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John Conley

 * Indented lineJohn J. Conley is a Jesuit priest, educator, philosopher, playwright, and poet. Currently the Francis J. Knott Professor Philosophy and Theology at Loyola University Maryland, Father Conley is noted for his sociology of modern philosophy, his neo-orthodox Catholic ethics, his postmodern dramas, and his religious poetry.

1. Biography
 * Indented lineBorn in 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Conley belongs to a family of Irish-American civil servants. Raised in Glenolden, a southwestern suburb of Philadelphia, Conley attended local Catholic schools: Our Lady of Fatima Grade School in Secane (1957-1965) and Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield (1965-1969). On an academic scholarship, he attended the University of Pennsylvania (1969-1973), from which he graduated in 1973 with a B.A. in English summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.  During his collegiate years, he served as editor-in-chief of The Pennsylvania Voice, a campus newspaper.  His collegiate publications adumbrated his version of consistent pacifism with its staunch opposition to abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and war.  His many reviews of books, theater, music, and painting were clearly shaped by the formalist principles of New Criticism.  A political activist, he participated in demonstrations opposing abortion and the War in Vietnam; he served as a volunteer in the 1972 presidential campaign of antiwar Senator George McGovern.  During his Penn years, Conley began to publish free-verse poetry in such avant-garde magazines as Windfall and Painted Bird.
 * Indented lineIn 1973 Conley entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuit order). During his novitiate years (1973-1975), he began his long association with America, the Jesuit weekly magazine of opinion.  Early articles for America dealt with pacifism, worship, and music.  He pronounced his first vows as a Jesuit in 1975.
 * Indented lineConley then studied philosophy at Fordham University (1977-1979), from which he received the M.A. in 1975. During his regency period, he taught philosophy at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia.  He taught courses in ethics, philosophy of art, philosophy of religion, and Applachian Studies.  He also directed collegiate productions of Phaedra, Riders to the Sea', and The Proposal''.
 * Indented lineSent for studies in France, Conley studied French literature at the Université de Bordeaux, from which he received a diplôme national magna cumm laude in 1980. He purused theological studies at Centre Sèvres in Paris from 1980 to 1983 and received the licence en théologie summa cum laude in 1983.  During the years in Paris, he continued to write articles on religious and political themes for America.  He was ordained to the priesthood in 1983.  He received the M.Th from the Weston School of Theology"with distinction" in 1985.  From 1985 to 1988, he purused doctoral studies in Belgium at the Université catholique de Louvain under the direction of Jean Ladrière.  With a dissertation devoted to the social philosophy of Bonald, he received his Ph.D. in philosophy summa cum laudein 1988.
 * Indented lineThe subsequent career of Father Conley has been devoted primarily to teaching and research in philosophy, first at Fordham University in New York City (1988-2006) and then at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore (2006-present). At Fordham he taught courses in moral philosophy, aesthetics, and French philosophy.  Administratively, he also served as the dean of the Jesuit scholasticate, master of Queen's Court Residential College, and departmental chair.  At Loyola Maryland he has taught courses in ethics, philosophy of art, moral theology, philosopical theology, and Catholic Studies.

2. Philosophy
 * Indented lineAs a scholar, Father Conley is best known for his work in early modern French philosophy. Two of his monographs focus on French women philosophers: The Suspicion of Virtue: Women Philosophers in Neoclassical France (Cornell University Press, 2002) and Adoration and Annihilation: The Convent Philosophy of Port-Royal (University of Notre Dame Press, 2009.)  Two translations and critical editions focus on the same issues: Conley's edition of Jacqueline Pascal, A Rule for Children and Other Writings (University of Chicago Press, 2003) and Madame de Maintenon, Dialogues and Addresses (University of Chicago Press, 2004).  Numerous articles in refereed journals continue this research emphasis on gender in French philosophy.
 * Indented lineAnother versant of Father Conley's scholarship concerns moral philosophy, especially the controverted ethical issues within the Catholic Church. Prominent articles in this area include "A Certain Just War, A Certain Pacifism" inThought 1985; "Narrative, Act, Structure: John Paul II's Method of Moral Analysis" in Choosing Life (Georgetown University Press, 1997); "Fides et ratio."  The writings defend a complementarity of natural-law and phenomenological methods in Catholic ethical analysis.

3. Drama
 * Indented lineSince his arrival in Baltimore in 2006, Father Conley has emerged as a playwright. Recent plays include Armchair and Picket (Run-of-the-Mill Theater; Baltimore;2007);O'er the Towering Steep (Kennedy Center; Washington, DC; 2008); The Pollock Mug (Heartland Theater;IL 2008); Five (Leeds, England; 2008); Arthritic (Vestige Group Theater; Austin, TX; 2008); Song of Songs (Magis Theatre; 2010) and Veiled (Thunderous Production: Gaithersburg, MD; 2010).  Influences as diverse as Racine, Ionesco, and Miller are obvious in the plays.  Many use postmodern techniques of telegraphed lines, simultaneous speech, and reversible time.

4. Poetry
 * Indented lineContinuing his longstanding work as a poet, Father Conley has published numerous poems in literary journals. Most deal with themes of religious experience; stylistically, recent poems have experiemented with Japanese poetic genres, especially tanka.  Major poems include "Archachon" (The Monthly 1989), "Concerning the Concert" (Loch Raven Review 2009) and "On the Hill" (Eudaimonia 2010).

5. Bibliography Conley, John J., 'The Suspicion of Virtue: Women Philosophers in Neoclassical France' (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002). Conley, John J., Adoration and Annihilation: The Philosophical Convent of Port-Royal" (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2009) Pascal, Jacqueline, A Rule for Children and Other Writings, trans. and ed. John J. Conley (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003). Maintenon, Madame de, Dialogues and Addresses'', trans. and ed. John J. Conley (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,2004).