SUSAN KWILECKI

Dept. of Philosophy & Religious Studies              

I like to study religious life in its strongest, most dramatic forms.  Thus, in addition to the intro level courses, I teach:

RELN 206: Survey of Religious Experiences: Academic study of Near Death and mystical experiences, demon possession, angel and ghost encounters, channeling.
RELN 370: American Sects and Cults: The controversy generated by “dangerous” religions such as the Peoples Temple (900 people drank poisoned Kool-Aid) and Heaven’s Gate (members committed suicide in order to board a spacecraft).
RELN 381: Religion and Death: The myriad ways religions depict and address the harsh reality that we all die—views of the afterlife, contact with the dead, funerals.

Current Research:  Focuses on After-Death Communications, a contemporary American type of ghost encounter. Spirits of deceased loved ones reportedly contact grief-stricken survivors through visions, dreams, voices, odors, coincidences, the computer, or the telephone.  “I’m okay, I’m nearby, I love you,” say the ghosts, who are described as healthy, happy, kind, and helpful—in contrast to the vindictive, preachy, frightening apparitions reported in other cultural settings.                     

Radford University                                                               

Radford, VA 24142                                                                        

(540)-831-5213

skwileck@runet.edu

Curriculum Vitae