Edwin David Aponte
Encyclopedia
Edwin David Aponte is a Latino
cultural historian
, religious studies
scholar, and contributor in the on-going development of U.S. Hispanic theology.
Aponte is a cultural historian of religion in the United States focusing on the interplay between religion and culture, especially Hispanic/Latino(a) religions, African-American religions, North American religious history, and congregational studies. He is one of a small number of U.S. Hispanic historians of Christianity
.
Since December 2010 Aponte has been Research Professor of Latina/o Christianity at New York Theological Seminary
http://www.nyts.edu/.
, Connecticut
of Roman Catholic Puerto Rican
parents. Aponte attended public schools in Bridgeport, CT, graduating from Bassick High School
in 1975. His family is from Salinas, Puerto Rico
between Guayama and Ponce on the southern side of Puerto Rico. His father Domingo David Aponte was born in Coamo. His mother Ana Raquel Ortiz was born in Salinas.
Aponte received a B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies from Gordon College (Massachusetts)
in 1979, a M.A. in Theological Studies with a concentration in Old Testament
from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
in 1982, a M.A. in Religion in 1994 and Ph.D. in religion in 1998 both from Temple University
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. He is an ordained minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
http://www.lancasterseminary.edu/index.html in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
, was professor of religion and culture. From 1998-2006 Aponte served on the faculty of Perkins School of Theology
at Southern Methodist University
in Dallas, Texas
where he was Director of Advanced Studies (2004–2006) and Associate Professor of Christianity and Culture.From 1994-1998 he was founding Director of the Institute for International and Cultural Studies at North Park University
in Chicago
composed of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Center for Korean Studies, the Center for Africana Studies, the Center for Scandinavian Studies, and the Center for Latino Studies http://www.northpark.edu/home/index.cfm?northpark=Centers_Latino.CtrsL_main, each involved in intercultural, international, and inter-religious initiatives and activities. Concurrently Aponte served as the founding Executive Director of the Center for Latino Studies.
Aponte has received fellowships from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, the Fund for Theological Education, the Hispanic Theological Initiative, Temple University
, Southern Methodist University
, the Pew Charitable Trusts
, the Fund for Graduate Education of the Presbyterian Church, (USA), The Louisville Institute], and The Lilly Endowment
, Inc.
p
Aponte has served almost continually on the Governing Board of the Hispanic Summer Program in the years 1994-2010, notably seven years as Secretary and member of the Executive Committee. He is a member of the American Academy of Religion
(AAR) and serves on the Academic Relations Committee and served on the Steering Committee of the History of Christianity section of the AAR
.
Aponte was a member of the Re-forming Ministry Initiative, a national project of the Office of Theology, Worship, and Education of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He also was a member of the Selection Committee of the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI),http://www.htiprogram.org/ a program with the mission to assist Latino/a doctoral candidates through scholarships, mentoring, and supportive networks. The HTI was the predecessor to the Hispanic Theological Initiative Consortium (HTIC).
Starting December 1, 2010 Aponte began serving as Research Professor of Latina/o and Latin American Christianity in the Center of World Christianity at New York Theological Seminary
.
*Handbook of Latina/o Theologies, co-edited with Miguel A. De La Torre
, St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2006.
Book Chapters and Articles
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
cultural historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, religious studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
scholar, and contributor in the on-going development of U.S. Hispanic theology.
Aponte is a cultural historian of religion in the United States focusing on the interplay between religion and culture, especially Hispanic/Latino(a) religions, African-American religions, North American religious history, and congregational studies. He is one of a small number of U.S. Hispanic historians of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
Since December 2010 Aponte has been Research Professor of Latina/o Christianity at New York Theological Seminary
New York Theological Seminary
The New York Theological Seminary was established as a non-denominational institution in 1900 with the founding of the Bible Teachers’ College in Montclair, New Jersey by Wilbert Webster White. President White moved the school to New York City in 1902, when it was renamed the Bible Teachers’...
http://www.nyts.edu/.
