About Me

My name is Amber Leigh Griffioen. I have a B.A. in Philosophy, German, and Linguistics from St. Olaf College and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from The University of Iowa. In 2009–10 I was a guest researcher in the Theology Department at The Philipps University of Marburg in Germany, and from 2010–2019 I was a member of the Philosophy Department at the University of Konstanz. I've been a a Visiting Associate Professor of Philosophy at Duke Kunshan University and Associate Professor of the Practice at Duke University since 2023, and I am currently pursuing certification as an existential coach for reproductive struggle and life transition. I am fluent both in my native English and in German.

Still, I'm a Midwesterner at heart. I can often be found tuning in to the Milwaukee Brewers broadcast, though I enjoy watching most any sport (especially women's sports). I am a big supporter of both the USWNST and the DFB-Frauen. For the record, I am a committed umpire voluntarist, and I believe the designated hitter is evidence of a fallen creation.

Two of my favorite activites in one picture: baseball and the study of religion! (Photo credit: Ulrike Sommer)

I love to read, and lately I've been getting back into actually reading for fun! (Remember what that's like, my fellow academics?) After all these years, though, my favorite novels remain Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and The Iowa Baseball Confederacy by W.P. Kinsella. I also really enjoyed the Thessaly series by Jo Walton, and I can't help but love Mary Renault's wonderful classic, The Last of the Wine.

I am a big fan of the horror genre in both literature and film and will nerd out to almost anything Mike Flanagan or Shirley Jackson.

I also enjoy music in all keys (but prefer those in flats) and all genres (though especially jazz, classical, and medieval chant...oh and I love Christmas music). I play the piano (and a bit of organ) in my spare time and am (still) trying to conquer the last movement of Franz Liszt's piano transcription of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, but it's a long and verrrrry slow process.

Finally, when time, money, and health permit, I also enjoy exploring various nooks and crannies of the globe with my partner, Dr. Daniel Schumacher, and our rainbow baby girl (now not so much a baby anymore!), Charlie Rae.

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