Event Details

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We are thrilled to host Dr. Yohana Junker as the lecturer for our annual Stanley Grenz Lecture Series at 6:30pm Friday, January 10, speaking on “Decolonial Visions in the American Southwest: Artistic and Religious Freedom.” 

Dr. Junker is the Associate Professor of Art, Spirituality, and Culture and the Associate Dean for Spiritual Life and Social Transformation at Claremont School of Theology. In her upcoming book, Dr. Junker explores the intersection of artistry, colonialism, ecology, and Native American resistance within the American Southwest. The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion. At this event, you will be invited into embodied learning around theology, justice, and the arts. 

In addition, our Senior Scholar, Dr. Esther Lightcap Meek, will respond to Dr. Junker. They will engage in a panel discussion following Dr. Meek’s response.

RSVP is required to attend on-campus at The Seattle School (2501 Elliott Avenue) or to receive the livestream link. Note: Low-residency students attending the Winter 2025 residency do not need to RSVP. 

About Dr. Yohana Junker:

Dr. Junker’s research probes the intersections among the fields of art history, eco-criticism, and decolonial studies, with special attention to contemporary Indigenous and diasporic art practices. In her writing, art, and activism, she explores the human capacity to imagine and retrieve generative ways of being even in the face of impossibility. She also investigates the ways artists create poetic spaces that allow viewers to come together, reclaim agency and restore a sense of purpose, a thirst for justice, and a desire for transformation. Her artwork is central to her scholarship and activism. A native of Brazil, she received a Bachelor's degree from Universidade Metodista de Sao Paulo and a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.

Her contributions in the last two years include chapters in Theopoetics in Color: Embodied Approaches in Theological Discourse (W.B. Eerdmans), Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord (Routledge), Contemplative Practices and Acts of Resistance in Higher Education (Routledge); The Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies (Georgetown), and Painted Portrayals: The Art of Characterizing Biblical Figures (SBL Press). Currently, she is working on two books: Decolonial Visions in the American Southwest: Artistic and Religious Freedom (Bloomsbury) and Awaken: Art Practice as Ritual. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Junker is a regular contributor to The Christian Century magazine and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion Blog, where she reflects on the transformative power of art and ritual in reshaping contemporary culture

Dr. Junker serves on several boards and organizations: Berkeley Art and Interreligious Pilgrimage Project, Center for Arts and Religion; the En Conjunto Association through the Hispanic Theological Initiative; Feminist Studies in Religion; and Pathways for Tomorrow Advisory Committee (with the Lilly Endowment). Read more on her at www.yohanajunker.com

About the Stanley Grenz Lecture Series:

This series is offered in honor of former Professor Stanley Grenz, a prolific Christian scholar with a pastoral heart and deep intellectual presence. In his memory, each year The Seattle School hosts theological leaders and thinkers to advance theological discourse.