Deeper Shades of Purple - (Religion, Race, and Ethnicity) by Stacey M Floyd-Thomas (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A collection of leading voices on the study of Black women in religious life

Womanist approaches to the study of religion and society have contributed much to our understanding of Black religious life, activism, and women's liberation. Deeper Shades of Purple explores the achievements of this movement over the past two decades and evaluates some of the leading voices and different perspectives within this burgeoning field.

Deeper Shades of Purple brings together a who's who of scholars in the study of Black women and religion who view their scholarship through a womanist critical lens. The contributors revisit Alice Walker's definition of womanism for its viability for the approaches to discourses in religion of Black women scholars. Whereas Walker has defined what it means to be womanist, these contributors define what it means to practice womanism, and illuminate how womanism has been used as a vantage point for the theoretical orientations and methodological approaches of Black women scholar-activists.

Contributors: Karen Baker-Fletcher, Katie G. Cannon, M. Shawn Copeland, Kelly Brown Douglas, Carol B. Duncan, Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas, Rachel Elizabeth Harding, Rosemarie Freeney Harding, Melanie L. Harris, Diana L. Hayes, Dwight N. Hopkins, Ada María Isasi-Díaz, Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Kwok Pui-Lan, Daisy L. Machado, Debra Majeed, Anthony B. Pinn, Rosetta Ross, Letty M. Russell, Shani Settles, Dianne M. Stewart, Raedorah Stewart-Dodd, Emilie M. Townes, Traci C. West, and Nancy Lynne Westfield.

Review Quotes

"A must-have collection for readers who want to see womanist theology in all of its rich purple hues."-- "WATERwheel"

"A stunningly original work that carries & womanist and & womanism to a new level of thinking. . . . It not only provides multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to the womanist idea but charts path-breaking directions for religious thought, ethics, and cultural analysis."--Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, author of If It Wasn't for the Women: Black Womens Experience and Womanist Culture in Church and Community

"An important and fine collection. . . The volume is marked by its inclusiveness of ideas and not just from the perspectives of black women"-- "Christianity and Literature"

"An important collection of the leading scholars in Womanist religion, ethics and theology. A must read!"--James H. Cone, Union Theological Seminary

"Drawing on a wealth of womanist criticism that rekindles Walkers Womanism, this valuable collection of essays brings together a wide range of womanists and womanist perspectives from different sectors, providing readers with an excellent list of references on the theme of Womanism and womanist activities."--Jaehwan Han "African American Review"

"Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas is to be commended for bringing together such a powerful group of religious scholars who practice, define, and critique womanist theoretical discourse."-- "Journal of African American History"

About the Author

Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas is the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Chair and Associate Professor of Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University. She is a nationally recognized scholar and leading voice in Christian social ethics and womanist thought who provides leadership to several national and international organizations that include Black Religious Scholars Group (BRSG), Society for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Religion (SRER), Strategic Effective Ethical Solutions (SEES), Society of Christian Ethics (SCE) and the American Academy of Religion (AAR). She has published eight books and numerous articles that focus on liberation theology and ethics, critical race theory, critical pedagogy, and postcolonial studies including Deeper Shades of Purple: Womanism in Religion and Society, Black Church Studies: An Introduction, The Altars Where We Worship: The Religious Significance of American Popular Culture, and the forthcoming When the Good Life Goes Bad: The U.S. and Its Seven Deadly Sins.