Contact: www.shivelysmith.com and www.imagesofinterpretation.com

Full Narrative Biography (*Note: First paragraph may serve as a shorter version, 100-word summary).

Dr. Shively T. J. Smith is a sought-after scholar, teacher, speaker, and preacher of the New Testament and Howard Washington Thurman. She serves as Assistant Professor of New Testament at Boston University School of Theology (Boston, MA). She completed her Ph.D. in New Testament Studies at Emory University, having also studied at Fisk University, Oxford University, and Columbia Theological Seminary. She has published her book, Strangers to Family: Diaspora and First Peter’s Invention of God’s Household and her book on 2 Peter and Nineteenth Century African American Women is forthcoming. Dr. Smith is also an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church where she proudly serves as member and resident scholar at the historic Metropolitan AME Church (Washington, DC).

As a scholar of the New Testament, Smith writes and teaches on all 27 writings, but her particular focus is on the letters from Hebrews to Jude in the New Testament, Diaspora and rhetorical studies, approaches to biblical interpretation (hermeneutics), and Womanist and African American biblical interpretation. Smith is also a recognized scholar of Howard Washington Thurman. Some of her ongoing work with Thurman and Interpretation is available through her digital humanities project called, Images of Interpretation (www.imagesofinterpretation), sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Some of her notable essays include: (1) “Thurman-eutics: Howard Thurman’s Clothesline for the Interpretation of the Life of the Mind and the Journey of the Spirit;” (2) “Witnessing Jesus Hang: Reading Mary Magdalene’s View of Crucifixion through Ida B. Wells’s Chronicles of Lynching;” and (3) “One More Time with Assata on My Mind: A Womanist Rereading of the Escape to Egypt (Matt 2:13–23).

Smith is dedicated to bridging academic study of the bible and theology with interreligious and ecumenical conversations that extend into the social, global square. She has appeared and presented for a variety of venues across the world. She has appeared as an expert commentator on the History Channel Documentary, “Jesus, His Life,” on scholarly panels broadcasted on CSPAN, and presented at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (among other spaces). She has contributed to multiple writing projects and series, including Anchored in the Current: Discovering Howard Thurman as Educator, Activist, Guide, and Prophet ; Feasting on the Gospels; Reading & Writing Theologically; and Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship. She is a regular contributor to the online Working Preacher Lectionary series, the Odyssey Network’s “On Scripture” online series and “Odyssey Impact” campaigns, Sojourners Online, and ChurchAnew Blog. She is a frequent panelist discussing the Howard Thurman Documentary, “Backs Against the Wall.”

Her work has been supported by organizations such as the Forum for Theological Exploration, Louisville Institute, Calvin Institute, Ford Foundation, Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, Black Women in Church and Society Program (ITC), Social Science Research Council, and the Mellon Mays Fellowship Program.