Cynthia Hogan, Ph.D.

Dr. Cynthia Hogan earned her M.A. and Ph.D. and in Religion and Culture at UNC-Chapel Hill. Before coming to W&J, Dr. Hogan taught in the Department of Philosophy and Religion and the Jewish Studies minor at Ithaca College. She was also fortunate to return to her undergraduate alma mater and taught religious studies courses at Wells College. Previously, Dr. Hogan taught courses in religious studies at William Peace University and Elon University in North Carolina while working on her doctoral research.

Prior to her academic experience, Dr. Hogan’s first career was working as an educational programmer at the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA). While at the NCMA, she completed a Masters in Ancient History at NC State. Her thesis analyzed a late antique funerary shroud from the Fayum region of Roman Egypt in the Museum’s collection. The experience fueled her desire to continue her studies in religion and art. She left gainful State-employment for a second graduate program in Religion and Culture at UNC-Chapel Hill. At UNC, she trained in critical social theory and cultural studies continuing her specialization in religious material culture. Dr. Hogan expands her scholarly interests by teaching a wide range of courses in cultural and historical-critical approaches to the study of religion, religious material culture, and religion and gender.

Since 2014, Dr. Hogan has been active in the Regional leadership of the American Academy of Religion. She currently serves as the Regionally Elected Coordinator for the AAR’s Eastern International Region and on additional AAR committees.

She has been published in the anthology Death, Dying, and Mysticism: The Ecstasy of the End (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and is a reviewer for several online journals in religion and the humanities. Her current research project is an ethnographic study of women who engage with “New Age” and “metaphysical” traditions and material culture for healing purposes.