Emilie Townes
The Reverend Doctor Emilie Townes | |
---|---|
Born | Durham, North Carolina, U.S. | August 1, 1955
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | author, professor, theologian, American Baptist minister |
Academic background | |
Education | Vanderbilt Divinity School |
Emilie Maureen Townes (born August 1, 1955, Durham, North Carolina) is an American Christian social
Education and career
Townes earned her
Townes has taught at a number of academic institutions, including Chicago Theological Seminary, McCormick Theological Seminary, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, DePaul University, Saint Paul School of Theology, Union Theological Seminary in New York, and Yale Divinity School, holding named chairs at both Union and Yale.[3] In 2013 she became Dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School, and in 2018 she was reappointed for a second five-year term. In 2022 Townes announced that she will conclude her deanship at Vanderbilt Divinity School at the end of the 2022–2023 academic year.[2] Her accomplishments as Dean include the launching of the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements, the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative, and the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice, as well as curriculum reform and building renovations.[2]
Townes has been an ordained American Baptist minister since 1980.[4]
Townes has made major contributions to the field of womanist theology and ethics. She has been described as a "towering figure in theological education."[5] The connection between faith and activism is a hallmark of her scholarship.[6] Her research interests include health, interlocking forms of oppression, womanism, cultural studies, and postmodernism.[7][8] She was awarded an honorary master's degree from Yale University in 2005, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Christian Theological Seminary in 2022.[5]
Townes served as the president of the American Academy of Religion in 2008, and the president of the Society for the Study of Black Religion from 2012–2016.[2] In 2022, Townes was elected as the 2025 president of the Society of Christian Ethics. She will become the society's first Black woman president.[3]
Honors
- Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2009.[3][9][7]
- Pacesetter Award from the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education, 2015.[10]
- Inducted into the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers, Sponsors and Collegium of Scholars, 2021.[2]
Major works
Books
- Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil (Palgrave Macmillan Press, 2006).
- Breaking the Fine Rain of Death: African American Health Care and a Womanist Ethic of Care (Continuum, 1998).
- Embracing the Spirit: Womanist Perspectives on Hope, Salvation, and Transformation. (Orbis Books, 1997).
- In a Blaze of Glory: Womanist Spirituality as Social Witness (Abingdon Press, 1995).
- Womanist Justice, Womanist Hope (Scholars Press, 1993).
Co-edited books
- With Katie Geneva Cannon and Angela D. Simms: Womanist Theological Ethics: A Reader (Westminster John Knox Press, 2011)
- With Stephanie Y. Mitchem: Religion, Health, and Healing in African American Life (Praeger, 2008)
References
- ^ "Past Presidents | aarweb.org". www.aarweb.org. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
- ^ a b c d e "Emilie Townes to conclude deanship of Vanderbilt Divinity School in 2023". Vanderbilt University. April 25, 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
- ^ a b c "Emilie Townes". vanderbilt.edu. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ^ LaRosa, Patricia E.; Cameron, Ruth Tonkiss (2006). "Finding Aid for emilie m. townes papers, [1963-2015]" (PDF). The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ^ a b Buck, Nick (2022-05-03). "CTS Announces 2022 Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients". Christian Theological Seminary. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
- ISBN 9781478019114.
- ^ a b "Emilie Townes named dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School". vanderbilt.edu. December 28, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ^ "Emilie M. Townes". Feminist Studies in Religion. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
- ^ "Townes, Emilie". worldcat.org. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ^ Owens, Ann Marie Deer. "Emilie Townes is recipient of higher education Pacesetter Award". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 2018-11-12.