Professor, Chair
Ph. D., Northwestern University, 1998
Theology
tel: 803•466•4669, e-mail mitchesy@sc.edu

Stephanie Y. Mitchem accepted the position of Chair of Religious Studies in 2009.

Dr. Mitchem has a commitment to liberatory educational practice. She teaches contemporary theology and women's studies, emphasizing the experiences and perspectives of black women, both in the US and in the African Diaspora. Her current research focuses on the intersections of social class, gender constructions, racism, and religions.

Mitchem is contributing editor of Crosscurrents, author of African American Women Tapping Power and Spiritual Wellness, (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2004), Introducing Womanist Theology (Orbis Books, 2002), and numerous essays. Her most recent books include: Faith, Health, and Healing Among African Americans, co-edited with Emilie M. Townes (Praeger 2008), and African American Folk Healing (New York University Press) and Name It and Claim It? Prosperity Preaching and the Black Church (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press) in 2007. Additionally, she has authored numerous essays.

Travel Photo-Journals

• Summer 2006 - Research in Brazil at the Instituto de Educaçäo Teológica da Bahia (ITEBA)
• Summer 2011 - Conference in Sweden on Gender, Religion, and Human Rights.

Courses

General Research Interests:

• Contemporary religious thought, with emphasis on feminist and anthropological/ethnographic methodologies
• Women in the African Diaspora.
• Postcolonialism, class, and African American religious thought and experience