Joel Cabrita

Joel Cabrita is a Professor of History and Susan Ford Dorsey Director of the Center for African Studies at Stanford University, holding a courtesy appointment in Religious Studies. She also serves as a senior research associate at the University of Johannesburg's Department of Historical Studies. Her research focuses on modern Southern Africa, emphasizing religion, gender, and the politics of knowledge production, particularly in Eswatini and South Africa.

Cabrita's academic journey includes a PhD from the University of Cambridge and positions at SOAS (University of London) and Trinity College, Cambridge. She has been recognized with prestigious awards like the Albert C. Outler Prize (2019) and the Philip Leverhulme Prize (2017), along with an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University (2023). Her work bridges transnational networks, media studies, and decolonial methodologies.

Her research interests include:

• Religious movements and their global connections
• Gender dynamics in colonial and postcolonial contexts
• Apartheid-era intellectual suppression and racial erasure
• Media's role in shaping marginalized communities

Notable publications include Written Out: The Silencing of Regina Gelana Twala (2023) and The People’s Zion: Southern Africa, the United States and a Transatlantic Faith-Healing Movement (2018), which explores evangelical networks between Africa and North America. She co-edited Relocating World Christianity (2017), advocating for non-Western-centric religious studies.

Cabrita’s work has been featured widely in media outlets such as The Guardian, BBC World Service, and NPR. She actively engages with public scholarship, emphasizing the societal relevance of historical inquiry.