Marla F. Frederick facts for kids

Marla Faye Frederick is an American expert who studies different cultures and people, especially focusing on the experiences of African Americans and their religious beliefs. She looks at topics like race, gender, religion, and how media influences people. As of January 1, 2024, she became the leader (called the Dean) of the Harvard Divinity School.

Marla Frederick's Education

Marla Frederick went to Spelman College and earned a degree in English. Later, in 2000, she received her PhD in cultural anthropology from Duke University. This means she became an expert in studying human cultures and societies. She also spent time as a special researcher at Princeton University.

Her Career and Work

Marla Frederick started her teaching career as a professor at the University of Cincinnati. She also taught as a visiting professor at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta and at Northwestern University.

In the early 2000s, she taught religion and African-American studies at Harvard University. In 2008, she was a special fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, which is a place for advanced research.

In 2019, Frederick became a professor at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. She has also been the president of important groups like the Association of Black Anthropologists and the American Academy of Religion (AAR) in 2021.

On August 24, 2023, Harvard University announced that Marla Frederick would become the new Dean of Harvard Divinity School starting January 1, 2024. This is a very important leadership role.

Her Research and Books

Marla Frederick has written several books about her research.

Understanding Faith in Black Churches

Her first book, Between Sundays: Black Women and Everyday Struggles of Faith (published in 2003), is about the lives of black church women in Halifax County, North Carolina. Reviewers praised this book, saying it helped people understand many ideas about society by showing real human experiences.

How Democracy Works in Communities

In 2007, Frederick worked with six other experts on a special project. They lived in different communities in North Carolina to see how American democracy really worked, beyond just people voting. The book they wrote together, Local Democracy Under Siege Activism, Public Interests, and Private Politics, won an award in 2008.

Religion and Media Studies

Frederick also studies how television and media connect with religion. Her book Colored Television: American Religion Gone Global (published in 2015) explores this topic. In 2016, she co-wrote another book called Televised Redemption: Black Religious Media and Racial Empowerment with Carolyn Moxey Rouse and John L. Jackson Jr..