Dr Kathleen Mcphillips

Biography

"My research covers the fields of religion, gender and social theory, as well as the sociology of trauma and state inquiries into child sexual abuse. As a sociologist of religion I have written extensively on new religious formations in post-modernity and post-secularism particularly as it pertains to gender relations in Australian social life. Explorations of the intersection between state and religious organisations in relation to gender and law is a current research topic. I am currently attending the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse as a social researcher and conducting interviews with participants and observers and focusing on the Catholic Church at the Royal Commission. An analysis of cultural trauma addresses the ways in which state inquiries into traumatic issues impacts on the wider community and its claims to an inclusive and fair public sphere. I also explore constructions of gender and feminine subjectivity in accounts of religiosity and social theory, including feminine constructions of the sacred, queer theory/theology, and women's experience of religion. My work in feminist subjectivity also covers depth psychology and feminist Jungian approaches to femininity and masculinity as dynamic archetypal psychic formations."

Research Interest

Sociology, Religion and Society