Associate Professor Emeritus
220J Ellis Hall
Tel. (740) 593-4594
E-mail: weckman@ohio.edu
Ohio University faculty member since 1968.
Education
Ph.D. University of Chicago Divinity School (1969)
M.A. University of Chicago Divinity School (1965)
B.D. Philadelphia Lutheran Seminary (1963)
A.B. Muhlenberg College (1960)
Specializations
- Philosophy of Religion
- Biblical Studies
- Hinduism
- Preliterate Cultures
- Islam
- Monasticism
- Theory and Methodology of Religion Studies
Courses Taught
- CLWR 181: Introduction to Religion
- CLWR 301: Old Testament
- CLWR 302: New Testament
- CLWR 311/511: Islam
- CLWR 321: Hinduism
- CLWR 361: American Religions
- CLWR 385J: Writing about Religion
- CLWR 481/581: Myth and Symbolism
- CLWR 482: Thinking about Death
Research and Publications
Books
The Language of the the Study of Religion: A Handbook, Xlibris Corporation, 2000.
My Brothers’ Place: An American Lutheran Monastery, Lawrenceville, VA: Brunswick Publishing Corporation, 1992. [Link to ALICE record]
A Study Guide for Philosophy 372: Islam, Athens, OH: Independent Study, 1989. Revised 1997 (also revised for Internet, 1997)
Portions or Chapters in Books
“Respect of Others’ Sacreds,” in The Sacred and its Scholars, ed. Thomas A. Idinopulos and Edward A. Yonan, (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996), pp. 178-186. [Link to OhioLINK record]
“Reductionism in the Classroom,” in Religion and Reductionism: Essays on Eliade, Segal, and the Challenge of the Social Sciences for the Study of Religion, Kinderhook, NY: E.J. Brill, 1994, pp. 211-219. [Link to ALICE record]
Articles
“Luther”, “Ashram”, “Biblical Figures”, “Bible Interpretation”, in Encyclopedia of Monasticism (Chicago: Fitzroy–Dearborn Press, 2000). [Link to ALICE record]
Book Reviews
Donald Heinz, The Last Passage (Oxford, 1999) for Journal of Ritual Studies.
Kodo Matsunami, International Handbook of Funeral Customs (Greenwood, 1998) for Journal of Ritual Studies.
Bernard Lane, Sacred Games (Yale, 1997), for Journal of Ritual Studies.
Timothy Robinson, ed., God (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1996) in Teaching Philosophy.
Wayne Pomerleau, Western Philosophy of Religion (New York: Ardsley House, 1998) in Teaching Philosophy.
Current Research
My main research interest has been monasticism as a component in many of the religious traditions of the world. More broadly, I bring the study of worldviews and related religious practices of the major alternative cultures to our Western university context. The investigation of non-Western philosophies inevitably involves religious and cultural tradition, displayed in practice and texts. Art and aesthetics are also a part of this mix and are flected in my interest in the meaning of music as well as graphic arts.