Rita Lester, Ph.D.
Old Main 304
Every weekday when I am not in classes, including 12-1 pm. If my office door is closed, email me at rlester [at] nebrwesleyan.edu (rlester[at]nebrwesleyan[dot]edu).
"The call is coming from inside the house!"
PhD in Religion, Northwestern University
MTS in Theology & Ethics, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
BA in Philosophy & Religion, Graceland University
- First-Year Seminars
- Religious Diversity in the U.S.
- Apocalyptic Imagination in America
- Constructing Religious Identity
- Women and Religion
- Judaism, Christianity and Islam
- History of Christianity
- World Religions
- Contemporary Religious Studies
- Religion, Peace and Social Justice
- Medieval Women Writers
- Religion in Human Experience
- Literature and History of the New Testament
Publications
"Accommodations", "Curriculum", "High-Impact Practices", and "Senior Seminar", in Teaching the Study of Religion: A Practical Guide for Undergraduate Classes, edited by Russell McCutcheon, Bloomsbury Academic, publication expected 2023.
"How Do You Solve a Problem like 'Religious Literacy'? Religious Literacy: Some Considerations and Reservations, edited by Steven Ramey, Brill, 2022.
"Religious Freedom” in Stereotyping Religion: Critiquing Cliches vol. 2, edited by Brad Stoddard and Craig Martin, Bloomsbury Press, 2022.
"Teaching Religions of the World without World Religions", The North American Association for the Study of Religion Working Papers, On the Subject of Religion: Charting the Fault Lines in a Field of Study, edited by Dennis LoRusso, Equinox Press, 2022.
“Tradition is an Argument Worth Having: Feminist Christianity and the Study of World Religions”, Voices of Feminist Liberation, edited by Emily Silverman, Dirk von der Horst and Whitney Bauman (Equinox Press, 2012), 59-69.
“Emma Smith and Reorganized Latter Day Saints,” Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, edited by Rosemary Skinner and Rosemary Ruether, University of Indiana Press, 2006.
“The Nature of Nature: Ecofeminism and Environmental Racism in America,” Gender, Ethnicity and Religion, edited by Rosemary Radford Ruether, Minneapolis Fortress Press, 2002, 230-247.
University Service:
- Coordinator, Sex and Gender Thread
- Strategic Planning for Teaching and Learning
- Program Director Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Faculty President
- Chair of Philosophy and Religion
- Chair of Arts & Humanities Division
- Coordinator of Archway Curriculum Integrative Core Thread Chaos
- Fulbright and Critical Language Scholarship Advisor
- Academic Freedom and Academic Standards
- Student Conduct/Judiciary
2022 Elected, Advisory Council, North American Association for the Study of Religion
2021 Virtual Global Engagement grant, with Encounter World Religions Centre, Dir. Brian Carwana
2020 Nominated for American Academy of Religion Excellence in Teaching Award
2020 NWU Advisor of the Year Award
2020 NWU Diversity and Inclusion, Most Influential Woman Faculty
2019 NWU Student-Faculty Collaborative Grant, Teaching Religion without World Religions Paradigm (with students Jacob Barrett and Ciara Eichhorst)
2018 Nominated by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for the Cherry Award for Great Teaching (Baylor University)
2018 NWU Faculty Mentor Award
2014 NWU Sabbatical, Encounter World Religions Centre , Toronto, Fall semester
2014 Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Distinguished Alum Award (spoke at graduation)
2012 Professor of the Year (Nebraska), Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching & Council for Advancement and Support of Education
2011 NWU Margaret J. Prouty Teaching Award
2010 Council of American Overseas Research Centers & Council of Independent Colleges, “Islam and Middle Eastern Culture”, Jordan, Jan. 1-23 (article here)
2008 YWCA, Women Eliminating Racism Award, Lincoln, NE
2008 NWU Student-Faculty Collaborative Grant, “Site Visits as Pedagogical Strategy" (with student Nicole Francavilla)
2007 NWU Sabbatical, Encounter World Religions Centre .Toronto, Spring semester
2007 Contributing author, Women and Religion in North America, American History Association Leland Award , 2001-2006
2002 United Methodist Exemplary Teacher Award, NWU
2001 Harvard Pluralism Project Research Affiliate