from a national
network of ninety-six churchrelated colleges and universities.
Clausen’s research interests span all aspects of thought and legacy of St. Augustine
of Hippo. His doctoral research focused on Augustine’s early moral theology, and
particularly explored the early development of Augustine’s concept of love. His
dissertation, “The Weight of Love: Locating and Directing the Soul in St. Augustine’s
Early Works,” examines how Augustine develops his concept of love in relation to
the ancient philosophical tradition, as well as in conversation with the spiritual lives
of individual readers. Clausen seeks not only to defend the theological integrity of
Augustine’s early works, but also to trace the emergence of a deep moral subjectivity
that Augustine develops within the liminal spaces between theology and philosophy. In addition to Augustine, Clausen engages with modern topics in theology and ethics. He
holds the post as Research Associate with the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics,
participates in discussion groups with the Center for Bioethics and Culture, and has
written online articles for The Cresset and Ethics in Brief. He has also published work
in Augustinian Studies, Expository Times, Scottish Evangelical Bulletin of Theology,
Radical Orthodoxy, and through Oxford University Press.
While at Edinburgh, Clausen taught courses in Christian Ethics, God and Philosophy, and
Augustine’s Ethics. He collaborated with the UK Trinity Forum on university seminars,
represented Postgraduates on the Executive Postgraduate Committee, and co-launched
a bi-annual interdisciplinary conference between Edinburgh’s Divinity and religious
studies departments. In 2011 he was elected to spearhead the first annual Society for
the Study of Theology Postgraduate Conference. This event attracted 140 delegates
from across the UK, Europe, and North America, who came together to discuss issues
surrounding the relationship between theology and the Church.
As a Lilly Fellow at Valparaiso University, Clausen has taught honors courses in
theology, the Christian concept of love, just war theory, and the ethics surrounding
modern technology. He presented a response at the Exiles from Eden conference, and
was invited to address undergraduates pursuing ministry at Valparaiso. This year he
plans to submit articles based on his research into Augustine, develop curriculum for a
spring course on religious and secular humanism, and revise his thesis into a monograph
for publication. He also plans to co-launch a blog with a neuroscientist that explores
topics related to science, ethics, and theological anthropology.

Download Report