Shawn Varghese
Full-Time Temporary Lecturer in History
Areas of Specialtization
Modern American Religion and Race, American Intellectual History, Civil Rights Movement, American Evangelicalism
Education
Ph.D, The University of Texas at Dallas
Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary
B.M., New York University
Academic Interests & Research Narratives
I am interested in the intersections of American Race and Religion. These topics cross at every major turn in American history. I am mostly interested in the effects that the push for equality, demonstrated in the civil rights movement, had on American religion, namely evangelicalism. I am personally inspired by the resilience of 20th-century black protestants from both mainline and conservative Christian traditions, who have spearheaded movements towards racial and cultural diversity within American religion.
I am currently working on editing my dissertation, "From Every Tribe, Tongue, and Nation: The Role of Dallas Theological Seminary in Shaping African American Evangelicalism," into a book. I am also exploring how the experiences of Black Americans and their push for racial and cultural equality resonated with other oppressed groups around the world.
Selected Publications
“Charismatic Movement,” “Civil Rights Movement,” “Tony Evans,” and “Pat Robertson” in American Religious History: Belief and Society through Time, edited by Gary Smith, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, forthcoming December 2020
Review, The State of the Evangelical Mind, Edited by Todd C. Ream, Jerry Pattengale, and Christopher J. Devers, Themelios Vol. 45, No. 1 (April 2020)
[In Preparation] “’If the Bible and Blackness Bump Heads, Blackness Must Go’: Constructing a Black Evangelical Theology.”
Follow Dr. Varghese on
Twitter: @ShawnVarghese1