Ines Murzaku , Ph.D.
Professor of Religion and Director of Catholic Studies Program
Department of Religion
(973) 275-5845
Email
Fahy Hall
Room 329
Ines Murzaku, Ph.D.
Professor of Religion and Director of Catholic Studies Program
Department of Religion
Ines Angeli Murzaku is Professor of Religion at Seton Hall University in New Jersey,
Director of Catholic Studies Program and the Founding Chair of the Department of Catholic
Studies at Seton Hall University. She earned a doctorate of research from the Pontifical
Oriental Institute in Rome part of the Pontifical Gregorian University Consortium
and has held visiting positions at the Universities of Bologna and Calabria in Italy
and University of Münster in Germany. She has won grants including Alexander von Humboldt
Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers; Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada Grant (SSHRC); and Fulbright Senior Research Scholar. Her research
has been published in multiple articles and eight books. Dr. Murzaku’s publications
include: Mother Teresa: The Saint of the Peripheries who Became Catholicism’s Center Piece (upcoming Paulist Press, 2020); Life of St Neilos of Rossano (1004) (Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University Press 2018); Italo-Greek Monasticism from St Neilos to Bessarion (Ashagte-Routledge 2018); Monasticism in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics (Routledge 2016); Monastic Tradition in Eastern Christianity and the Outside World a Call for Dialogue (Peeters University of Leuven 2013); Returning Home to Rome? The Monks of Grottaferrata in Albania (Analekta Kryptopherres 2009); Quo Vadis Eastern Europe? Religion, State and Society after Communism (Longo, University of Bologna 2009); and Catholicism, Culture and Conversion: The History of the Jesuits in Albania (1841-1946) (Orientalia Christiana Analecta, Pontifical Oriental Institute 2006).
Dr. Murzaku was the vice-president of the Association for the Study of Nationalities
(ASN) and a United Nations accredited representative for the organization Christians
Associated for Relationships with Eastern Europe. She is a regular commentator to
media outlets on religious matters. She has worked for or collaborated with the Associated
Press, CNN, Voice of America, Relevant Radio, The Catholic Thing, Crux – Taking the
Catholic Pulse, Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation (Canada), Catholic World
Report, National Catholic Register, The Record, The Stream, Radio Tirana (Albania),
Vatican Radio (Vatican City), and The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN-Rome).
Education
- Ph.D. (Scientiis Ecclesiasticis Orientalibus Doctorate), Pontifical Oriental Institute, Summa cum laude
- M.A. (Scientiis Ecclesiasticis Orientalibus Licentiate), Pontifical Oriental Institute, Summa cum laude
- M.A., University of Calabria, 110/110 with honors in Lingue e Letterature Straniere
Accomplishments
Selected Board and Consultancy Assignments
- Member, Executive Board of Directors’ Christians Associated for Relationships with Eastern Europe, 2005-present
- Member, Advisory Board, Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2009-present
- Member, Editorial Board, Sociological Analysis, 2007-present
- Member, The Scholars' Initiative in Resolving the Yugoslav Controversies, 2004-present
- Member Editorial Board, Bolletino della Badia Greca di Grottaferrata, 2004-present
- Member, Europe and the Balkans International Network of Scholars, 2003-present
- Member, Executive Board of Directors’ Society for Albanian Studies, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, 2003-present
Awards
- Fulbright Senior Specialist Award, Italy, 2012-2013
- Dumbarton Oaks Harvard University Translation Grant, 2012
- Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers, University of Munster, 2009-2012
- Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada, 2009-2011
- Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2009
- Provost's Faculty Scholarship Award (Refereed Journal), 2009
- Alberto Italian Institute Research Associate Grant, 2009
- Signature III Course Development Grant, 2008-2009
- Dean's Travel Award, 2008
- Provost's Faculty Scholarship Award (Book), 2007
- Provost's Faculty Scholarship Award (Top Tier Journal), 2007
- Fulbright Senior Research Award, Italy, 2006-2007
- University Research Council Award, Seton Hall University, Summer 2006