BlackPembroke Stories: Dr Christopher Wadibia

In collaboration with the BlackPembroke working group, this October we are sharing stories from across the College community.

Dr Chris Wadibia is a Junior Research Fellow in Pembroke’s Religion and the Frontier Challenges programme, and a member of BlackPembroke. He is now beginning the second year of his three-year research fellowship here, focussing on the concept of Black religious transnationalism. His work examines how African Pentecostal megachurches use their religious platforms to respond to socio-political challenges in Western contexts.

Chris gave a presentation on his research earlier in the month as part of the three Common Rooms’ pre-dinner talk series, speaking on ‘Charity, Prosperity, and Development in Nigeria: Understanding Nigerian Pentecostal Approaches to Nation Building’.

We asked Chris about his research, his journey to Pembroke, and his goals for the future.

How did you choose your discipline and what brought you to Pembroke?

Growing up in Alabama, I was exposed at an early age to the significant influence that religion can have at the societal level. After completing a BA at Georgetown, I conducted research on Muslim-Christian relations in Nigeria on a Fulbright grant and during this time witnessed the huge contributions to local development made by Pentecostal churches. It was at this point that I chose to focus my upcoming postgraduate studies on Pentecostal engagement with development and politics in Africa. I then completed an MPhil Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies at Trinity College Dublin and a PhD Theology and Religious Studies at Selwyn College, Cambridge before starting my JRF here at Pembroke.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment, I’m working on a book proposal that will initiate the process of turning my PhD thesis into a monograph for publication. Alongside this project, I serve as a consultant for the University of Cambridge's Department of Sociology where I help a team of researchers write a report on what it means to be Black and British in the UK today.

When you’re not in the office, what are you doing?

Training at the gym, spending time with friends, visiting museums and art galleries, adding new books to my library, listening to Afrobeats, classical music and jazz, and trying out new pubs and restaurants.

Tell us about your career aspirations?

I would like to publish several books on global Pentecostalism that combine academic rigour with public accessibility, work as a consultant in the religion and global development sector, and serve as a public intellectual in ways that bring academia and the non-academic spaces of society into a more constructive, positive relationship with each other.

What are you reading at the moment?

At the moment I am casually reading three books: Napoleon the Great by Andrew Roberts, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell, and The Victorians by A.N. Wilson.
 

We are committed to sharing and celebrating the accomplishments and contributions of Black members of the Pembroke community. To mark Black History Month, we are inviting Black students, academics, staff and alumni to give an insight into their research, careers, interests and stories. If you would like to be involved, please get in touch.

Click here for more Black History Month news and events and to find out how you can get involved.