Early life and education
Aponte was born August 4, 1957 in BridgeportBridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut.Bridgeport may also refer to:-Places:In Canada:* Bridgeport, Nova ScotiaIn the United States:* Bridgeport, Alabama* Bridgeport, California, in Mono County...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
of Roman Catholic Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
parents. Aponte attended public schools in Bridgeport, CT, graduating from Bassick High School
Bassick High School
-History:In 1924, the Bassick Family home was demolished to begin construction for a school. The E & F Construction Company was awarded the contract after submitting a bid for $692,946. Architect E.G...
in 1975. His family is from Salinas, Puerto Rico
Salinas, Puerto Rico
Salinas is a small municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Aibonito and Cayey; southeast of Coamo, east of Santa Isabel; and west of Guayama...
between Guayama and Ponce on the southern side of Puerto Rico. His father Domingo David Aponte was born in Coamo. His mother Ana Raquel Ortiz was born in Salinas.
Aponte received a B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies from Gordon College (Massachusetts)
Gordon College (Massachusetts)
Gordon College is a liberal arts college located on the former Princemere estate in Wenham, Massachusetts, northeast of Beverly. Founded by Baptist minister A. J...
in 1979, a M.A. in Theological Studies with a concentration in Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary is an evangelical theological seminary whose main campus is based in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, with three other campuses in Boston, Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville. The current president of Gordon-Conwell is Dennis Hollinger...
in 1982, a M.A. in Religion in 1994 and Ph.D. in religion in 1998 both from Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. He is an ordained minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
Scholarly activity
Previously from 2006 to 2010 he served as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Seminary of Lancaster Theological SeminaryLancaster Theological Seminary
Lancaster Theological Seminary, a seminary of the United Church of Christ in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1825 by members of the German Reformed Church in the United States to provide theological education for prospective clergy and other church leaders...
http://www.lancasterseminary.edu/index.html in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
, was professor of religion and culture. From 1998-2006 Aponte served on the faculty of Perkins School of Theology
Perkins School of Theology
Perkins School of Theology is one of Southern Methodist University's three original schools. The theology school was renamed in 1945 to honor benefactors Joe J...
at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
where he was Director of Advanced Studies (2004–2006) and Associate Professor of Christianity and Culture.From 1994-1998 he was founding Director of the Institute for International and Cultural Studies at North Park University
North Park University
North Park University is a four-year university located at 3225 W. Foster Avenue on the north side of Chicago, Illinois in the North Park neighborhood. It was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church and shares its campus with the denomination's only seminary...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
composed of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Center for Korean Studies, the Center for Africana Studies, the Center for Scandinavian Studies, and the Center for Latino Studies http://www.northpark.edu/home/index.cfm?northpark=Centers_Latino.CtrsL_main, each involved in intercultural, international, and inter-religious initiatives and activities. Concurrently Aponte served as the founding Executive Director of the Center for Latino Studies.
Aponte has received fellowships from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, the Fund for Theological Education, the Hispanic Theological Initiative, Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
, Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, the Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization , founded in 1948. With over US$5 billion in assets, its current mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, and stimulating civic life."-History:The Trusts, a single...
, the Fund for Graduate Education of the Presbyterian Church, (USA), The Louisville Institute], and The Lilly Endowment
Lilly Endowment
Lilly Endowment Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana is one of the world's largest private philanthropic foundations and is among the ten largest such endowments in the United States....
, Inc.
p
Aponte has served almost continually on the Governing Board of the Hispanic Summer Program in the years 1994-2010, notably seven years as Secretary and member of the Executive Committee. He is a member of the American Academy of Religion
American Academy of Religion
The American Academy of Religion is the world's largest association of scholars in the field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association,...
(AAR) and serves on the Academic Relations Committee and served on the Steering Committee of the History of Christianity section of the AAR
AAR
-Aviation:*AAR Corporation, an American aviation engineering company*"Air-to-air refueling", also known as aerial refueling, the practice of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight*AAR, IATA airport code for Aarhus Airport in Tirstrup, Denmark...
