William Robert teaches and writes about intersections and interactions of religion and performance. He is especially interested in limit-experiences and limit-crossings as performances of religion. He pays particular attention to mysticism, sexuality, and animality as sites where these experiences and crossings happen, focusing on case studies in ancient Greek and medieval Christian contexts. And he considers how such performances of religion can affect how we figure and refigure religion. To do so, he combines historical, textual, philosophical, and corporeal approaches to studying religion with queer theory and performance studies.

PhD Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2005 MA Religion, University of Chicago Divinity School, 1999 MA Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, University of Chicago, 1997 BA Philosophy and Literature, Davidson College, 1996

Associate Professor, Department of Religion, Syracuse University, 2016–present Affiliated Faculty, Department of Women’s and Gender Studies
Affiliated Faculty, Programs in LGBTQ Studies and in Medieval and Renaissance Studies Assistant Professor, Department of Religion, Syracuse University, 2011–16 Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Religion, Syracuse University, 2010–11 Humanities Postdoctoral Faculty Fellow, Department of Religion, Syracuse University, 2006–10 Instructor, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Louisiana State University, 2005–06