Robin Jensen
Professor Emerita
Concurrent Faculty: Art, Art History, and Design
Concurrent Professor of Classics
Fellow of the Medieval Institute
Fellow of the Nanovic Institute
Primary Area: Liturgical Studies
Secondary Area: Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity
Biography
Robin Jensen’s interdisciplinary research and publications focus on the relationship between early Christian art and literature to explore the ways that visual images and architectural spaces are modes of theological expression and reflect the nature and content of devotional piety and explicate ritual practices. She teaches courses on the character of late antique Christian and Jewish art, the history and evolution of Christian architecture, the iconography of the cross and crucifix, depictions of Christ and the Virgin Mary, and the place and controversies over images and idols in ancient and early medieval Christianity. Additionally, she has researched the practices, distinctive character, and material evidence of Christianity in Roman North Africa.
Research Interests
History of Christian Art, History of Christian Architecture, History of Christianity in Roman Africa, Initiation and Early Christian Baptism, Theology of Sacred Images in Eastern and Western Christian Tradition, Liturgical Theology
Selected Publications
Understanding Early Christian Art: Revised Edition (a significantly updated and revised edition of the 2000 version of this title). London: Routledge, 2023.
From Idols to Icons: The Emergence of Christian Devotional Images in Late Antiquity (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2022).
The Cross: History, Art, and Controversy (Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press, 2017).
Christianity in Roman Africa: The Development of its Practices and Beliefs, with J. Patout Burns (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014).
Winner, 2015 Catholic Press Association Book Award (History).
Baptismal Imagery in Early Christianity (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012).
Second place, 2013 Catholic Press Association Book Award (Liturgy).
Education
- Ph.D., M.A., Columbia University, NY
- B.A., Concordia College, Moorhead, MN