"Culturally contextualized ministry and theology... that's what we do here. It means we study and practice theology from the ground up... with attention to its local, particular and diverse manifestations. At the Jesuit School, we teach and learn not just from the classroom but from the community and with a kind of rigor that puts theory to real-life tests."
Dr. Hens-Piazza's teaching and writing on the Hebrew Bible, the biblical prophets and cultural, literary and feminist studies have led her to assist parishes and RCIA directors in developing Bible study programs. At the Jesuit School, she also teaches courses like Reading and Praying the Bible in the Parish, the Old Testament as Literature in Culture, and Hebrew Language.
Dr. Hens-Piazza frequently lectures at national Bible institutes including Georgetown, College Misericordia, L.A. Catholic Bible Institute, and the Sacred Heart Bible Institute. She serves on the editorial board for Catholic Biblical Quarterly and is the author of The New Historicism (Fortress Press, 2002), part of the Guides to Biblical Scholarship series, and Of Methods, Monarchs, and Meanings: An Approach to Sociorhetorical Interpretation (Mercer Press, 1996).
Courses
BS 2002: Intermediate Hebrew I
BS 2090: Bible Study for the Parish
OT 2095: Methods: Pentateuch & Histories
OT 2298: History of Old Testament Interpretation: Samson Narrative
OTRS 3630 Women: Biblical Portraits and Issues in Ministry
OTRS 3815: Prophets: Foundation Ministry Global Context
OT 4000: Literary Criticism and the Old Testament
OT 4050: Children of Sarah, Hagar, and Mary
OT 4420: Old Testament Prophets
OT 5130: Elijah/Elisha Traditions
BS 6000: Area Foundations Seminar
Publications
- "New Historicism" in Oxford Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation, Oxford Press, 2014.
- Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: 1-2 Kings (Abingdon Press, 2006)
- Nameless, Blameless, and Without Shame: Two Cannibal Mothers Before a King (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003)
- The New Historicism (Fortress Press, 2002)
- Of Methods, Monarchs, and Meanings: An Approach to Sociorhetorical Interpretation (Mercer Press, 1996)