LeRhonda S. Manigault-Bryant is Professor of Africana Studies at Williams College and founder of ConjureGirlBlue Productions. A proud native of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Manigault-Bryant navigates the academy as a scholar-artist, where she merges her life as a thinker, musician, and filmmaker. She is the author of multiple academic books, public-facing writing, and films including Talking to the Dead: Religion, Music, and Lived Memory among Gullah/Geechee Women (2014) and the award-winning documentary short “death. everything. nothing” (2020).

As a former Arthur Vining Davis Fellow in Media & Entertainment, Manigault-Bryant feels that being a RPL Fellow is an important and timely return for her, saying, “My time at HDS will again afford me the chance to apply the broadest range of my teaching and professional knowledge, and to do so in real time.” She continues, “The RPL program is truly a one-of-a-kind space, and has the potential to change the global landscape of religious literacy outright. And being with a collective of co-conspirators who spend inordinate amounts of time wrestling with the intersections of religion, media, and entertainment is no small thing. I am really looking forward to offering some continuity while learning anew from my colleagues and the students.”

As a mentor, Manigault-Bryant hopes that her students gain an even deeper sense of the implications of religion and media. Manigault-Bryant sees HDS students as an ideal group of critical spectators, saying, “I am excited about the possibilities of forging an impactful and dynamic relationship with them, one that is centred upon our work in thinking about the meaning and pervasiveness of religion in the media we consume, but that also extends to engage their professional and personal aspirations. It is always a thrill to engage with HDS students.”