Tirdad Derakhshani
 Department of Religious Studies
University of Pennsylvania
derakhsh@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
Education
 Doctoral Candidate
The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
Expected graduation: 2004
 
  • Field: Religious Studies. 
  • Area of Concentration: Continental Philosophy of Religion. 
  • Areas of Competence: Phenomenology, Philosophy of the Social Sciences; Methodology in Religious Studies, Religion and Culture.
  TESOL Certificate
Graduate School of Education, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
1992
 
  • Completed Certificate Workshop on Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
  Bachelor of Arts
The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
1992
 
  • English Literature. Honors: Cum Laude.
  Study-Abroad Program
King's College, University of London, London, England.
1987-88
 
  • Studied English literature, Book and Theater Criticism.
Experience
 Instructor
The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
1996-Present
 
  • Responsible for designing and providing original content for undergraduate courses, delivering lectures, leading discussion in intensive seminars, evaluating student performance.
  • Course load: Survey of Western Religions, Religion and Film, Theories of Interpretation, Introduction to Philosophical Hermeneutics, Existentialism and Religion, Psychology and Religion. 
  • Course list: see below.
  Assistant Editor
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pa.
2002-Present
 
  • Dual assignment: NJ Neighbors/Features.
  • Generate story ideas and edit work by Features reporters and writers for New Jersey Neighbors.

    • Edit Features and Neighbors listings.
  • Supervise Features and Neighbors listings Content Providers.
  Editorial Assistant
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pa.
1993-2002
 
  • Researcher: assisted investigative reporters Don Barlett and Jim Steele (1996 book, America: Who Stole the Dream?, 1993 book, America, Who Really Pays the Taxes?). Experience with Lexus-Nexus, Westlaw, Autotrack.
  • Content Provider and Editor, Arts & Entertainment Listings: gather information from area organizations, write brief descriptive entries on deadline; supervise and edit work by other content providers.
  • Contests Liaison: collaborate with Special Projects Editor to choose and prepare entries for journalism awards.
Freelance Writer
1989-Present
 
