Title
Reimagining Decolonial Futures: Puerto Rico, God-Talk and Seeking the Common Good
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
9-20-2018
Abstract
In the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Teresa Delgado will engage the literature of Puerto Rican creative writers Esmeralda Santiago, Pedro Juan Soto and Rosario Ferré to construct a theological vision centered on freedom and the pursuit of the common good. Given the prophetic imagination utilized by Puerto Rican authors as a method of challenging colonizing discourses, Dr. Delgado will demonstrate how a similar methodology can be applied to construct a decolonial theology that draws from Roman Catholic foundations of the common good and Latin American liberation theologies. Such prophetic imagination summon us toward a decolonized future for Puerto Rico.
Biography:
Teresa Delgado is Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program, and Professor and Chairperson of the Religious Studies Department at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY, where she joined the faculty in 2005. She received her doctorate from Union Theological Seminary. She has published on issues ranging from diversity in higher education, transformational pedagogies, constructive theology and ethics, and justice for racial/ ethnic/sexual minorities. Her most recent work is A Puerto Rican Decolonial Theology: Prophesy Freedom (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). At Iona College, Dr. Delgado teaches courses at the intersection of theology and ethics; she serves as President of the Board of Directors for WESPAC Foundation (Westchester People's Action Coalition), the leading force in Westchester County for peace and justice work for four decades. Addressing the need for greater diversity, equity and inclusion in theological education, Delgado serves as a mentor and on the board of the Hispanic Theological Initiative; as well as a member of the mentoring consortium of the Forum for Theological Exploration. Dr. Delgado lives in Mount Vernon, NY with her spouse and their four children.
Recommended Citation
Delgado, Teresa, "Reimagining Decolonial Futures: Puerto Rico, God-Talk and Seeking the Common Good" (2018). Koch Chair in Catholic Thought & Culture Lectures. 9.
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/koch_lectures/9