Daniel Rober

I am Associate Lecturer in Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, where I teach in the Human Journey Seminars: Great Books in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition program. These interdisciplinary sophomore-level seminars focus on the "big questions" of meaning and purpose in life through exploration of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the cultures with which it has been engaged. I also teach in the freshman Critical Thinking course, which helps students develop a variety of skills including basic logic, statistical literacy, information literacy, and moral reasoning. My research focuses on the theological reception of French phenomenology in light of earlier thinkers such as Maurice Blondel and Pierre Rousselot; Catholic responses to secularization; and the legacy and future of Christian humanism in response to contemporary strains of anti-humanism. My first book, Recognizing the Gift: Toward a Renewed Theology of Nature and Grace, appeared in 2016 from Fortress Press.

Outside the classroom, I have spent over 25 years as a singer (baritone) and aficionado of sacred choral music. I also enjoy cooking, art (particularly 20th-century religious art from Beuronese monastic art and the works of Georges Rouault to Andy Warhol and Corita Kent) and classic film; the latter interests have found their way into my classroom through a course on Catholics and culture from the 1960s to the present.