Mary Nickel joined the doctoral program in Religion, Ethics, and Politics in Princeton's Religion Department in 2016. Her work integrates theological ethics with political theory and social ontology. Her dissertation, “Matrices,” focuses on what pregnancy and motherhood can teach us about human agency. The thesis of the project is that pregnancy simultaneously illuminates our social constitution and our discreteness as individuals. Mary is also interested in surveying religious and theological resources for theorizing about collective responsibility and reparative justice. She holds an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, an M.A. in Politics & Government from Illinois State University, and a B.A. in Human Rights Studies & Philosophy from Juniata College.