User:Clifford Anderson/sandbox/traci c west

Traci C. West is an influential Christian leader whose interest in activism was partly inspired by the Civil Rights Movement. She studied religious studies at Yale University and was a key figure in the Alexander v. Yale Title IX lawsuit, helping create the University's first sexual harassment policies and procedures. West is well-known for her writing and advocacy for causes related to Black Religion/Womanist Thought/Social Justice. She is the author of several books, including Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women's Lives Matter, Solidarity and Defiant Spirituality, and Sisters in the Wilderness.

Life

Traci C. West was born in 1959 in Stamford, Connecticut to mother Paula F. West. Raised in a family with deep Methodist and Baptist roots, she felt a strong calling for religious and social justice leadership from an early age. She identified as playing a caretaking role within her family and actively began her journey towards ordination after graduating high school. While majoring in religious studies at Yale University, West further refined her social justice organizing skills and helped create the first policies and procedures around sexual harassment at Yale University as a freshman representative to the Grievance Board for Student Complaints of Sexual Harassment. Towards her junior year, West who was an activist student, spoke out against the sexism women faced at Yale despite them being admitted for ten years.

After completing her B.A. in Religious studies from Yale University in 1981, she pursued an M. Div at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA in 1984. In 1995, West completed her Ph.D. in Christian Ethics from Union Theological Seminary in New York. She currently holds the position of James W. Pearsall Professor of Christian Ethics and African American Studies at the Drew University Theological School, a role she started back in January 1995. West has won many awards and grants for her contribution to teaching and activism. She has been recognized by the Drew University several times and bagged the Bela Kornitzer Book Award in 2020. Since 1985, she has been an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church.

Research

Traci C. West's research primarily focuses on intersections of race, gender, and religion, with a particular emphasis on social justice. West is best known for her distinctive approach in incorporating individual narratives of women into her analyses of race, gender, and sexuality dynamics within the context of intimate violence. Her work offers a critical feminist theological analysis of these issues, with the prophetic character of her work prioritizing justice-making in real-world scenarios.

Over the course of her career, West has engaged in path-breaking pedagogy and scholarship, exploring the tensions between the particular and the universal in a way that celebrates the importance of individual lives, intersecting identities, and women’s subjectivity. West's work also includes exploring the intellectual differences and links between Black feminism and womanism.

In alignment with her scholarly pursuits, West has also made significant contributions in the fight against sexual harassment, starting from her time at Yale where she helped develop the first policies and procedures concerning this issue. This scholarly activism forms an integral part of her intellectual profile and has informed her research.

Influence

Traci C. West has made significant contributions to the field of theology and religion with her unique incorporation of personal narratives into analyses of race, gender, and sexuality, particularly regarding intimate violence. Her work has been marked by a prophetic character that prioritizes justice-making in the real world. She has emerged as a leading voice in conversations about the intellectual differences and connections between Black feminism and womanism.

West has been applauded for her pedagogical expertise, receiving several teaching awards. Her approach to mentorship is characterized by kindness, generosity, and a persistent focus on academic rigor. Dr. Elyse Ambrose, one of her doctoral advisees, praises her for the urgency and rigor she brings to her work, stating that these qualities reflect the stakes of discussing issues such as violence against women, queer lives, sexism, and heterosexism in the church.

Additionally, West has made substantial contributions to scholarly literature. She has written for several journals and has been on the editorial boards of the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, among others.

By focusing on the experiences of individual women and the intersections of their identities, West has underscored the importance of women's subjectivity within the realm of theology and religion. Her work has challenged traditional academic approaches, marking her as an influential scholar-activist in her field.