Jonathan Malesic
Adjunct Professor
Jonathan Malesic has taught in the Writing and Reasoning program since 2018, after eleven years as a theology professor at King's College in Pennsylvania. His writing on work, religion, education, and arts has appeared in the New York Times, The New Republic, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Washington Post, America, Commonweal, Notre Dame Magazine, The Hedgehog Review, The Point, Chronicle of Higher Education, and several academic journals.
His work has been recognized as notable in Best American Essays (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and Best American Food Writing (2020) and has received special mention in the Pushcart Prize Anthology (2019). He has been the recipient of major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Louisville Institute. His first book, Secret Faith in the Public Square, won a ForeWord INDIES gold medal for the religion category (2009). His most recent book, The End of Burnout, was named a best book of 2022 by Amazon and the Next Big Idea Club and it has been translated into ten languages. His next book, Dear Student: Letters on Life and Learning in College, will be published by Princeton University Press.
Honors:
Gold medal in the religion category, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, for his 2009 book, Secret Faith in the Public Square.
Notable Essay of 2018 in Best American Essays for his Commonweal essay, "A Burnt-Out Case: Aquinas and the Way We Work Now."
Special Mention in Pushcart Prize XLIV anthology for his Hedgehog Review essay, "When Work and Meaning Part Ways."
Recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Louisville Institute.
Selected Publications:
"Imagining a Better Life After the Coronavirus," The New Republic, April 1, 2020.
"Je Regrette Tout," Hedgehog Review, Spring 2020.
"Letter of Recommendation: Cheap Sushi," New York Times Magazine, Dec. 17, 2019.
"The Noonday Demon," Plough Quarterly, Oct. 9, 2019.
"Catholic Colleges are Searching for New Homes in the Southwest. Can They Succeed?" America, April 29, 2019.
"Taming the Demon: How Desert Monks Put Work in Its Place," Commonweal, Feb. 8, 2019.
Books:
"The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives, " University of California Press, 2022.
"Secret Faith in the Public Square: An Argument for the Concealment of Christian Identity," Brazos Press, 2009.
Essays:
"ChatGPT Is a Gimmick", The Hedgehog Review, May, 21, 2025
"Fix Your Gaze: Can Art Really Cure Us from Digital Distraction?" Commonweal, December 2024
"The Velvet Rut", Notre Dame Magazine, Autumn 2023
"Late Assignments, Failed Tests, Sleeping in Class: My College Students Are Not Ok", New York Times, May 13, 2022
"The Future of Work Should Mean Working Less", New York Times, September 23, 2021
"Unfaithful Reproductions", The Point, March 22, 2020
"Drinking Alone", Commonweal, July/August 2020
"Letter of Recommendation: Cheap Sushi, New York Times Magazine", December 17, 2019
"Taming the Demon: How Desert Monks Put Work in It's Place", Commonweal, February 8, 2019
"When Work and Meaning Part Ways", The Hedgehog Review, Fall 2018.
"A Burnt-Out Case: Aquinas & the Way We Work Now", Commonweal, January 5, 2018
Courses taught:
WRTR 1312: Introduction to Academic Writing
WRTR 1313: Writing and Critical Reasoning
