The Institute of English and American Studies of the University of Szeged will host a public lecture by 

Dr. Briane K. Turley

on

Religion in American Literature:

The Christhaunted South of Flannery O’Connor

2 pm,Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 

in Room 3

Before assuming duties as Rector of an Anglican Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Turley served for 20 years as a member of the faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University where he has taught courses in the history of Christian thought and American religions and geography of religions. A DuPont Fellow, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in Modern European and American religious history. He has published two books and several articles on religion and society topics. His second book (with John Super), published in 2006 by Routledge Press, is titled Religion in World History: The Persistence of Imperial Communion. Turley previously served as a Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Szeged in 2002.

Dr. Turley has been recognized by the American Academy of Religion as an early pioneer in the application of the new technologies for humanities research. He has served as Managing Editor and co-founder of three scholarly, online journals: the Journal of Southern Religion, a peer-reviewed publication that examines religion and culture in the U.S. South; the American Religious Experience; and Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe. He has been recognized by both the Marquis Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Education. He is married to Ann Turley, a musician. They have one son, Christopher, now in his second university year.

Dr. Turley is a recent recipient of the Pro Facultate Philosophiae medal of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Szeged. The honors are in recognition of his work done for the Szeged community including his implementing a mobility program between West Virginia University and the University of Szeged with over a dozen students and faculty having enjoyed its benefits so far. In 2011 Dr. Turley is revisiting Szeged, teaching compressed courses for the Institute and the Department of Religious Studies.