Santa Clara University

Diane Dreher, Ph.D.

Diane Dreher is Professor of English at Santa Clara University. She earned her doctorate from UCLA, writing a dissertation on spiritual development in the Renaissance. She is the author of Your Personal Renaissance: 12 Steps to Finding Your Life’s True Calling (Da Capo, 2008); The Tao of Inner Peace (HarperCollins, 1991; Penguin/Putnam, 2000); The Tao of Personal Leadership (HarperCollins, 1996); The Tao of Womanhood (William Morrow, 1998); and Inner Gardening (William Morrow, 2001) as well as Domination and Defiance: Fathers and Daughters in Shakespeare (University Press of Kentucky, 1986), The Fourfold Pilgrimage (University Press of America, 1982), and journal articles on psychology and spirituality in Renaissance literature. Diane has credentials in spiritual counseling and holistic health, has taught yoga and meditation, and offers workshops on balance and personal growth to business and community groups throughout North America. At Santa Clara, she teaches undergraduate courses in Renaissance literature, creative writing, and vocation.

Doctor Dreher on her current interests:

My recent research has focused on the sense of vocation or calling, examining how people find joy and meaning in their lives. I have studied the lives of over 100 Renaissance men and women, examining how they discovered their vocations, validating these findings with current research in positive psychology. The results appear in my new book, Your Personal Renaissance. I’ve also combined insights from Renaissance lives with positive psychology in an empirical study, developing a new measure of vocation identity that includes the vital dimensions of spirituality, transcending narrow definitions of jobs or careers. In the past, my scholarship has involved a study of spiritual development in the Renaissance, three books on Taoism, a book on Renaissance gardening and spiritual practice, and numerous studies of Renaissance literature, psychology, and spirituality. I am especially interested in research opportunities that relate discernment of vocation to meditation, spiritual modeling, hope, personal control, and optimal health throughout the many seasons of our lives.

Recent publications:

Dreher. D. (2008). Your Personal Renaissance:12 Steps to Finding Your Life’s True Calling. New York: Da Capo.

For more about Diane’s writing and workshops, see http://www.dianedreher.com.