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Joseph Wawrykow

Professor Emeritus

Primary Area: History of Christianity

Headshot of a man with medium-length graying hair and glasses. He wears a dark suit, light blue collared shirt, and maroon patterned tie. He has a salt-and-pepper beard and mustache and is posing against a light gray background.
Office
438 Malloy Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Phone
+1 574-631-7208
Email
jwawryko@nd.edu

Biography

Born and raised in Canada, Joseph Wawrykow did his doctoral work at Yale University and then taught at Notre Dame after graduation. He specializes in 13th-century Western theology, and has published on a wide range of central theological topics (Trinity; Christ; grace and predestination; sacraments; biblical interpretation) in high medieval theology. While he is best known for his work on the theology of Thomas Aquinas, his scholarly interests extend to other scholastic theologians, as well as to the varieties of medieval spiritual theology. In his research, he is attentive to issues of reception and transformation, showing the medieval scholastic theological achievement in its complex relations with the theologies of the early Fathers. Wawrykow has directed numerous doctoral dissertations, on such figures as William of Auxerre, Angela of Foligno, Duns Scotus, and, Aquinas. He has received University recognition for his teaching, both undergraduate and graduate, and was entrusted with several leadership responsibilities by his Department, including lengthy stints as Director of Undergraduate Studies and as Director of Graduate Studies (Ph.D.). He is married to an art historian (Yale Ph.D.); their son did his undergraduate work at Yale and is currently pursuing doctoral studies in Mathematics at the University of Michigan.

Research Interests

Medieval Christology; the late medieval and early modern reception of Aquinas's theology

Selected Publications

God's Grace and Human Action: 'Merit' in the Theology of Thomas Aquinas. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995.

Christ Among the Medieval Dominicans, co-edited with Kent Emery. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1999.

The Theology of Thomas Aquinas, co-edited with Rik Van Nieuwenhove. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005.

The Westminster Handbook to Thomas Aquinas. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.

“Jesus in the Moral Theology of Thomas Aquinas.” Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 42/1 (2012): 13-33

“The Greek Fathers in the Eucharistic Theology of Thomas Aquinas.” In Andrew Hofer and Roger Nutt (eds.), Aquinas and the Greek Fathers. Ave Maria: Sapientia Press, 2018.

Education

Ph.D. Yale University