Delores S. Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 17, 1934 Louisville, Kentucky, US |
| Died | November 17, 2022 (aged 88) |
| Other names | Delores Seneva Williams |
| Spouse | Robert C. Williams |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Union Theological Seminary |
| Thesis | A Study of the Analogous Relation Between African-American Women's Experience and Hagar's Experience[1] (1990) |
| Doctoral advisor | Tom F. Driver[2] |
| Influences | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Theology |
| School or tradition | Womanist theology |
| Institutions | Union Theological Seminary |
| Notable works | Sisters in the Wilderness (1993)[5] |
| Notable ideas | Womanist theology[5] |
| Influenced | Ada María Isasi-Díaz[6] |
Delores Seneva Williams (November 17, 1934 – November 17, 2022)[7] was an American Presbyterian theologian and professor notable for her formative role in the development of womanist theology and best known for her book Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk. Her writings use black women's experiences as epistemological sources, and she is known for her womanist critique of atonement theories.[8] As opposed to feminist theology, predominantly practiced by white women, and black theology, predominantly practiced by black men, Williams argued that black women's experiences generate critical theological insights and questions.[9]
Williams' 1993 book, Sisters in the Wilderness, helped establish the field of womanist theology. In it, Williams primarily develops a rereading of the biblical figure Hagar to illuminate the importance of issues of reproduction and surrogacy in black women's oppression. According to Aaron McEmrys, "Williams offers a theological response to the defilement of black women.... Womanism is an approach to ethics, theology and life rooted in the experiences of African-American women".[10]
The term womanism was coined by a contemporary of Williams, Alice Walker, used in her 1979 short story "Coming Apart"[11] and again in her 1983 essay collection In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens.[11]
- ^ Williams, Delores S. (1990). A Study of the Analogous Relation Between African-American Women's Experience and Hagar's Experience: A Challenge Posed to Black Liberation Theology (PhD thesis). New York: Union Theological Seminary. OCLC 80238499.
- ^ "Dissertations Completed". Religious Studies Review. 18 (2): 172. 1992. doi:10.1111/j.1748-0922.1992.tb00087.x. ISSN 0319-485X.
- ^ a b Cruz, Gemma Tulud (2010). An Intercultural Theology of Migration: Pilgrims in the Wilderness. Studies in Systematic Theology. Vol. 5. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. pp. 177–178. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004181229.i-360. ISBN 978-90-04-18122-9. ISSN 1876-1518.
- ^ Religion and the Feminist Movement Conference - Panel IV: Delores S. Williams on YouTube
- ^ a b Cruz, Gemma Tulud (2010). An Intercultural Theology of Migration: Pilgrims in the Wilderness. Studies in Systematic Theology. Vol. 5. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 175. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004181229.i-360. ISBN 978-90-04-18122-9. ISSN 1876-1518.
- ^ Isasi-Díaz, Ada María (1994). "The Task of Hispanic Women's Liberation Theology – Mujeristas: Who We Are and What We Are About". In King, Ursula (ed.). Feminist Theology from the Third World: A Reader. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock (published 2015). p. 405. ISBN 978-1-4982-1997-6.
- ^ "Obituary of Delores S. Williams | Lewis & Wright Funeral Directors". lewisandwrightfuneraldirectors.com. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ Sweet, Fred. "Luther Seminary Library: Williams, Delores: Feminist and Womanist Theology: Home". luthersem.libguides.com. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ Keller, Rosemary Skinner; Ruether, Rosemary Radford; Cantlon, Marie (2006). Encyclopedia of women and religion in North America. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34685-1. OCLC 61711172.
- ^ McEmrys, Aaron (200). "Engaging the sacred wisdom of our sisters in the wilderness: A unitarian universalist/womanist dialogue". The Journal of Liberal Religion. 7 (1): 1–17.
- ^ a b Williams, Delores (1985). "Women's oppression and lifeline politics in black women's religious narratives". Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. 1 (2): 59–71.