Blake Burleson

Contact Information:
Department of Religion
Baylor University
One Bear Place #97284
Waco, TX 76798-7284

Office: Burleson 100

Phone: (254) 710-3940

Email:
Blake_Burleson@baylor.edu

Personal Website

Senior Lecturer in Religion
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies of the College of Arts and Sciences

Education:

B.A., Baylor University (1978)
M.A., Baylor University (1982)
Ph.D., Baylor University (1986)
Additional Study: University of Texas (summer 1983); Yale University (summer 1997)

Biography:

Dr. Burleson teaches world religions. Texas Monthly 2004 Guide to Texas Colleges and Universities listed "Religion with Blake Burleson" as one of the four "best classes" at Baylor University. He teaches primarily in the Department of Religion, but he has also taught African Studies and Sports Ethics. He has traveled extensively on the African continent since 1978 and directed the African Studies Program at Baylor from 1996 to 2003. He is the author of Pathways to Integrity: Ethics and Psychological Type (200), Jung in Africa (2005), and Entempling: Baptist Wisdom for Contemplative Prayer (2012). A member of the International Association of Jungian Studies and a member of the Advisory Board for Spring Journal, he has given public lectures and presented academic papers on Jungian studies in the U.S., Europe, and Africa. In 2007, Burleson was invited to give a plenary address to the XVII International Congress of the International Association of Analytical Psychology. Burleson, an ordained minister, and has served Baptists as educator, administrator, pastor, missionary, chaplain, deacon, and Sunday School teacher.

In his role as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Burleson serves the 26 departments of the College of Arts and Sciences and their 6,500 undergraduates. He is responsible for strategic development, implementation, and oversight of systems and programs to improve the College's recruitment, retention, and graduation of undergraduates.

Academic Interests and Research:

C. G. Jung, psychological type, spirituality, Wisdom Traditions, East African religions, African Studies

Professional Awards and Activities:

Member of the International Association of Jungian Studies

Member of American Academy of Religion

Member of the African Studies Association

Grants and Fellowships:

2011 University Research Committee Grant, Baylor University

2007 Summer Research Sabbatical, Baylor University

2005 University Research Committee Grant, Baylor University

2002 University Research Committee Grant, Baylor University

1998 Summer Research Sabbatical, Baylor University

1995 Summer Research Sabbatical, Baylor University

1995 University Research Committee Grant, Baylor University

1995 Faculty Development Grant, Baylor University

1992 Faculty Development Grant, Baylor University

1991 Teaching Fellowship, Summer Teaching Institute, Baylor University

1985-86 Dissertation Fellowship, Baylor University

Selected Research Articles:

"The Baynes Film of Jung's 1925-1926 Expedition to East Africa" in Spring: A Journal of Archetype and Culture Vol. 85, Spring, 247-303.

"Jung in Africa: The Historical Record" in Journal of Analytical Psychology, Vol. 53, 2008; pp. 209-223;

"The Branch Davidians from a Jungian Perspective," Jung Journal: Culture and Psyche (formerly The San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal), Vol. 16, No. 2, 1997, pp. 5-27;

"Fishing for Our Souls: David Duncan's The River Why as Masculine Individuation" in Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 41-54.

Books:

Entempling: Baptist Wisdom for Contemplative Prayer (2012)

Jung in Africa (2005)

Pathways to Integrity: Ethics and Psychological Type (2001)

Courses Taught at Baylor

REL 3345 World Religions
REL 4313 Christianity and World Religions
REL 1310 The Christian Scriptures
AFS 4301 Religions of Africa
AFS 3301 Africa in the Contemporary World
HP 5398 Contemporary Ethical Issues in Sport
HP 4396 Religion and Sport