The Lived Theology and Power Workgroup
M. Shawn Copeland
Associate Professor of Theology (Marquette University). B.A. English (Madonna University); Ph.D. Systematic Theology (Boston College).
Professor Copeland's academic research and interests include: Theological and Philosophical Anthropology, Political Theology and Philosophy, and Embodiment, with special attention to Gender and Race. She is recognized as one of the most important influences in North America in drawing attention to issues surrounding black Catholics.
Copeland has authored more than 70 articles, reviews, and book chapters, and along with Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza has co-edited two volumes of the international theological journal Concilium: Violence Against Women (1/1994) and Feminist Theologies in Different Contexts (1996/1) which have been translated into Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Two most recent publications suggest the breadth of her concern: "Cornel West's Improvisational Philosophy of Religion," in Cornel West: A Critical Reader edited by George Yancey (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001) and "African American Spirituals and the African American Catholic Hymnal," U. S. Catholic Historian, 19, 2 (Spring 2001): 67-82.
At present, Copeland is at work on two books--an introduction to African American Critical Thought for Fortress Press and a study of social suffering in relation to African American religious and cultural meanings of the cross of Jesus of Nazareth.
Professor Copeland currently serves as vice president of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) and will serve as its president in 2003-2004.