Christopher Burke

Biography

I was halfway through college before I took my first psychology class – almost by accident. I had become clear that I no longer wanted to become a physicist, but I had no Plan B. I created one by taking every course that sounded interesting to me, and many of them were truly interesting, but none resonated as a calling until I walked into a class in personality psychology. In that moment, I realized that I had always been interested in human behavior and individual differences – I just didn’t know what it was called or that it was something you could pursue as a profession. More than two decades later, I’m still discovering the roots of that interest and how I can best use my time and abilities to bring a deeper understanding of the human experience into the world. As a researcher, educator, and biography work facilitator, I strive to understand how people develop and make meaning in their lives through their relationships, stressful experiences, personal losses, and intentional efforts to grow and change. Trained as a social psychologist and quantitative methodologist, I teach a wide range disciplinary and interdisciplinary seminars – including Grief, Anxiety, and Resilience and What Makes for a Meaningful Life? – as well as core psychological courses, such as Personality and graduate-level statistics. My orientation has increasingly been shaped by a wide range of humanistic, existential, philosophical, spiritual, and participatory traditions, which have greatly expanded my views on what is possible in a human life. Across my teaching, research, and group facilitation work, I seek to create spaces in which people can encounter their lives with greater curiosity, recognize their unique capacities, and move toward more intentional and generative ways of being in the world. Outside of work, you can find me cooking, building things, spending time with my family, listening to and playing music, training for triathlons, or coaching youth sports.