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Karen Peterson-Iyer

United States
Institution Santa Clara University
Position Assistant Professor
Email Address kpetersoniyer@scu.edu
University Profile Website URL
Prior Educational Background
  • BA, Stanford University (Political Science)
  • MDiv, Pacific School of Religion (emphasis in Social Ethics)
  • PhD, Yale University (Religious Ethics)
Research Interests
  • Bioethics/Medical Ethics
  • Feminist, Womanist, or Mujerista Ethics
  • Gender and Sexual Ethics
  • Human Rights
  • Immigration
  • LGBTQ Theologies
  • Liberation Theologies
  • Political Ethics
  • Race
  • Social Ethics
  • Virtue Ethics
Recent Publications
  • “Sex and Sexuality.” In T&T Clark Companion to Christian Ethics, ed. Tobias Winright, forthcoming.
  • “Christian Perspectives on Prenatal Diagnosis.” In The Oxford Handbook of Religious Perspectives on Reproductive Ethics, forthcoming.
  • “Contingency, Gender, and the Academic Table.” Journal of Moral Theology, Spring 2019.
  • “Finding God in All Things.” Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Fall 2014.
  • “‘Mobile Porn?’ Teenage Sexting and Justice for Women.” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, Fall/Winter 2013. Reprinted in Sex and Gender: Christian Ethical Reflections, ed. Mary Jo Iozzio and Patricia Beattie Jung, Georgetown University Press, 2017.
  • “Pharmacogenomics, Ethics, and Public Policy.” Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, March 2008.
  • “Motherhood and Tenure: Can Catholic Universities Support Both?” Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, March 2005. With Bridget Burke Ravizza.
  • Designer Children: Reconciling Genetic Technology, Feminism, and Christian Faith. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2004.
  • “Prostitution: A Feminist Ethical Analysis.” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Fall 1998.
Professional Activities and Affiliations
  • Board of Directors, Society of Christian Ethics, 2014-2018. Member of Executive Board, 2015. Chair of Nominating Committee, 2016-2017. Member of Finance and Professional Development Committees, 2016-2018.
  • Member of Committee on Lecturers and Adjuncts, Santa Clara University, 2015- 2019.
  • Co-Convener of Santa Clara University Teaching, Outreach, and Programs Against Human Trafficking (STOP-HT), Santa Clara University, 2014-present.
  • Community Representative, Stanford University Hospital Bioethics Committee (ongoing).
  • Member, Catholic Theological Society of America.
  • Member, American Academy of Religion.