Dr. Helgevold’s staff photo.
Staff picks is a column where I interview professors about their reading both in and outside of the classroom.
Recently I spoke with Dr. Helgevold, assistant professor of religion at Wartburg since 2020. She has a Ph.D. in religious studies with a focus on politics, culture, and ethics within religion and how frameworks can affect individuals’ thinking. Helgevold says her goal is to help others understand the relationship between religious frameworks and decision making. 
Her dissertation is about humility from the perspective of the writer Thomas Aquinas. While some make the critique that humility can be self-deceptive or even a vice, Helgevold answers this by examining how adding qualities such as self-justice and courage to humility can make it a constructive habit.
Helgevold explains how individuals might be affected by a religious framework.
“Studying religions, you come to an awareness of the fact that, like, in many ways people are shaped by a cultural context that they are immersed in, whether or not they claim a religious identity.” Helgevold says.
Helgevold studies religion from the lens of what people believe is ultimately real; that spirituality points towards an ultimate truth.
Helgevold believes reading helps her both personally and professionally within her field. She often reads books for both purposes. She appreciates reading to view the human condition through others’ eyes. She believes it is a way to get thoughts and ideas that can be perspective shifting.
“I’m a different person before I read, and after I read. And sometimes, it’s like a paragraph.” Helgevold says.
Reading gives her hope along with self-understanding and the ability to navigate relationships with others. The types of materials she enjoys reading are essays, classics, mystics, and prayers.
Unfortunately, she hasn’t had enough free time lately to read, but she recently picked up a horror book based on a colleague’s recommendation. Helgevold said the colleague persuaded her the genre of horror was philosophical, so when she has time, she’s curious as to how she’ll feel about the genre. She says she recently acquired another Fredrik Backman book and she really enjoys his writing style.
As for materials in class, she says she is always excited about the material she uses for her ‘Sexual Ethics’ class. A book that is good for introducing people to justice, mutuality, and autonomy is Just Love by Margaret A. Farley, she says.
She says of all the materials she gets most excited about in that class, and the ones that are most important, are books about consent. She says that by condensing consent into a broad term, we miss many of the important nuances within relationships.
Two books that she mentioned are Donna Freitas’ Consent on Campus and Blurred Lines by Vanessa Grigoriadis. Both look at college consent, and the gray area that is commonly experienced on campus that oftentimes students, faculty, administration and staff members don’t have the language to articulate.
For students who might be interested in Helgevold’s area of expertise, here are her recommendations:
- The book Justice by Michael J. Sandel explores categories of ethics in a way that is accessible and not like reading a textbook. This book is available at the Vogel Library in the General Stacks.
- Michel Montaigne’s essays, she says, is a way of getting into philosophy. These are also free at Vogel Library.
- The works of Kirkegaard, a Danish author whom Helgevold says can offer a variety of new perspectives. Many of his works are available at the Vogel Library, so make sure to check them out!
As for the other books she mentioned, while Consent on Campus is not at the Vogel Library, a couple of Donna Freitas’ other works are available. Unfortunately, Blurred Lines and Just Love are not available. However, Dr. Helgevold has said that students are welcome to reach out if they have questions about these books or any other materials in relation to these topics at abbylynn.helgevold@wartburg.edu.
Leave a Reply