Timothy Polk

"I grew up Presbyterian in south-central Pennsylvania in the only family of Democrats in town. I don't seem to have been able to get rid of either the Calvin or the Democrat in me.  I've been teaching at Hamline for over twenty years, seven of them as chair, a post I was deliriously happy to vacate. I have published two books on sad people, the prophet Jeremiah and Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. Nevertheless, I'm happily married with three reasonably happy children. My main teaching interest is in the close reading of religious texts, especially Christian scripture, Old and New Testaments. In particular, I try to integrate literary and historical perspectives in the service of a theological interpretation that is both grounded in the tradition and responsive to our contemporary situations - or, one might say, that is simultaneously traditional and critical, or again, that is oddly orthodox and subversive. Because I am interested in the how of reading the Bible, the is a constant movement in my classes back and forth between analysis of textual details, questions about the nature of interpretation itself, and reflection on the formation of our values through the reading process. My own faith commitment to these canonical texts means that the problems I lay before my students are also my problems, and although I work hard not to load the questions in favor of my own position, my students report that the tone is urgent. I hope the urgency is contagious. Besides my primary responsibilities for biblical studies, I also teach courses in literature and religion, film and religion, and Soren Kierkegaard. Avocations include singing and cycling, although I don't always do them at the same time."