.
Aponte was a member of the Re-forming Ministry Initiative, a national project of the Office of Theology, Worship, and Education of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He also was a member of the Selection Committee of the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI),http://www.htiprogram.org/ a program with the mission to assist Latino/a doctoral candidates through scholarships, mentoring, and supportive networks. The HTI was the predecessor to the Hispanic Theological Initiative Consortium (HTIC).
Starting December 1, 2010 Aponte began serving as Research Professor of Latina/o and Latin American Christianity in the Center of World Christianity at New York Theological Seminary
New York Theological Seminary
The New York Theological Seminary was established as a non-denominational institution in 1900 with the founding of the Bible Teachers’ College in Montclair, New Jersey by Wilbert Webster White. President White moved the school to New York City in 1902, when it was renamed the Bible Teachers’...
.
Selected writings
Books*Handbook of Latina/o Theologies, co-edited with Miguel A. De La Torre
Miguel A. De La Torre
Miguel A. De La Torre is a professor of Social Ethics and Latino/a Studies at Iliff School of Theology, a religious scholar, author, and an ordained minister.-Biography:...
, St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2006.
- Introducing Latino/a Theologies, co-authored with Miguel A. De La TorreMiguel A. De La TorreMiguel A. De La Torre is a professor of Social Ethics and Latino/a Studies at Iliff School of Theology, a religious scholar, author, and an ordained minister.-Biography:...
. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis BooksOrbis BooksOrbis Books, is an American imprint of the Maryknoll order, that has been a small but influential publisher of liberation theology works, founded by Nicaraguan Maryknoll priest Miguel D'Escoto with Philip J. Scharper in 1970. It was the first to publish Gustavo Gutiérrez's seminal work A Theology...
, 2001.
Book Chapters and Articles
- “Metaphysical Blending in Latino/a Botánicas in Dallas,” in Rethinking Latino/a Religion and Identity, Miguel A. De La TorreMiguel A. De La TorreMiguel A. De La Torre is a professor of Social Ethics and Latino/a Studies at Iliff School of Theology, a religious scholar, author, and an ordained minister.-Biography:...
and Gastón Espinosa, eds. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2006. - “Theological and Cultural Competence en Conjunto,” in Handbook of Latina/o Theologies, Edwin David Aponte and Miguel A. De La TorreMiguel A. De La TorreMiguel A. De La Torre is a professor of Social Ethics and Latino/a Studies at Iliff School of Theology, a religious scholar, author, and an ordained minister.-Biography:...
, eds. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2006. - “A View from the Margins: Constructing a History of Latino/a Protestantism,” in Latino Christian Thought at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Apuntes in Honor of Justo L. González, Alvin Padilla, Roberto Goizueta, and Eldin Villafañe, ed. Nashville: Abingdon PressAbingdon PressAbingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. Abingdon Press was begun in the early 1900s by The Methodist Church, and is...
, 2005. - “Rethinking the Core: African and African American Religious Perspectives in the Seminary Curriculum,” in Teaching African American Religions (AAR Teaching Series), Carolyn M. Jones and Theodore Louis Trost, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
- “Hispanics” in Handbook of U.S. Theologies of Liberation, Miguel A. De La TorreMiguel A. De La TorreMiguel A. De La Torre is a professor of Social Ethics and Latino/a Studies at Iliff School of Theology, a religious scholar, author, and an ordained minister.-Biography:...
, ed. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2004. - “Music and the U.S. Latina and Latino Experience,” in Introduction to the U.S. Latina and Latino Religious Experience, Hector Avalos, ed. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2004.
- “Hispanic/Latino Protestantism in Philadelphia,” in Re-Forming the Center: American Protestantism 1900 to the Present, Douglas Jacobsen and William Vance Trollinger, Jr., eds. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998.
- “Coritos as Active Symbol in Latino Protestant Popular Religion.” Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology, 2:3 (1995) 57-66.