Faculty

Department of Religion and Culture Faculty

Click on the tabs below for a list of the Department of Religion and Culture faculty members alphabetically and by discipline.

Full-Time Faculty (A-Z List)

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Ananda Abeysekara
Theravada Buddhism & South Asia, Postcolonial Studies & Colonialism, Buddhist Studies, Religious Studies
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Aaron Ansell
Sociocultural Anthropology, Northeast Brazil, Alternative Democracy, Political Discourse
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Amaryah Shaye Armstrong
Black Studies, Political Theology, Black Feminist Theory, Continental Philosophy of Religion
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Brian Britt
Religion & Literature, Theory of Religion & Culture, Hebrew Bible, Modern Jewish Thought
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Candace Buckner Ducharme
Early Christian Literature, Ancient Biography, Spatial Theory, Race & Ethnicity in the Ancient World
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Danille Christensen
Gendered & Domestic Labor, Material Culture (Foodways & Craft), Performance Studies, Cultural & Environmental Sustainability
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Taulby Edmondson
U.S. South & Appalachian Studies, Historical & Cultural Memory, Race & Whiteness, Nationalism
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Matthew Gabriele
Medieval Studies, Violence, Apocalypse, Nostalgia
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Sylvester Johnson
African American Religions, Humanity in the Age of Intelligent Machines, Artificial Intelligence
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Zhange Ni
Religion & Literature, Critical Theory & Cultural Criticism, Secularism & Religion-making in East Asia, Transnational Youth Culture
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Shaily Patel
Ancient Christianity, Graeco-Roman Religions, Postcolonial Theory, Historiography
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Dominique Polanco
Colonial Latin America, Mesoamerican Manuscripts, Bibliography & Archival Studies, Decolonism
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Emily Satterwhite
Appalachian Studies, Community-engaged Scholarship, Environmental & Climate Justice
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Peter L Schmitthenner
Modern India & South Asia; Culture, Religion, & Technology; British Colonialism
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Rachel Marion Scott
Islamic Law & Personal Status law; Religion, Law, & Constitutionalism; Modern Islamic Political Thought; Religion & Secularism
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Paula Marie Seniors
Ethnic & African American Studies; African American & Multi-racial Radical Movements; African American & Multi-racial Theater, Film, & Dance; Gender Studies

Instructors/ GTAs

Name	Position	Office	Phone	Email
Jack Bernardi	ASPECT GTA	Lane Hall		jwbernardi@vt.edu
Aline De Souza	ASPECT GTA	Lane Hall		aliners@vt.edu
Bai Jiang	ASPECT GTA	Lane Hall		baijiang@vt.edu
Vasilije Mesarovic	ASPECT GTA	Lane Hall		cvrc11@vt.edu
Rebekah Mui	ASPECT GTA	Lane Hall		rebekahmui@vt.edu
Cara Patrick	MCPH GTA	101 Major Williams		carapat@vt.edu
Muhammed Shah Shajahan	ASPECT GTA	Lane Hall		muhammedshahs@vt.edu

Adjunct Faculty

Name	Position	Office	Phone	Email
Matthew Chalmers	Adjunct			matthewc90@vt.edu
Nina Ha	Adjunct	142 Squires Student Center		nha@vt.edu

Patrick Salmons	Adjunct	101 Major Williams		psalmons@vt.edu
Michelle (Marti) Wagnon	Adjunct	101 Major Williams		michellew@vt.edu

Affiliated Faculty

Name	Position	Office	Phone	Email
Wan-Chuan Kao	Affiliated Research Faculty			kaowc@vt.edu
Laura Robinson	Affiliated Research Faculty			laurabrobinson28@vt.edu
Alexander Perkins	Affiliated Research Faculty			aperkins4@vt.edu
Daniel Wise	Affiliated Research Faculty			dswise@vt.edu

Emeritus Faculty

Name	Position	Office	Phone	Email
Elizabeth Fine	Professor Emerita, Humanities			bfine@vt.edu
Elizabeth Struthers Malbon	Professor Emerita			malbon@vt.edu

Faculty by Specialization

Faculty Experts in the Americas

General Item

Emily Satterwhite
Appalachian Studies, Community-engaged Scholarship, Environmental & Climate Justice
General Item

Dominique Polanco
Colonial Latin America, Mesoamerican Manuscripts, Bibliography & Archival Studies, Decolonism
General Item

Sylvester Johnson
African American Religions, Humanity in the Age of Intelligent Machines, Artificial Intelligence
General Item

Taulby Edmondson
U.S. South & Appalachian Studies, Historical & Cultural Memory, Race & Whiteness, Nationalism
General Item

Danille Christensen
Gendered & Domestic Labor, Material Culture (Foodways & Craft), Performance Studies, Cultural & Environmental Sustainability
General Item

Amaryah Shaye Armstrong
Black Studies, Political Theology, Black Feminist Theory, Continental Philosophy of Religion
General Item

Aaron Ansell
Sociocultural Anthropology, Northeast Brazil, Alternative Democracy, Political Discourse

Faculty Experts in Asia

General Item

Peter L Schmitthenner
Modern India & South Asia; Culture, Religion, & Technology; British Colonialism
General Item

Zhange Ni
Religion & Literature, Critical Theory & Cultural Criticism, Secularism & Religion-making in East Asia, Transnational Youth Culture
General Item

Ananda Abeysekara
Theravada Buddhism & South Asia, Postcolonial Studies & Colonialism, Buddhist Studies, Religious Studies

Faculty Experts in Europe and the Middle East

General Item

Rachel Marion Scott
Islamic Law & Personal Status law; Religion, Law, & Constitutionalism; Modern Islamic Political Thought; Religion & Secularism
General Item

Dominique Polanco
Colonial Latin America, Mesoamerican Manuscripts, Bibliography & Archival Studies, Decolonism
General Item

Shaily Patel
Ancient Christianity, Graeco-Roman Religions, Postcolonial Theory, Historiography
General Item

Matthew Gabriele
Medieval Studies, Violence, Apocalypse, Nostalgia
General Item

Candace Buckner Ducharme
Early Christian Literature, Ancient Biography, Spatial Theory, Race & Ethnicity in the Ancient World
General Item

Brian Britt
Religion & Literature, Theory of Religion & Culture, Hebrew Bible, Modern Jewish Thought

Faculty Experts in the Pre-Modern World

General Item

Dominique Polanco
Colonial Latin America, Mesoamerican Manuscripts, Bibliography & Archival Studies, Decolonism
General Item

Shaily Patel
Ancient Christianity, Graeco-Roman Religions, Postcolonial Theory, Historiography
General Item

Matthew Gabriele
Medieval Studies, Violence, Apocalypse, Nostalgia
General Item

Candace Buckner Ducharme
Early Christian Literature, Ancient Biography, Spatial Theory, Race & Ethnicity in the Ancient World
General Item

Brian Britt
Religion & Literature, Theory of Religion & Culture, Hebrew Bible, Modern Jewish Thought