As I understand it, a solid scholarly vocation is best supported by a reciprocal relationship between teaching and research. What follows is a brief description of how I attempt to balance these two critical commitments.

RESEARCH
I am an inter-disciplinary historian of religion in America, with a particular focus on black communities and cultures in the U.S. and the Diaspora.  My research interests include religion and the arts, popular culture, the religious experiences of youth and young adults and the role of religion and spirituality in public life.  Most concisely, my research and writing pulls together the fields of African American Studies, American Religious History, and Theory and Method in the Study of Religion.  I am currently at work on a book project that explores the significance of religion and spirituality in critical debates regarding racial aesthetics in twentieth century U.S. history.

TEACHING
As a professor I value each class as a community of teacher-learners. The classroom provides a democratic space in which I am given the chance to serve as the primary facilitator as we critically engage an array of questions.  Before joining the faculty at Columbia University I had the opportunity to apprentice under a number of excellent faculty members and teach my own courses at such schools as Harvard, Medgar Evers College (CUNY), Princeton and Tufts universities.

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