Theophus "Thee" Smith, a native Atlantan, is an associate professor in the Religion Department at Emory University. While raised in the black church tradition (Baptist), he is now an Episcopal priest serving at the Cathedral of St. Philip in the Diocese of Atlanta. His educational background includes the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, St. John's College ("great books") in Annapolis, Md., Virginia Theological Seminary (Episcopal) in Alexandria, and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Smith is the author of "Conjuring Culture: Biblical Formations of Black America" (Oxford, 1994), and coeditor with Mark Wallace of "Curing Violence" (Polebridge, 1994). His academic training and interests span the fields of religious studies and theological studies, including Christian thought and interfaith dialogue, African American spirituality, and religion and violence studies. He is also engaged in issues of multiculturalism and the college curriculum, including a combined emphasis on Black Studies and Western classics. His literary work-in-progress includes the publication of a second book on religion and violence, while his ongoing research involves the development of new social change and interfaith reconciliation models to aid in the contemporary quest for violence-free societies. Since 1987 Smith has led forums and workshops on
reconciliation issues at Emory University and throughout the region
and the nation. These programs include the "Prejudice Reduction"
and "Conflict Resolution" workshops developed by the widely
acclaimed National Coalition Building
Institute. In addition he is the co-founding director of Southern
Truth and Reconciliation. STAR is a regional nonprofit that
consults with local communities seeking a truth-and-reconciliation
approach to issues in the present that are still impacted by a legacy
of racial violence.
Publications relating to human rights: Curing Violence; eds, Mark I. Wallace and Theophus
H. Smith; Sonoma, Ca.: Polebridge Press, 1994. |
||||||