  • Author of feature articles and book reviews for The Philadelphia Inquirer and The City Paper (1989-Present).
  • Author of weekly column for the Philadelphia Inquirer's Religion Page that explained current issues and announced upcoming events (2000-2002).
  • Author of monthly sports column for the Philadelphia Inquirer's Weekend section that introduced readers to participatory sports events (1992-1999).
Teaching Experience
  • Fall 2002
  • Summer 2002
  • Spring 2002
  • Fall 2001
  • Summer 2001
  • Spring 2001
  • Fall 2000
  • Summer '00
  • Spring '00
  • Fall '99
  • Summer '99
  • Spring '99
  • Spring '99
  • Fall '98
  • Fall '98
  • Spring '98
  • Summer '97
  • Spring '97
  • Fall '96
  • Spring '96
  • Fall '95
 Religious Studies 105: Religion and Film
Religious Studies 105: Religion and Film
Religious Studies 106: Existentialism and Religion
Religious Studies 101: Psychology and Religion
Religious Studies 105: Religion and Film
Religious Studies 004: Interpretation: Marx, Freud & Nietzsche
Religious Studies 106: Existentialism and Religion
Religious Studies 105: Religion and Film
Religious Studies 105: Religion and Film
Religious Studies 002: Religions of the West
Religious Studies 105: Religion and Film
Religious Studies 004: Introduction to Hermeneutics
Religious Studies 104: Religion and the Search for Meaning
Religious Studies 006: Understanding the Cult Controversy
Religious Studies 002: Religions of the West
Religious Studies 002: Religions of the West
Religions Studies 004: Interpretation: Marx Freud Nietzsche
Religious Studies 004: Interpretation: Creation and Evolution
Religious Studies 001: Religions of Asia
Religious Studies 014: Religions of the West
Religious Studies 006: Understanding the Cult Controversy		 Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Instructor
Grader (S. Dunning)
Grader (S. Dunning)
Instructor
Assistant (A. Matter)
Instructor
Assistant (S. Dunning)
Assistant (G. Welbon)
Assistant (E. Breuer)
Assistant (S. Dunning)
Academic Awards
  • 2002. Nominated, Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student.
  • 1996-1998. Teaching Fellow. Religious Studies. University of Pennsylvania.
  • 1997. Robert F. Streetman Prize for Best Student Paper, American Academy of Religion, Mid-Atlantic Region.
Academic
Presentations
  • November 2000. "Imaginary Construction: Climacus as Theoretician of Narrative Ethics." American Academy of Religion, Annual Meeting. Nashville, Tennessee.
  • November 1998. "On a Religious Tone Recently Adopted in Philosophy." American Academy of Religion, Annual Meeting. Orlando, Florida.
  • February 1997. "Il y a and Illeity: Lévinas’ Dialectic of the Sacred and the Holy." American Academy of Religion, Mid-Atlantic Region Meeting. Wilmington, Delaware.
Academic Publications
  • Forthcoming. Review Essay, critical studies of Soren Kierkegaard. Journal of Cultural and Religious Theory.
  • Forthcoming. Review of Celluloid Saints: Images of Sanctity in Film by T. Sanders. Journal of Religion and Film.
  • Forthcoming. Review of A Taste for the Secret by Jacques Derrida. The European Journal of Cultural Studies.
  • 1999. "Phenomenology." In Serinity Young, Ed. Encyclopedia of Women & World Religions. N.Y.: Macmillan. 
Selected Other Publications
  • "Unlikely Terrorist Prepares." Review of The Cyclist by Viken Berberian. The Philadelphia Inquirer (July 7, 2002), H12.
  • "Visit from a Jewish Angel Changes a Muslim Man Forever." Review of Abou and the Angel Cohen by Claude Campbell. The Philadelphia Inquirer (July 2, 2002), C2.
  • "The Greatest Living Writer Shares his Oeuvre." Review of The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature by Neal Pollack. The Philadelphia Inquirer (Apr. 17, 2002), E2.
  • "The Roots of a Black Man's Murder." Review of A Death in Texas by Dina Temple-Raston. The Philadelphia Inquirer (Mar. 10, 2002), H12.
  • "The Power of Word Perversion," review of The Last Summer of Reason by Tahar Djaout. The Philadelphia Inquirer (Oct. 28, 2001), H13. 
  • "Bin Laden’s Radical Religious Beliefs." Analysis. The Philadelphia Inquirer (Sept. 30, 2001), D5. 
  • "God – and the Details," review of Why God Won’t Go Away by Andrew Newberg, Eugene d’Aquili and Vince Rause and The Hidden Face of God by Gerald L. Schroeder. The Philadelphia Inquirer Online (June 24, 2001). 
  • "Professor who had a Witty Way with Words," review of The Waste Books by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. The Philadelphia Inquirer (May 27, 2001), H13. 
  • "Reporting on the War Over God." Review of The Battle For God by Karen Armstrong. The Philadelphia Inquirer, (Apr. 23, 2000), K1. 
  • "Gothic: Take a Walk on the Dark Side." Review of Gothic: Four Hundred Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin by Richard Davenport-Hines. The Philadelphia Inquirer, (Oct. 10, 1999), K6. 
  • "God Forsaken." Review of God’s Funeral by A.N. Wilson. The Philadelphia Inquirer, (Sept. 8, 1999), Q1. 
  • "Sir Isaiah Berlin, 88, Master Thinker, Writer." Obituary. The Philadelphia Inquirer. (Nov. 7, 1997), R4. 
  • "Examining Philosophy Behind History." Review of The Sense of Reality: Studies in Ideas and their History by Isaiah Berlin. The Philadelphia Inquirer. (Aug. 24, 1997), Q3.
  • "Two Authors Go Off in Search of Real Carl Jung." Review of Carl Gustav Jung by Frank McLynn and The Aryan Christ by Richard Noll. The Philadelphia Inquirer. (Nov. 9, 1997), Q4.
  • "Waxing Philosophical in Torrent of Words, Images." Review of Memory Wax by Alan Singer. The Philadelphia Inquirer. (Aug. 25, 1996), Q5.
  • "Restless Mind of Weber is Made Clearer." Review of Max Weber: Politics and the Spirit of Tragedy by John Patrick Diggins. The Philadelphia Inquirer. (Aug. 11, 1996), Q2.
  • "Narcissist Tries to Overcome his Affliction by Recording Someone Else's Life." Review of Kiss & Tell by Alain de Botton. The Philadelphia Inquirer. (June 30, 1996), Q6.
  • "A Complex Fable About the Mysterious Journey of a Scholar's Soul." Review of The Following Story by Cees Noteboom. The Philadelphia Inquirer. (Oct. 16, 1994), M2.
  • "Descending Into Parisian Decadence to Revisit Dracula." Review of The Secret Life of Laszlo, Count Dracula by Roderick Anscombe. The Philadelphia Inquirer. (Sept. 4, 1994), K2.
  • "Paul Bowles Keeps a Diary -- Reluctantly." Review of Days: Tangier Journal by Paul Bowles. The Philadelphia Inquirer (Feb. 16, 1992), G4.
Professional Memberships
  • American Academy of Religion 
  • Søren Kierkegaard Society
    		•
    Back to My Home Page
    Religious Studies Home Page