معرفی
Joseph Williams serves as an Assistant Professor in the History Department at Lehigh University, joining the faculty in fall 2023. His research centers on African American history, Black intellectual history, Black women's history, and American religious reform movements.
His academic credentials include:
- Ph.D. in History, Rutgers University (2022)
- M.A., DePaul University (2015)
- M.T.S., Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary (2013)
- B.A. in Africana Studies, North Park University
Williams' scholarship examines how late 19th- and early 20th-century Black women forged religiously grounded intellectual movements that shaped racial and gender reform. He founded The Eulogy Project, a digital humanities initiative archiving Black memorials globally. His work bridges historical analysis with contemporary social justice, emphasizing intersections of race, gender, and religion in American life.
Analysis of his recent publications reveals consistent focus on Black experiences within educational and religious institutions, particularly Rutgers University's historical role in racial dynamics and evangelical Christianity's relationship to racism.
His research has received competitive support through:
- American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship
- Institute for Citizens and Scholars Fellowship
- Louisville Institute Fellowship
- Ford Foundation Fellowship
Prior to Lehigh, Williams completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Penn State University's Richards Civil War Era Center and Africana Research Center. Before academia, he worked as a Program Manager for a student support nonprofit and as a Mental Health Professional in Illinois' largest mental health organization. He teaches HIST 130: African American History and actively presents at major conferences including the American Historical Association and National Council on Public History.
Williams leads The Eulogy Project as both a digital archive and public scholarship platform, documenting Black memorial practices from historical eulogies to modern Black Lives Matter tributes.
