Dr Elizabeth Culhane

Research Associate in the History of Philosophy, Centre for the History of Philosophy
BA (Hons), GDDiv, MDiv, PhD

Email: elizabeth.culhane@nd.edu.au

  • Biography

    Elizabeth Culhane is Research Associate in the History of Philosophy at the Notre Dame Centre for the History of Philosophy.

    She received her PhD from the University of Queensland, supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), a Graduate Diploma in Divinity, and a Master of Divinity.

    Elizabeth’s research focuses on the history of philosophical theology intersecting with philosophy in the European tradition, especially continental philosophy. She has expertise in Edith Stein and her interlocutors, especially Erich Przywara and early phenomenology.

    Her publications include articles on Gregory of Nyssa, St John of the Cross, and René Girard in leading journals such as Religion & Literature and Political Theology.

    She is currently writing a monograph on Edith Stein’s constructive integration of phenomenology and medieval philosophy (under contract with Cambridge University Press).

  • Research expertise and supervision

    • Philosophical theology (esp. Erich Przywara)
    • Early phenomenology and continental philosophy (esp. Edith Stein and Martin Heidegger)
    • Philosophical methodology

  • Books

    • Edith Stein, Phenomenology, and Medieval Thought. Elements in the History of Philosophy and Theology in the West. Cambridge University Press. (Under Contract)

  • Book chapters

    • “Reflecting the Infinite or the Finite? The Mirror Motif in Black Mirror and Gregory of Nyssa,” in Theology and Black Mirror, ed. Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne (Fortress Academic, 2022), 251–64, https://doi.org/10.5040/9781978719002.ch-15
    • “Grounded Yet Wandering: Church Architecture, Space, and Place,” in Grounded: In the Body, in Place and Time, in Scripture, ed. Jill Firth and Denise Cooper-Clarke (Wipf and Stock, 2021), 235–49.

  • Journal articles and proceedings

  • Book reviews

    • Review of Stephan van Erp, Martin G. Poulsom, and Lieven Boeve, eds., Grace, Governance and Globalization. Reviews in Religion & Theology 25, no. 4 (2018): 741–‍43
    • Review of William Cavanaugh, Field Hospital: The Church’s Engagement with a Wounded World. Anglican Theological Review 99, no. 1 (2017): 130–32
    • Review of Stanley Hauerwas, The Work of Theology. Anglican Theological Review 98, no. 3 (2016): 578–79

  • Conference papers

    • “Disability as Neither Poverty nor Witness: Uncovering the Problems and Potential of Beauty for Disability Inclusion.” EWIA Conference, 2023
    • “Reflecting the Finite or the Infinite? The Mirror Motif as a Persuasive Device in Gregory of Nyssa and Black Mirror.” EWIA Conference, 2021
    • “Dynamic Tension: Knowledge, Being, and Time Between Theological Metaphysics and Continental Philosophy.” Seminar, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, University of Queensland, 2020
    • “Reflecting the Finite or the Infinite? The Mirror Motif as a Persuasive Device in Gregory of Nyssa and Black Mirror.” EWIA Conference, 2021
    • “Grounded Yet Wandering: The Theological Importance of Place.” EWIA Conference, 2019
    • “Supernatural Ecclesiology? Henri De Lubac in the Work of William Cavanaugh.” Ecclesiology at the Beginning of the Third Millennium Conference, UNDA, 2018
    • “Violent Fury: Are Women of Faith Uniquely Violent?” International Colloquium on Violence & Religion, 2016
    • “The Praxis of Outrage: Considering the Place of Outrage in Theological Ethics.” Women’s Theology Conference, Grace College, University of Queensland, 2016
    • “Christian Thought and Continental Philosophy.” The Return of Religion in Contemporary Continental Philosophy, University of Melbourne, 2014

  • Awards

    • Australian Government RTP PhD Scholarship, University of Queensland, 2018
    • Raymund Schwager Essay Prize recipient, International Colloquium on Violence & Religion, 2016
    • Georgina Serpell OT/Hebrew Bible Award, Ridley College, 2016
    • CMS Award for Mission, Ridley College, 2016
    • E.D. Daniel Honours Scholarship, Graduate Women Victoria, 2011
    • Melbourne Arts Students Society Essay Competition Finalist, University of Melbourne, 2010