“Both academically and personally, I am very interested in understanding how to become a good reader of texts. A text can be a book, but it also can be a person, a situation, a piece of art, even a logo. There can be many reasons why we “mis-read” a person, a situation, or even a book, but doing so keeps us from truly seeing others and from becoming insightful and virtuous interpreters of the world. At the Templeton Honors College, I get to read truly great texts with students—texts so profound that you can’t see the bottom. As we practice being virtuous readers of those texts in the classroom we also become more virtuous readers of life more generally. ”
Dr. Amber Bowen is Assistant Professor of Philosophy. After receiving her undergraduate degree in The History of Ideas from The College at Southeastern she completed a Masters in Philosophy of Religion followed by a PhD at the University of Aberdeen. Before coming to Eastern, she taught for two years at Redeemer University in Hamilton, Ontario and then received a one year Faculty Fellowship at the Center for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame. She specializes in phenomenology, philosophical hermeneutics, and the work of Søren Kierkegaard and Edith Stein.
Before beginning graduate school, Dr. Bowen lived in Milan, Italy for 4.5 years, which is where she discovered her love for cooking, travel, art, farmers markets and hiking. She and her husband, Jack, enjoy exploring the jazz scene in Philadelphia and are committed to homemade pizza Saturdays and over-the-top taco Sundays.
Education
| Ph.D. | 2021 | Trinity College | Philosophy |
| M.A. | 2017 | Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary | Philosophy of Religion |
| B.A. | 2008 | Southeastern College | History of Ideas |
Undergraduate Courses
Dr. Bowen teaches Western Civilization I: Greece and Rome in the Templeton Honors College in addition to several courses with the philosophy department:
- Philosophy & Literature
- Faith & Philosophy
- Continental Philosophy