Karen deVries is an interdisciplinary scholar working at the intersections of feminist science studies, religious studies, political theory, and environmental humanities. She is particularly interested in storytelling practices that refigure political landscapes, particularly vis-à-vis the planetary ecological crisis.

Prior to teaching at UCCS, deVries taught at Montana State University for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Political Science, University Studies, and the Honors College. At Montana State, she mentored under-represented students and developed new classes titled LGBTQ studies, Diversity Matters, Critical Prison Studies, Politics and Religion in the US, and Feminist Science Studies. MSU honored her service in 2017 with the Betty Coffey Award and in 2018 with a Lavender Leader award.

Dr. deVries earned her Ph.D. in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California in Santa Cruz where she worked under the direction of Donna Haraway and Susan Harding. She earned her MA from the University of Chicago Divinity School where, working primarily with Jonathan Z. Smith and Bruce Lincoln, she developed a lifelong love affair with critical approaches to the study of religion.