The first generation of Latinx theologians was firmly rooted in pastoral work among those committed to ecclesial communities. Today presents new challenges as more Latinx theologians are formed in the academy and many Latinx persons show a wide spectrum of self-identification with religious beliefs and institutions. How can Latinx theologies be attuned to the sense of the faithful? What are the burdens of representing those from sometimes radically different epistemic locations? Drs. Lee and Imperatori-Lee will explore this new terrain for Latinx theology and consider how attention to narratives and popular movements are valuable sources to enrich Latinx theologies.
Michael E. Lee, PhD is Professor of Theology and Director of the Francis & Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University, where he is also affiliated with the Latin American and Latinx Studies Institute. Born in Miami, FL of Puerto Rican parents, he holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Lee joined the Fordham faculty in 2004 and teaches courses in Roman Catholic theology, liberation theologies, Latin American and Latinx theologies, Christology, and spirituality. He has served as President of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS) and on the governing board of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA). His publications include: Revolutionary Saint: The Theological Legacy of Óscar Romero (2018), Ignacio Ellacuría: Essays on History, Liberation, and Salvation (ed., 2013), and Bearing the Weight of Salvation: The Soteriology of Ignacio Ellacuría, which won the 2010 Hispanic Theological Initiative Book Prize.
Natalia Imperatori-Lee is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Manhattan College in the Bronx, NY, where she also coordinates the Catholic Studies program. She, too, holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Notre Dame. Imperatori-Lee is the author of Cuéntame: Narrative in the Ecclesial Present (Orbis Books, 2018), and a forthcoming text tentatively titled “Women and the Church” from Paulist Press. Her work has appeared in Theological Studies and The Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. A Cuban-American native of Miami, Florida, Imperatori-Lee has served on the Board of Directors of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the US.
They currently live in the Bronx with their sons William and Benjamin.
Originally published at theology.nd.edu.