Michael VanZandt Collins
Research and Writing
“Climate Change, Virtue and Moral Agency: An Essay in Comparative Muslim-Christian Theological Ethics”
PhD diss., Boston College
In the service of climate ethics, this project argues for a more dialogical, case-based and virtue-focused approach that Muslim-Christian comparative theology is capable of facilitating, particularly on the foundations of building solidarity and practicing hospitality. This dissertation was co-directed by Prof. Catherine Cornille and Prof. James Keenan, S.J.
Selected Publications
Figures and Reconfiguring: A New Direction in Comparative Theology?
The Journal of Interreligious Studies
As an introduction to a special issue, this proposal lays forth the grounds and reasoning to regard interfaith encounters as specific sites for interreligious and comparative theological learning. This issue marks the fiftieth anniversary of Thomas Merton’s death, and particularly his encounter with Mahanambrata Brahmachari, an Indian monk, as recorded in Merton’s best-selling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948).
Towards Witnessing the Other: Syria, Islam and Frans van der Lugt
Religions
For the "Religion and Theatrical Drama" special issue, this article engages ssay engages the case of a staging of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, performed synchronously between Amman, Jordan, and Homs, Syria, where “mutual witnessing” can create possibilities for comparative theological learning . Likewise that performance’s juxtaposition of star-crossed lovers and war-torn Syria, this article cultivates fresh insights for Muslims, Christians, and perhaps others into acts of giving witness.
"We set off for the woods"
Great Mountain Forest Anthology
A reflective journey from a retreat into the woods that unexpectedly stumbles upon the writings of another, a Deacon James Mars, who centuries ago found refuge in the very same woods, but as a child, and a runaway slave with his family.
Roxbury Community Gardens, 1981
The Trustees of Reservations
A glimpse in the archives of the Boston Natural Areas Network, an organization active between 1976 and 2006, with special attention to uncovering a story about an emerging coalition between this organization’s board, grassroots gardeners, community activists, and the Mayor’s office to protect vacant lots as open spaces for the benefit of the whole community.
Research Experience
2023 – 2024
Researcher: Boston Natural Areas Network archive
Archives & Research, The Trustees of Reservations, Boston, Mass.
2015 – 2022
Doctoral Researcher: Muslim & Christian Virtue Responses to Climate Change
Theology Department, Boston College
2013 – 2015
Researcher & Cataloguer: Visual Resources for Islamic Art and Architecture
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA), Harvard University