Christopher Tirres is a Vincent de Paul Professor of Religious Studies and the Inaugural Endowed Professor of Diplomacy and Interreligious Engagement in the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. He also directs DePaul's Center for Religion, Culture and Community (CRCC). Dr. Tirres is the author of The Aesthetics and Ethics of Faith: A Dialogue Between Liberationist and Pragmatic Thought (Oxford, 2014) as well as two forthcoming volumes: a monograph entitled Liberating Spiritualities in the Americas (Fordham University Press) and a co-edited volume entitled Religion in the Americas: Transcultural and Trans-hemispheric Approaches (University of New Mexico Press). He has published and presented widely in the areas of religious studies, philosophy, theology, feminism and education. Dr. Tirres is the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including major awards from the Ford Foundation, the Louisville Institute, the Hispanic Theological Initiative and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning. Dr. Tirres in an award-winning teacher, and he is involved in a number of community-engaged initiatives both at DePaul and beyond. Most recently, he has collaborated with the Chicago-based Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants (ICDI); the Mariposa Foundation, a program based in the Dominican Republic that seeks to end generational poverty by educating and empowering girls; and Solidarity Bridge, an organization that partners with communities in Bolivia and Paraguay to increase access to safe, affordable surgery and other essential health care. He was born and raised in El Paso, Texas and is a graduate of Princeton University (A.B.), Harvard Divinity School (M.T.S) and Harvard University (Ph.D.).
Research Interests
- Latin American and Latinx Religious Thought and Practice
- Liberation Theologies
- Philosophical Pragmatism
- Intersectional Feminisms
- Critical Pedagogy
- Everyday Diplomacy
Courses Frequently Taught
REL 113 The Latinx Religious Experience in the United States
REL 257 Death and Its Beyond: Aztec, Christian and Islamic Views of Life after Death
REL 290 Latinx Liberation Traditions