Her research explores different ways of thinking through contemporary experiences and issues of uprootedness and the loss of meaning, and reckons with questions concerning commitment, existential identity, community, authenticity, gender, race, faith, and the significance of death. She approaches teaching as a core component of academic life that calls for emotional vulnerability, a steadfast commitment to intellectual excellence, and openness to difference. Her goal is to awaken students to the importance of thinking hard about life, about what they have learned, and about their place in the world.