2024-25 Visiting Faculty

  • Marlon Millner

    Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion

    171 Church Street

    mmillner@wesleyan.edu

    Marlon Millner works at the intersection of critical social theory, Black studies, and political philosophy. In this space, he examines the intertwined relationship of Christianity and colonialism in forging modernity and racial hierarchy. He further studies the development of the category of religion and of racial Blackness through European conquest and global expansion. Dr. Millner received his B.A. from Morehouse College, his M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He formerly served as Director of the Center for Black Studies at Northern Illinois University. His current work re-examines the emergence of early-twentieth-century American Pentecostalism through the lens of Foucauldian biopolitics and Black feminist and Black queer thought. His has curated work on Black and womanist theology on The Syndicate Network. And his published articles include “Dis/parity: Blackness and the (Im)possibility of a Pentecostal (Political) Theology,” for Pneuma: The Journal for the Society for Pentecostal Studies, and a contribution to Tracing Contours: Reflections of World Mission and Christianity. In fall 2024, he will teach courses on The Black Atlantic, A Religious Interpretation (First-Year Seminar), and Biopolitics, Blackness and Spirit Baptism: The Birth of American Pentecostalism. Learn more at his website. In his spare time, Marlon enjoys walking paths, sandy beaches, watching the WNBA in person, and listening to plenty of jazz, house, hip-hop and gospel. In returning to the east coast, Marlon looks forward to weekend trips to the Big Apple as well.

  • Kira Ganga Kieffer

    Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion

    171 Church Street

    kkieffer@wesleyan.edu

    Dr. Kira Kieffer is a scholar of American religious history exploring the intersections of religion, health, politics, consumerism, gender, and authority.

    Kieffer’s current book project examines religion and vaccine skepticism in U.S. history and contemporary culture (contracted with Princeton University Press). It focuses on how hesitancy about vaccination is built upon varied religious beliefs and spiritual practices related to the human body, as well as the sacralization of mothers and children. Kieffer’s scholarship also engages contemporary American spiritualities through the lenses of gender and consumerism. Her journal articles include: “Smelling Things: Essential Oils and Essentialism in Contemporary American Spirituality,” in Religion & American Culture (2021) and “Manifesting Millions: How Women’s Spiritual Entrepreneurship Genders Capitalism,” in Nova Religio (2020). This article received the Thomas Robbins Award for Article of the Year.

    Kira Ganga Kieffer holds a Ph.D. in Religion from Boston University and a B.A. from Brown University.

    Kieffer is a strong advocate for religious literacy and adapting scholarly research for broad audiences. She has written for Religion & Politics, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Religion for Breakfast. To learn more about her work, check out her website.