In My Grandmother's House by Yolanda Pierce

Throughout the book, Pierce shares honest stories of faith, including those of legalism and patriarchy. This is what Pierce calls “grandmother’s theology,” originating from generational wisdom of the knowledge of God acquired through age and maturity (xvii). As a womanist theologian living in the tension between an inherited Christian faith tradition and the new lessons her faith teaches her, this book is her “attempt to retrieve the religious legacy she inherited and keep it alive for future generations” (xvi). Through rich storytelling, Pierce invites readers into an intimate consideration of the divine from a Black woman’s perspective. This narration of stories by Yolanda Pierce highlights a deep theological and missiological understanding of the (American) Black church as experienced by Black women. In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit.

Townes will return to the divinity school faculty in 2024 after taking research leave.Yolanda N. Pierce will succeed Emilie Townes who announced her decision to step down from the deanship last spring.

'I am honored and excited for the opportunity to become dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School, an innovator in 21st-century theological education, and to work with dedicated faculty and staff in the preparation of outstanding ministers and scholars.' In a statement, Pierce emphasized her excitement in taking on a new endeavor at Vanderbilt.

Her books include In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit and Hell Without Fires: Slavery, Christianity, and the Antebellum Spiritual Narrative. Pierce is a member of the Modern Language Association, the American Academy of Religion, and the American Historical Association. In 2016, Pierce served as the founding director of the Center for African American Religious Life at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Her research focuses on literature and religion, womanist theology, and African American religions. Pierce, a Century columnist, is currently the dean at Howard Divinity School-the first woman to lead the 153-year old institution. Womanist theologian Yolanda Pierce will be the next dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School.

In My Grandmother's House by Yolanda Pierce