VU Amsterdam PhD Curriculum

September 2013 - May 2104
Dissertation Research and Writing
My dissertation compares Abraham Kuyper and Dietrich Bonhoeffer in an effort to define and apply a historical notion of the common good that is based in public, theological witness.

American research libraries lack the resources necessary for my investigation particularly into Dutch political and theological history.  So, I will be spending the 2013-14 academic year in the Netherlands in order to utilize key research libraries and archives - and this will allow me to conduct the majority of my dissertation research and writing.

While in the Netherlands, I will work closely with several prominent scholars at two Dutch institutions to pursue research on the historical, theological, and ethical relationship between German Lutheranism and Dutch Calvinism.  Dr. George Harinck, my primary advisor in the Netherlands, is director of the Archives and Documentation Centre at the Theologische Universiteit Kampen and is Professor of History at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.  Dr. Harinck is currently editing a pioneering volume on the German Lutheran Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Dutch Calvinist Abraham Kuyper (to which I have contributed a chapter entitled “Distinct Discipleship: Abraham Kuyper, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Christian Engagement in Public Life”). 

At VU Amsterdam, I will also be working with the Bonhoeffer scholar Dr. Gerard Dekker, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, and Dr. Kees van der Kooi, Professor of Western Systematic Theology and Director of the Center for Evangelical and Reformation Theology.  In Kampen, I will be working with the Bonhoeffer scholar and Professor of Dogmatics Dr. Barend Kamphuis and the Dutch Calvinist scholar and post-doctoral fellow Dr. James Eglinton.  

With the guidance and expertise of these scholars, and especially with access to the archives and resources unique to their institutions, my ability to contribute further to the emerging field of German Lutheran and Dutch Calvinist dialogue will be enhanced considerably.