My name is Jan Van Wiele. I studied Modern History, Religious Sciences, Theology and Social and Cultural Anthropology. I obtained a PhD in Theology and Religious Sciences at the K.U.Leuven and a PhD in Educational Sciences at the same University. I worked as a research assistant for the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders and later on as a postdoctoral Researcher for the K,U,Leuven’s Research Council, with several research stays abroad in Germany, Canada, the U,S,A . and France (1997-2004). Since 2005, I have been teaching at Tilburg University, first at the Faculty of Humanities, and since 2011 at the Faculty of Theology. Until now, the focus of my appointment has been on teaching and education.
I am specialized in the study of religions and interreligious dialogue, both from a historical and actual perspective. Most of my courses deal with comparative religion and the relationship between Christianity and the non-Christian religions, with attention to the theological and societal dimensions of the dialogue. My research mainly focusses on the confrontation and interaction of Christianity with the other religions and cultures, especially in Christian European and American education from the Modern Period up to now. Another research topic is nationalistic identity formation in Europe, especially in the context of Belgian Catholic and public school education in the 19th and 20th century. Currently, I am the vice president of the International Society for Research on Textbooks and Educational Media.