Lutheran Studies at PLU

B.A. in History, Pacific Lutheran University, 1973

MDiv., Wartburg Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, 1978

M.A. in Theology, Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, Iowa, 1980

Ph.D. in Historical Theology, St. Louis University, St. Louis, 1990

Samuel Torvend teaches courses in the history of Christianity and historical courses on specific topics. In all of these courses, his early interest in the relationship between Christian insights and practices with a culture's social, economic, and political systems continues to engage students with the power of religion to shape public life. He also teaches an introductory course in the International Honors Program and offers a course on early or medieval Christianity in Rome where students travel to Assisi, Orvieto, and Ostia Antica. His current research focuses on the origins of social welfare in the sixteenth century and the use of the visual arts to promote reform.