Lori Carsen Kelly

Dr. Lori Carsen Kelly began her career teaching courses at Columbia University, Fordham University, and Queens College (City University of New York) before coming to Gustavus to teach full time in the Department of Political Science. Her dissertation, “After Religion: Christianity, Politics, and the Search for Objectivity,” focused on religious influences in communitarian political thought. Among her interests are communitarian theory, natural law and virtue ethics, constitutional interpretation, and nonviolent resistance. 

Dr. Kelly teaches courses in ancient and modern political thought, ethics, law, jurisprudence, feminist political thought, and resistance theory. She contributes to the Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies majors. In addition, Dr. Kelly is the Gustavus Pre-Law Advisor and hosts the Gustavus Law Fair in which students can meet admissions representatives from regional law schools.  

She received the Swenson-Bunn Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence, an honor bestowed by students, in 2011 and was the director of the Three Crowns Curriculum, a signature general education program, from 2012-2018. 

Dr. Lori Carsen Kelly CV