Rev. Joseph E. Simmons, S.J., DPhil

Rev. Joseph E. Simmons, S.J., DPhilMarquette University

Marquette Hall, 328

MilwaukeeWI53201United States of America(414) 288-3744joseph.simmons@marquette.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Assistant Professor

Theology Department (Systematic Theology)

Fr. Simmons, SJ (DPhil, Oxon, 2023) is a Catholic priest of the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). His areas of interest are theology and literature, the theological turn in phenomenology, fundamental theology, as well as atheism and secularity. His doctoral dissertation, “Attunements to Grace in the Writings of Virginia Woolf and Marilynne Robinson,” was directed by the Rev. Dr. Graham Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford (Christ Church). 

Recent essays include a treatment of Intersubjectivity in Nicholas of Cusa’s De Visione Dei, and a theological reading of domesticity in Marilynne Robinson’s first novel Housekeeping.  Future work includes an essay on religious belief in Virginia Woolf’s seminal novel, A Voyage Out.

Fr. Simmons is a proud Marquette alumnus (A&S ’04), having majored in Classics as well as Spanish Language and Literature.

Courses Taught

• THEO 1001: Foundations in Theology
• THEO 3230: Theology in the Writings of C.S. Lewis
• THEO 3230H: Theology in the Writings of C.S. Lewis (Honors)

Spring 2025 courses:

THEO 1001 – Foundations in Theology (Team Taught Lecture)

THEO 4300 - The Question of God in a Secular Age 

THEO 4300H - The Question of God in a Secular Age (Honors)

THEO 5300 -  The Question of God in a Secular Age  (Graduate Level)

Research Interests

• Theology and Literature
• Marilynne Robinson
• Virginia Woolf
• Religious Belief and Atheism
• The Phenomenological Turn in Theology
• Nicholas of Cusa

Presentations

Recordings of papers given on various topics:

“Bothered by God: Catholic Imagination and Atheist Writers” given at the Catholic Imagination Conference, Loyola University Chicago, October 2020.

“Identifying the Christian Imagination” a paper introducing Campion Hall (University of Oxford) and Georgetown University’s joint series, “The Christian Literary Imagination”, October 2020.

“Mediating Verticality in Community – the Phenomenological Vision of Nicholas of Cusa” given at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies “Phenomenology of Religion as Philosophical Anthropology” conference, October 2021.

“From Distraction to Dedication” – a Reflection on Spiritual Attention public lecture on Ignatian spirituality, St. Ignatius College Prep, July 2022.

“Nature Abhors a Vacuum: Overcoming Domesticity in Housekeeping” a paper given for Georgetown University’s Global Engagement “A Bent but Beautiful World: Literature, Art, and the Environment” series, May 2023.

“The Betrothed: Cultural Encounters in Pope Francis’s Favorite Italian Novel” a paper given for Georgetown University’s Global Engagement “Cultural Encounters” series, April 2024.

“A Pope’s Hope for the Humanities: Reading Francis’s Love Letter to Literature” given to the Marquette University Humanities Research Colloquium, October 2024.

Additional Information

Office Hours - Fall 2024

• M 2:00-3:00
• Tu 11:00-12:00
• Or by appointment