VIEW GUEST
Karen Swallow Prior, PhD
Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture — Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Karen Swallow Prior, Professor of English, earned her Ph. D. and M. A. at the State University of New York at Buffalo and her B. A. at Daemen College. Her scholarly work has appeared in 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era; The Shandean; The Scriblerian and various literary encyclopedias. Prior received the Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2013, was named Faculty of the Year by the Multicultural Enrichment Center in 2010, received the Sigma Tau Delta (LU chapter) Teacher of the Year Award, and was the 2003 recipient of the President's Award for Teaching Excellence.
She is a member of the graduate faculty and teaches British literature primarily, with a specialty in eighteenth century British literature, which she loves for its emphasis on philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, community, and the "middle way." Her books include Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More - Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist (Thomas Nelson 2014) and a literary and spiritual memoir, Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me (T. S. Poetry Press 2012). She is a contributing writer for Christianity Today, The Atlantic, In Touch, and Think Christian.
Her writing has also appeared at Comment, Relevant, Books and Culture, Fieldnotes, The Well, and Salvo. She has spoken at numerous writing conferences including the Festival of Faith and Writing and the Roanoke Regional Writers Conference. Prior is a member of Faith Advisory Council of the Humane Society of the United States. She lives in rural Virginia with her husband along with sundry dogs, horses, and chickens.
SHOW MATERIALS
View All
You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful
In You Have a Calling, award-winning author Karen Swallow Prior has encouraging news: If you pursue the good, true, and beautiful in all your work, yo...
Frankenstein: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting
Jane Eyre. Frankenstein. The Scarlet Letter. You’re familiar with these pillars of classic literature. You have seen plenty of Frankenstein costumes,...
Jane Eyre: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting
Jane Eyre. Frankenstein. The Scarlet Letter. You’re familiar with these pillars of classic literature. You have seen plenty of Frankenstein costumes,...
Viewpoints
View All
Being Bored
I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July weekend. Perhaps you were able to relax from the frenetic pace that describes our lives. Arthur Brooks has been on my radio program many times. He recently talked a...
Celebrate Dads
Now that the Mother’s Day-Father’s Day season is over, I think we can say that — overall — there’s a much bigger deal made of Mother’s Day than Father’s Day. Do we just appreciate mothers more? Or do...
The Origin of the Declaration
Tomorrow is the 4th of July, and I wanted to take a moment to talk about the origin of the ideas in the Declaration of Independence. I have also written a short booklet on A Biblical View on the Decla...
Take Action
View All
Support the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act
The abortion pill harms women and kills unborn children. Congress must act.
Contact Congress About the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2025
Congress needs to get the job done, not run away from work.
