Philosophy and Religious Studies

Faculty

Full-Time Faculty

 

Professor James Crippen, Ph.D.

Professor of Philosophy

714.992.7518
Office: 1422.02
jcrippen@fullcoll.edu

Dr. Crippen has been teaching philosophy in the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department at Fullerton College since 2000. He regularly teaches courses in the History of Philosophy series along with the core Philosophy courses. Dr. Crippen has participated in Learning Communities and the Honors program, as well as serving on the Faculty Senate. He is currently advisor for the Philosophy Club.

Education

Ph.D., Temple University
M.A., University of Warwick
B.A., Sonoma State University

Dr. Crippen wrote his dissertation on the topic of the intersection of history and the individual in the Pragmatic philosophical tradition. His areas of interest include the central themes in German and American Philosophy. He is an active member of the American Philosophical Association and the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, and regularly attends and presents at conferences internationally.

Professor Martha Smith, Ph.D.

Professor of Religious Studies
Department Chair

714.992.7517
Office: 1422.03
msmith@fullcoll.edu 

Dr. Smith has been a professor of Religious Studies since 2005. She was hired to a full-time position at Fullerton College in Fall 2020. Prior to that, she has taught around the country, in Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and California.

Education
Ph.D. Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
M.A. Religious Studies, Missouri State University
B. A. Religious Studies and German, Missouri State University

Dr. Smith’s area of expertise is North American religions and cultures, and she teaches classes on all religious traditions. Her primary research is a critical analysis of post-racial and post-ethnic theories of American religious pluralism and extending this analysis to critical pedagogies of religious studies. Dr. Smith is also working on a co-authored manuscript analyzing the various spiritualities emerging within the hula hooping subculture in the United States. Her work has been published in the journal Nova Religio, as well as in several edited volumes. Dr. Smith has served as the Executive Secretary/Treasurer for the North American Association for the Study of Religion (NAASR), and on the Board for the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life (IDCL) in Austin, Texas. She is an active member in the American Academy of Religion (AAR) as well. 

Emeritus Faculty

Professor Emeritus Michael Holden, Ph.D.

mholden@fullcoll.edu

Professor Bruce Hanson, Ph.D.

bhanson@fullcoll.edu

Professor Emeritus LeVonne Nelson

Levonne_nelson@hotmail.com

Professor Jeff Vanderpool, Ph.D.

Jvanderpool@fullcoll.edu

Professor Emeritus Derry Seaton

dseaton@fullcoll.edu