Steven M. Emmanuel (Steve)
Professor of Philosophy
Chair of Philosophy
Degrees Held
B.A., Boston University
M.A., Ph.D., Brown University
Office Location: 203 Clarke Hall
Phone: 757-455-3405
Email: semmanuel@vwu.edu
Department/s:
- Philosophy
- Environmental Studies
Personal Website
Steven Emmanuel received his undergraduate degree from Boston University and his Ph.D. in philosophy from Brown. His research and teaching interests lie mainly in the history of philosophy and ethics, with a special focus on comparative moral and religious thought. A former Fulbright Fellow at the University of Copenhagen, he has worked extensively on the 19th-century Danish thinker Søren Kierkegaard, but in more recent years has immersed himself in the study of Asian philosophical traditions. This interest in Asian thought and culture has led to student-faculty research projects in Vietnam and China, as well as extended individual research trips to India and Japan. From 2012-2016, he served on the Board of Directors of ASIANetwork, a national organization dedicated to promoting research in Asian Studies.
Emmanuel is a recipient of the SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award, Virginia Wesleyan’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the Batten Distinguished Scholar Award, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace and Justice Award. In addition to numerous articles in respected journals of philosophy and religion, Emmanuel has published 12 books in his areas of specialization. In 2008, he produced and directed an award-winning feature-length documentary film, “Making Peace with Viet Nam,” which examined the challenges of reconciliation in the aftermath of war. Emmanuel has received grants from the Freeman and Mellon foundations, as well as the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society. Since 2005, he has served as the Statewide Faculty Coordinator of the VFIC Ethics Bowl program, which promotes the development of ethical reasoning skills in students across Virginia.
MAJOR BOOK PUBLICATIONS
Philosophy
Steven M. Emmanuel (ed.), Buddhist Philosophy: A Comparative Approach (Wiley-Blackwell, 2018)
Steven M. Emmanuel, William McDonald & Jon Stewart (eds), Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome VI: Salvation to Writing (Aldershot & Burlington: Ashgate, 2015)
Steven M. Emmanuel, William McDonald & Jon Stewart (eds), Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome V: Objectivity to Sacrifice (Aldershot & Burlington: Ashgate, 2015)
Steven M. Emmanuel, William McDonald & Jon Stewart (eds), Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome IV: Individual to Novel (Aldershot & Burlington: Ashgate, 2014)
Steven M. Emmanuel, William McDonald & Jon Stewart (eds), Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome III: Envy to Incognito (Aldershot & Burlington: Ashgate, 2014)
Steven M. Emmanuel, William McDonald & Jon Stewart (eds), Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome II: Classicism to Enthusiasm (Aldershot & Burlington: Ashgate, 2014)
Steven M. Emmanuel, William McDonald & Jon Stewart (eds), Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome I: Absolute to Church (Aldershot & Burlington: Ashgate, 2013)
Steven M. Emmanuel (ed.), A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013)
Steven M. Emmanuel & Patrick Goold (eds), Modern Philosophy: An Anthology (Blackwell, 2002)
Steven M. Emmanuel (ed.), The Modern Philosophers: From Descartes to Nietzsche(Blackwell, 2001)
Steven M. Emmanuel, Kierkegaard and the Concept of Revelation (SUNY Press, 1996)
Popular Culture
Kathy Merlock-Jackson and Steven M. Emmanuel (eds), Revisiting Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: Essays on Lessons About Self and Community (McFarland Publishers, 2016)
Under Contract
Philosophy’s Perennial Questions: Comparing Buddhist and Western Approaches (Columbia University Press)
ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS
Philosophy
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Editor’s Introduction,†in Buddhist Philosophy: A Comparative Approach (Wiley-Blackwell, 2018).
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Punctuation,†in Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome V: Objectivity to Sacrifice (Ashgate, 2015)
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Melancholy,†in Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome IV: Individual to Novel (Ashgate, 2014)
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Genius,†in Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome III: Envy to Incognito (Ashgate, 2014)
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Concrete/Abstract†in Kierkegaard’s Concepts: Tome II: Classicism to Enthusiasm (Ashgate, 2014).
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Absolute,†in Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome I: Absolute to Church (Ashgate, 2013)
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Actuality/Ideality,†in Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome I: Absolute to Church (Ashgate, 2013)
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Apostle,†in Kierkegaard’s Concepts, Tome I: Absolute to Church (Ashgate, 2013)
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Buddhism: Contemporary Expressions,†a chapter essay on socially engaged Buddhism in A Companion to Religion and Social Justice (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012)
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Engaged Learning and Filmmaking by Way of Vietnam,†in ASIANetwork Exchange: A Journal for Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts 17.2 (2010): 83-90.
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Philosophy,†in the Dictionary of Existentialism (Greenwood, 1999)
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Kierkegaard,†in the Encyclopedia of Philosophy Supplement (MacMillan, 1997)
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Recent Literature on Kierkegaard,†Religious Studies Review 20 (1994): 286-291
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Reading Kierkegaard,†Philosophy Today 36 (1992): 240-255
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Kierkegaard on Knowledge and Faith,†Kierkegaardiana 15 (1992): 136-146
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Kierkegaard’s Pragmatist Faith,†Philosophy & Phenomenological Research (1991): 279-302
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Kierkegaard on Doctrine,†Religious Studies 25 (1989): 363-378
Popular Culture
Steven M. Emmanuel, “The Presence of Mister Rogers,†in Revisiting Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: Essays on Lessons About Self and Community, ed. by Kathy Merlock-Jackson and Steven M. Emmanuel (McFarland Publishers, 2016): 88-104
Anthologized Articles
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Reading Kierkegaard,†in Søren Kierkegaard: Critical Assessments of Leading Philosophers, ed. by Daniel W. Conway (Routledge, 2002):
51-70
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Interpreting Kierkegaard,†in Sex, Love, and Friendship, ed. by Alan Soble and Barbara Kirshner (Amsterdam and Atlanta: Rodopi, 1997)
Steven M. Emmanuel, “Kierkegaard on Doctrine†was included in a Japanese anthology entitled Kierkegaard, ed. by Kinya Masugata (Kyoto: Showado Co., Ltd., 1993)
Faculty-led Trip to China an Interdisciplinary Global Experience
Grant for Saving China's Cultural Heritage project provides unique opportunities for students