Dr. Johnson teaches introductory undergraduate courses in Christian systematic theology and upper level courses in the areas of her speciality such as ecclesiology, sacraments, and spirituality. She also teaches graduate students in the MPTh program who are preparing for permanent diaconate or lay ecclesial ministry. Her academic research focuses on recovering the theological insights of medieval women monastic writers, in particular, Gertrude the Great of Helfta. Dr. Johnson's institutional service includes her role as Director of General Education.
Associate Professor
Ella Johnson, PhD
Contact Us
Contact Ella Johnson for information on Theology
Christ the King Chapel, Lower Level 111
563-333-6188
JohnsonEllaL@sau.edu
Education and Training
- PhD, University of St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, Systematic Theology
- STL, Regis College, University of Toronto, Theology
- MA, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio, Theology
- BS, University of Illinois, Human Development and Family Studies
Recent Publications and Research
- Dr. Johnson's research focuses on recovering the theological insights of medieval women mystics for constructive theology today.
- She recently published a book on the eucharistic theology and theological anthropology of Gertrude the Great of Helfta.
- This is my Body: Eucharistic Theology and Anthropology in the Writings of Gertrude the Great of Helfta. Cistercian Studies Series 280. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2020.
- "Critical Reflection Ensuing from Traumatic Events and Ideology Critique," Trauma-Informed Pedagogies in the Religious Studies Classroom. Spotlight on Teaching series. Ed. Jessica Tinklenberg. Religious Studies News (March 2021): 61-67.
- "Bodily Language in the Spiritual Exercises of Gertrud the Great of Helfta," Magistra 14, no. 1 (2008): 79-107.
- "Metaphors for Metamorphosis: Mary Daly meets Gertrud the Great of Helfta," Magistra 15, no. 1 (2009): 3-31.
- "Hindu and Christian Religious Women Recovered--Agency and Power as Resistance?" Journal of Hindu Studies 3, no. 3 (2010): 273-278.
- "Reproducing Motherhood: Images of Mary and Maternity in the Writings of Gertrud the Great of Helfta" Magistra 18, no. 1 (2012): 3-23.
- "To Taste (Sapere) Wisdom (Sapientia): Eucharistic Devotion in the Writings of Gertrude of Helfta," Viator 44, no. 2 (2013): 175-199.
- "Liturgical Opportunities for ‘Deep Crying unto Deep': The Rhetorical Function of Now/Then Dualities in Gertrud of Helfta," Medieval Mystical Theology 24, no. 1 (2015): 45-58.
- "Teaching (Re-)Humanization: Using Film in Anti-Racist Education" ARTS: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies 26.2 (2015): 31.
- "Establishing Community in Hybrid Format Courses," Teaching Tactic in Teaching Theology and Religion 8.3 (2015): 233.
- "Eucharistic Theology and Anthropology in Gertrude of Helfta and William of Saint-Thierry: On the Sense of Taste," Magistra 27, no. 1 (2021): 79-93."‘In mei memoriam facietis': Remembering Ritual and Refiguring ‘Woman' in Gertrud the Great of Helfta's Spiritualia Exercitia." pp. 165-186. In Inventing Identities: Re-examining the Use of Memory, Imitation, and Imagination in the Texts of Medieval Religious Women. Edited by Bradley Herzog and Margaret Cotter-Lynch. Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire, 2012.
- "The Nightingale of Christ's Redemption Song: Mechthild of Hackeborn's Musical Apostolate." pp. 181-196. In Music, Justice and Theology. Edited by Michael O'Connor et al. Lanham: Maryland: Lexington Books, 2017.
- "Mediating between Humanity and Divinity: Priestly Identity, Eucharistic Theology, and Aemulatio in the Writings of Gertrude the Great of Helfta." pp. 119-135. Gestures of Grace: Essays in Honour of Robert Sweetman. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2023.
Recent Presentations
- “The Role of the Body in Sapiential Theology: Gertrude of Helfta and William of Saint-Thierry,” 56th International Congress on Medieval Studies, 2021
- “Defining Human Life Backwards: The Theology of Life in Death in Gertrude of Helfta’s Spiritual Exercises,” 57th International Congress on Medieval Studies, 2022
- “The Nuns of Helfta I: Death as Life-Giving in the Heflta Literature,” panel organizer and presider, 57th International Congress on Medieval Studies, 2022
- “Hagiographies as Relics: Medieval Vitae Rendered as Efficacious and Curative,” panel organizer, 58th International Congress on Medieval Studies, 2023
- “Holy Text as Relic? Gertrude of Helfta’s Miracle-Working Book,” 58th International Congress on Medieval Studies, 2023
- “Initiating Young Readers of the Cistercian & Monastic Material,” roundtable participant, Cistercian and Monastic Studies Conference, 2023
- “The Helfta Nuns’ Contribution to Cistercian Mysticism: Unio Mystica as Liturgical and Communal,” 59th International Congress on Medieval Studies, 2024
- “Cistercians and the Mother of God,” roundtable participant, Cistercian and Monastic Studies Conference, 2024
- “Text as Relic? What Renders Gertrude of Helfta’s Autohagiography Sacred?” Creating More Holiness: Books, Scrolls and Icons as Carriers of Sacredness, Sept. 24, 2024