Theology of Martin Luther King Jr. Unit
New Mappings in King Studies – Open Call (90 minutes)
With current and coming shifts in technology, human relationship, notions of leadership, and national and global politics, the Theology of Martin Luther King Jr. Unit invites proposals for an open call for papers and panels focused specifically on charting new directions and possibilities in King scholarship. We are interested in compelling papers or panels that draw upon sources in religion and theological studies, as well as those beyond religion (i.e., law, Black studies, sociology, philosophy, ethics) to identify the potential significance of Kingian theology and broader King studies in the near and longer-term future. Below are some questions to consider in order to display that this is an open call, and we are open to papers from a broad range of foci, disciplines, and methodologies.
- In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King wrote, “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” How might religious communities lean on King as a critical resource for constructing theologies and practices of freedom?
- How might the theological insights, practices, and commitments of figures who influenced King, the SCLC, and the broader civil rights movement point to new and necessary directions in Kingian theological discourse? Some examples could be Ella Baker, Septima Clark, Dorothy Cotton, Bayard Rustin, and Thich Nhat Han.
- How can Kingian theological and philosophical concepts help name what it means to be human amidst the growing realities of artificial intelligence and other technological developments (humanoid bots, privatized space travel, etc.)?
- How might discourse in Black studies identify important interlocutors, generate helpful language, and chart new directions in Kingian theology? How might Kingian theological discourse contribute to Black studies?
- How might we understand, reflect on, problematize, or constructively engage the history and impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as we are living in its 60th anniversary?
Author Meets Interlocuters (90 minutes)
Maurice O. Wallace, King’s Vibrato: Modernism, Blackness, and the Sonic Life of Martin Luther King, Jr., Duke University Press, 2022
This panel considers the pathbreaking and theoretically rich manuscript, King’s Vibrato: Modernism, Blackness, and the Sonic Life of Martin Luther King, Jr., authored by Maurice O. Wallace. Panelists will consider key themes from the text, including architecture, acoustics, sound, and technology, and the ways in which such categories permit a larger discussion on Martin Luther King, Jr. through the lens of a Black feminist critique.
The work of this Unit is focused on creating conversations around the unique contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. to the Christian theological tradition in the twentieth century and to the religious, cultural, political, and economic consequences of his work. We are particularly interested in the many facets of the Civil Rights Movement, of which King was a significant part. These explorations have included a focus on the role of women in the movement, the economic dimensions of King’s work, and his use of both the theological traditions and rhetoric of the Black Church. In all of our sessions we are interested in fostering inter- and multidisciplinary approaches to this project.
| Chair | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Leonard McKinnis | leonardm@illinois.edu | - | View |
| Montague Williams | montaguewilliams… | - | View |