Elise Edwards, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Education
- Ph.D. in Religion, Claremont Graduate University (Specialization in Theology, Ethics, and Culture)
- M.T.S., John Leland Center for Theological Studies
- M.Arch., Florida A&M University
- B.S., cum laude, Florida A&M University (Architectural Studies)
Biography
Elise M. Edwards is a native of Maryland, but she moved to Waco to begin her teaching career at Baylor in fall 2013. Dr. Edwards teaches courses in Christian ethics and theology in Baylor’s Department of Religion. She earned her Ph.D. in Religion at Claremont Graduate University in California, where she studied Theology, Ethics, and Culture. Prior to pursuing a Ph.D. in theology, Dr. Edwards worked as an architect in Washington D.C. and she still maintains her license to practice architecture. She earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Architecture degrees at Florida A&M University, and a Master of Theological Studies at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies, a Baptist seminary. In her architectural career, Dr. Edwards focused on college and university buildings, which is now where she spends most of her days teaching and doing research.
Her research is interdisciplinary, moving between fields of theology, ethics, architectural theory, and aesthetics to examine issues of civic engagement and to question how Christian beliefs and commitments are expressed publicly. As a black feminist, Dr. Edwards focuses her research on cultural expressions by, for, and about women and marginalized communities. She is co-editor (with Katie Day) of The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Cities and author of Architecture, Theology, and Ethics: Making Architectural Design More Just, which is about how design acts as prophetic action with the power to shape our world. In the classroom, Dr. Edwards strives to help her students realize the diversity of perspectives within Christian thought and to improve their critical thinking and writing skills. Through deliberative dialogue and contemplative exercises, her classes dive into difficult and complex topics. She is also a featured blogger and podcast guest for various outlets addressing issues about justice, feminism, and theology and the arts. Dr. Edwards serves her local community and broader academic community through numerous leadership roles in the Baylor Ethics Initiative, Creative Waco, the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Christian Ethics, and the Center for Religion and Cities.
Academic Interests and Research
Christian Ethics and Theology, Theology and the Arts, Feminist Theology and Practice, Religion and Cities, Architectural Theory, Contextual and Liberation Theologies, Black Feminism and Womanism, Religion in the Public Sphere
Selected Academic Publications
Architecture, Theology, and Ethics: Making Architectural Design More Just, Lexington Books, 2024.
The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Cities. New York: Routledge, 2020.
“A Womanist Consideration of Architecture and the Common Good” in Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 40, no. 2 (2020): 255–272.
"Creation for a Just World: Racism in Architecture and Public Space" in The Routledge Companion to Christian Ethics. Edited by D. Stephen Long and Rebekah Miles, Routledge, 2022.
“Feminism and Christianity” Chap. 28 in The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Contemporary Christianity in the United States, edited by Mark A. Lamport, Rowman & Littlefield, 2022.
“Let’s Imagine Something Different”: Spiritual Principles in Contemporary African American Justice Movements and Their Implications for the Built Environment” in Religions 2017 Vol. 8 (9), Special Issue: "Race and Religion: New Approaches to African American Religions"
“When the Law does not Secure Justice or Peace: Requiem and Aesthetic Response” in The Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 35.2, Fall/Winter 2015
“Re-imagining Creation as Creative Activity: Possibilities for Women's Empowerment through Aesthetic Agency” in Christian Doctrines for Global Gender Justice, Jenny Daggers and Grace Ji-Sun Kim (eds.), Palgrave Macmillan, June 2015
“Television, Social Networking, and Cultural Criticism: Alternative Methodologies for Feminist Scholarship” in Feminism and Religion in the 21st Century: Technology, Dialogue, and Expanding Borders, Rosemary Radford Ruether and Gina Messina-Dysert (eds.), Routledge, October 2014
“The Jazz Aesthetic as a Model for Theological Discourse” in ARTS Magazine, A Journal of the Arts in Religious and Theological Studies, Online Issue 22:4, Fall 2011
Professional Awards/Activities/Grants and Fellowships
Society of Christian Ethics (SCE) African-American Working Group and Interest Group, Women’s Caucus, Referee for Journal of Society of Christian Ethics
Past Co-chair, Religion and Cities Unit, American Academy of Religion (AAR)
Perspectives in Religious Studies Editorial Board
Baylor University Faculty of Color Alliance
Baylor University Black Faculty/Staff Association
Illuminating Theological Inquiry and Christian Ethics Through Training in Psychological Science Seminars, 2023-2024
Research Workshop on Religion and the Built Environment, Center of Theological Inquiry (CTI), Spring 2021
Faculty Fellow, Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Fall 2018- Spring 2019
Intergroup Dialogue Facilitation and Public Deliberation Training, Spring 2019-Fall 2018
Baylor University Faculty Senate, Fall 2014- Spring 2018
“A Pedagogy for Reflective Christian Social Ethics,” Wabash Center 2016 Summer Fellowship
Wabash Center Teaching and Learning Workshop for Pre-Tenure Religion Faculty of African Descent, 2015-2016
Courses Taught at Baylor
- REL 1350 The Christian Heritage
- REL 3390 Christian Ethics
- REL 3397 Gender, Feminism, and Theology
- REL 4397 Race, Racism, and Religion in America
- REL 4399 Senior Seminar
- REL 5399 Religion Colloquy