Funlayo E. Wood
Harvard University Department of African and African American Studies
Barker Center
12 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
EZWood@fas.harvard.edu
(646) 580-2736
EDUCATION
PhD 2016 Harvard University
African and African American Studies
Discipline: Religious Studies, African Indigenous Religions Committee: Jacob K. Olupona (chair); Kimberley Patton; Lewis Gordon
MA 2013 Harvard University
African and African American Studies
MA 2010 The City College of New York
History, magna cum laude
BA 2008 City University of New York Degree for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies
African Diaspora in the Americas, summa cum laude
PUBLICATIONS
2013 “Sacred Healing and Wholeness in Africa and the Americas,” Journal of Africana Religions, Vol. 1, No. 3 (2013), pp. 376-429.
AWARDS AND HONORS
- 2012 – 2013 Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship United States Department of Education
- 2012 David L. Boren Fellowship (Alternate)
- National Security Education Program
- 2011 – 2012 Junior Fellowship Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School
- 2011 Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Fellowship United States Department of Education
- 2008 – 2009 New York Life Graduate Fellowship Colin Powell Center for Leadership and Service, The City College of New York
- 2008 Harriet Brows Scholarship City University of New York Baccalaureate Degree for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies
- 2007 – 2008 Thomas W. Smith Academic Fellowship City University of New York Baccalaureate Degree for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies
- 2005 Study and Travel for City University of New York Students (STOCS) Fellowship
- The City University of New York
CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES
Conferences Organized
- 2014 “Love Supreme: Devotion, Intimacy, and Ecstasy in African and Diasporic Religions.” Second conference of the African and Diasporic Religious Studies Association, Harvard University, April 11
- 2013 “Divine Space and Sacred Territories.” Inaugural conference of the African and Diasporic Religious Studies Association, Harvard University, April 5
- 2012 “Sacred Healing and Wholeness in Africa and the Americas.” Harvard University, April 12
Presentations
- 2013 “Cyber Spirits, Digital Ghosts: Diasporic Religious Identity in the Age of Collaborative Consumption.” American Academy of Religion Annual Meetings, Baltimore, MD, November 23 – 26
- 2013 “Face(book)ing Diaspora: Africana Religious Identities in the Age of Collaborative Consumption.” Obafemi Awolowo University 50th Anniversary Conference Series: Afro-Identity at the Crossroads: African and African Diaspora Creative Genius beyond Globalization and the 21st Century, Obafemi Awolowo University, August 26 – 30
- 2012 “Spiritual Healing in a Digital World: Technology, Authority and Power in African and Diasporic Religions.” Ways of Knowing Graduate Conference, Harvard Divinity School, October 26 – 27
- 2012 “Language of the Gods: Using Yoruba in Religio-Philosophical Analysis of Ifa-Orisa Religion.” Southeast African Languages and Literatures Forum, University of Florida, October 12
- 2011 “Revitalizing the Global African Egbe: Womanism, Religion & ‘Modernity’.” Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora Conference, University of Pittsburgh November 3 – 6
- 2011 “Investigating Indeterminacy in Translation: A Yoruba Example.” African Languages in the Disciplines Conference, Harvard University, April 21 – 22
Roundtables
- 2013 “Youth, Education, and Spiritual Development.” 10th Orisa World Congress: Culture and Global Peace, Obafemi Awolowo University, July 24 – 28
INVITED SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- 2013 “Matters of Spirit: Ancestral Veneration,” Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, NY
- 2011 Chair, 1st Annual Empowerment Retreat, Orisa Community Development Corporation, Osogbo, Nigeria
- 2010 “Healthy Habits for Academic & Social Success,” Bronx CUNITY Second Annual Educational Summit, Lehman College, Bronx, NY
- 2010 Commencement Speaker, Bronx Community College, Bronx NY
- 2010 Keynote Speaker, Phi Theta Kappa Induction, Hostos Community College, Bronx, NY
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Boston College
2014 Introduction to African and Diaspora Religions
Harvard University
2013 – 2014 African and African American Studies Sophomore Tutorial: The Other African Americans (Teaching Fellow)
2013 Introduction to African Languages and Cultures (Teaching Fellow)
The City College of New York
2010 Early Modern Europe (Teaching Fellow)
Bronx Community College
2008 Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communication (Teaching Fellow)
2007 History of the Modern World (Teaching Fellow)
2004 – 2008 Composition and Rhetoric I (Supplemental Instructor)
RELATED EXPERIENCE
2006 Academic Intern Salzburg Global Seminar, Salzburg, Austria
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2013 Research Assistant
Virginia Tech, Joycelyn Wilson (Professor)
Funlayo E. Wood – Page 4
2012 Research Assistant Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, Joycelyn Wilson (Fellow)
2011 Research Assistant Harvard University, Joanna Lipper (Visiting Lecturer)
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
2012 – Present Director, African and Diasporic Religious Studies Association
2013 – Present Executive Director, Orisa Community Development Corporation
2010 – 2014 Chair, Steering Committee, W.E.B. Du Bois Graduate Society, Harvard University
2012 Reviewer, Student Anthropologist Journal
2011 – 2012 Member, Board of Directors, Creating a Culture of Peace
2010 – 2013 Member, Board of Directors, Orisa Community Development Corporation
2009 – 2010 Judge, Quality of Life Scholarship Competition, Working in Support of Education, New York
2006 – 2008 Managing Editor, The Paper, The City College of New York
2004 – 2008 Member, University Committee, CUNY BA Degree for Unique & Interdisciplinary Studies
2007 – 2008 Vice President/Campus Representative, Campus Progress, The City College of New York Chapter
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS
African and Diasporic Religious Studies Association
African Association for the Study of Religions
American Academy of Religion
Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora
Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School
Colin Powell Center for Service and Leadership at the City College of New York
Golden Key International Honor Society
Harvard University Committee on African Studies
Salzburg Global Seminar
LANGUAGES
English (native)
Yoruba (intermediate)
Spanish (intermediate)
Haitian Creole (working knowledge)
Portuguese (working knowledge)
