Robin M. Jensen
Luce Chancellor's Professor of the History of Christian Art and Worship

B.A., Concordia College, Moorhead Minnesota (1973)
M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D, Columbia University/Union Theological Seminary, New York (1977, 1986, 1991).

Email: robin.m.jensen@vanderbilt.edu

Curriculum Vitae (.pdf)

On Leave Spring 2009

Robin Jensen's undergraduate emphasis on theatre arts and her subsequent professional training as a visual artist stimulated her interest in integrating the history of visual art and architecture with the study of worship and liturgy. Her historical research concentrates on Christian practices and non-textual expressions of the faith of the early Church. Her first book, Understanding Early Christian Art (Routledge, 2000), offers an integrated examination of the visual art of the early Church with its verbal expression, particularly in the context of worship (homilies, prayers, and catechetical lectures). Her most recent book, Face to Face: The Portrait of the Divine in Early Christianity (Fortress, 2005), examines the development of the portrait of Jesus and the question of the visual image of God in Christian theology and devotional practice. Her current projects include a study of the architectural space and iconography of early Christian baptism and the practice of Christianity in Roman North Africa. She has traveled extensively in Italy, France, the Middle East, and North Africa as part of her research and teaching. Prior to coming to Vanderbilt Divinity School, Professor Jensen was Professor of the History of Christianity and Director of the Program in Theology and the Arts at Andover Newton Theological School.