Celucien L. Joseph, PhD

A Teacher and Scholar

Dr. Joseph is a passionate teacher. As an educator, he is passionate about teaching and enjoys serving people through teaching and role modelling (“othermothering”). He teaches to foster understanding, human growth, and spiritual transformation. As a professor, “I teach to mentor and empower students so that they would be able to cultivate good citizenship and positive human relations and interactions, develop higher aims in life, and successfully attain their life goals and dreams.” His writings engage culture, the world of ideas, and faith. As he has remarked, “I do not see any contradiction for an individual to be a devoted Christian or follower of Christ and produce good and critical scholarship to advance greater knowledge and understanding in one’s academic discipline–i.e. history, philosophy, literature, theology, psychology, mathematics, gender studies, race, political science, etc.– and foster more promising and uplifting human relations and societal progress; however, such scholarship should never divorce (or should not have to divorce) the life of the mind and the life of faith.” Dr. Joseph also stated, “I’m a writer and scholar who works through the means of academic research and writing not to just analyze the human condition and diagnose the plight of humanity; I’m very intentional about using my academic expertise to heal the world, to restore hope, and to uphold human dignity.

Academic Formation

Dr. Joseph received his B.A. from The Baptist College of Florida. He holds an M.A. in French language and literature from the University of Louisville (Louisville, KY). In addition, he holds an Advanced Master of Divinity (M.Div) in Biblical and Theological Studies, from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a Master of Theology (Th.M.) in New Testament, from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth, TX). He received his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX), where he studied Literary Studies with an emphasis in African American Intellectual History, Caribbean Culture and Literature, and African American Literature. Professor Joseph’s second PhD in Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics is from the University of Pretoria (Pretoria, South Africa). He has done additional studies in Religious Studies and the Humanities at the University of Louisville.

Writings and Research Interests

Dr. Joseph is a prolific writer and has authored more than three dozen academic articles. Dr. Joseph’s teaching and academic interests focus on the intellectual traditions of the Black Atlantic, African American History and Literature, Black epistemologies, Black religion, Theories of Race, and the comparative history and literature associated with Africana Studies. In the sphere of Christian theology and religious education, he is interested in transformative and democratic religious and theological education, and his theological research interests include Theological ethics, Theological anthropology, Liberation Theology, Black Liberation Theology. His forthcoming book on the subject matter is entitled Theological Education and Christian Scholarship for Human Flourishing: Hermeneutics, Knowledge, and Multiculturalism (Wipf and Stock Publishers). He has authored eleven academic books—six single authored texts, and five edited volumes. Two of his books on Black Internationalism and Africana Intellectual tradition received Honorable Mention at The Pan African International 2014 Book Awards. His most recent book, Revolutionary Change and Democratic Religion Christianity, Vodou, and Secularism received the 2020 PoliticoTech Book Award. Dr. Joseph is currently working on three academic books: For Sake of Black People and the Common Good: Jean Price-Mars: An Intellectual and Religious Biography (under contract with Vanderbilt University Press), Haiti in a Global Context: An Intellectual History (under contract with University of Press of Mississippi), and Aristide: A Theological and Political Introduction (manuscript submitted to Fortress Press).

Selected Publications

• Reconstructing the Social Sciences and Humanities: Antenor Firmin, Western Intellectual Tradition, and Black Atlantic Tradition edited with Paul Mocombe (Routledge, 2021)
• Theologizing in Black: Africana Theological Anthropology and Ethics (Pickwick Publications, 2020)
• Revolutionary Change and Democratic Religion: Christianity, Vodou, and Secularism Paperback (Pickwick Publications, 2020)
• Approaches to Teaching the Work of Edwidge Danticat edited with Marvin E. Hobson, Suchismita Banerjee, and Danny Hoey (Routledge, 2019)
• Between Two Worlds: Jean Price-Mars, Haiti, and Africa edited by Celucien L. Joseph, Jean Eddy Saint Paul, and Glodel Mezilas (Lexington Books, 2018)
• Thinking in Public: Faith, Secular Humanism, and Development in Jacques Roumain (Pickwick Publications, 2017)
• Radical Humanism and Generous Tolerance: Soyinka on Religion and Human Solidarity (Hamilton Books, 2016)
• Vodou in Haitian Memory: The Idea and Representation of Vodou in Haitian Imagination edited by Celucien L. Joseph & Nixon Cleophat (Lexington Books, 2016)
• Vodou in the Haitian Experience: A Black Atlantic Perspective edited by Celucien L. Joseph & Nixon Cleophat (Lexington Books, 2016)
• Haitian Modernity and Liberative Interruptions: Discourse on Race, Religion, and Freedom (University Press of America, 2013)

His non-academic works include the following

• American Christianity and the Culture of Death: Conversations ans Poems on Racial Trauma, Social Justice, and Hope (2020)
• God Loves Haiti: A Short Overview of Hope for Today Outreach (Hope Outreach Productions, 2015)

***See his author page on amazon.com for more publications.

Service, Outreach, & Community Engagement

Dr. Joseph currently serves as the Board Secretary of Haitian Studies Association (HSA) and former editorial board and Chair of The Journal of Pan African Studies Regional Advisory Board. He edited JPAS special issue on Wole Soyinka entitled “Rethinking Wole Soyinka: 80 Years of Protracted Engagement” (2015). He reviews manuscripts for various journals, academic presses, and has presented papers at conferences, both nationally and internationally. Dr. Joseph and his family live in Fort Pierce, Florida

Serving others is an act of love.

Dr. Joseph on a recent trip to Haiti (December 2015)

At a Teaching Conference: Haiti, December 2015)

Serving is loving (Haiti Mission Trip, December 2015)

Prayer-walking : Haiti Mission Trip (March 2016)

Hope for Today Outreach (HTO) takes a holistic approach to sustainable development and human flourishing so we can empower the poor, the marginalized, and the economically-disadvantaged individuals and families in Haiti. HTO provides leadership training to inspire and empower both men and women and serves the Haitian population in the areas of literacy and education, health, water and sanitation, agriculture and food, spiritual and theological formation, etc. In September 2019, he founded Hope Academy de Bois d’eau (HABD), a primary school that targets impoverished families in Port-Margot, Haiti. The motto of HABD is: “Educating the next generation to become committed citizens, great leaders, and a catalyst of hope.” Dr. Joseph and his family live in Fort Pierce, Florida.

“It is possible to be a good and critical scholar, a committed follower of Christ, and a transformational and engaged citizen.”– Dr. Celucien L. Joseph

***Dr. Joseph’s additional photos