معرفی
Todne Thomas is an Associate Professor of Divinity and Religious Studies at Yale Divinity School and Yale College. She holds a joint appointment bridging these institutions and focuses on socio-cultural anthropology with expertise in African American religions, kinship studies, and racial violence. Her research examines the intersection of race, religion, and spatial dynamics in Black Christian communities, particularly through ethnographic studies of Black church arson and kinship formations.
Education: PhD in Socio-Cultural Anthropology (University of Virginia, 2012), MA (2007), and BA in Anthropology/Africana Studies (Cornell University, 2004). Prior roles include Harvard Divinity School (2017–2023) and University of Vermont (2013–2021).
Research Interests: Her work centers on Black church arson as a site of racial and religious violence, the concept of ‘kincraft’ in evangelical communities, and the socio-spatial dynamics of sacred spaces. She has published extensively on these topics, including the award-winning book Kincraft: The Making of Black Evangelical Sociality (Duke UP, 2021).
Awards: Recognitions include the Radcliffe Institute Fellowship (2019) and Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year at Harvard Divinity School (2018). She has secured grants totaling over $60,000 for research on racialized violence and kinship.
Teaching and Service: At Harvard, she taught courses like ‘Black Church Burning’ and ‘Ethnographic Methods.’ Currently, she serves as President-Elect of the Association of Black Anthropologists and on editorial boards for The Immanent Frame and the Clifford Geertz Prize jury. Her work bridges academia and public engagement through media collaborations and community-focused research.
