Womanist Approaches to Religion and Society Unit
The Womanist Approaches to Religion & Society Unit welcomes papers that highlight one or more of the following topics:
Womanist Approaches to FUTURE/S: Envisioning the Future, and For Whom?
The Womanist Approaches Unit invites the exploration of envisioning future/s in its widest sense. The AAR Incoming President’s remarks on the theme, "FUTURE/S" states, "The future" is a contested idea that looms large in human traditions and functions diversely in the collective story of many cultures." Proposals can include papers, panels, literary, and artistic approaches to elucidate a critical lens. Amid the systemic and structurally marginalized communities of color, generational realities of disparities can be the impetus for collective determination to dignify a sense of being and becoming. To envision the future, and for whom - raises the urgency for communities of people to build a future where there is enough room and love for everybody.
Selected Topics
The Womanist Approaches Unit invites proposals that engage the selected topics in dialogue with womanist religious approaches and perspectives:
- Is Womanism African? Opportunities and Dilemmas in African and African Diaspora perspectives
- Black Women and Womanist Approaches to Executive Leadership
- Karen Baker-Fletcher's forthcoming publication Power, Resilience, and the Black Madonna: Mamie Till and Mary at the Foot of the Cross (WJK Press, 2026), and honoring her 30+ years of scholarship
Open Call for Papers
Womanist Approaches welcomes compelling papers that utilize womanist methodologies and engage womanist topics beyond the themes presented above.
This Unit provides a forum for religious scholarship that engages theoretical and methodological approaches that recognize the four-part definition of a Womanist as defined by Alice Walker. The expanded emphasis of womanist approaches to religion and society nurtures interdisciplinary scholarship, encourages interreligious dialogue, and seeks to engage scholars and practitioners in fields outside the study of religion. We are particularly concerned with fostering scholarship that bridges theory and practice and addresses public justice issues in religion and society.