Kwok Pui Lan
Dean’s Professor of Systematic Theology; Special Advisor to the Dean for Strategic Changes
Degrees
ThD, Harvard University, 1989
ThM, Southeast Asia Graduate School of Theology, 1980
BD, Southeast Asia Graduate School of Theology, 1978
BA, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1976
Phone
(404) 727-2995
EMAILDr. Kwok Pui Lan rejoined the Candler faculty as Dean’s Professor of Systematic Theology in 2020. She previously served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Theology for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 academic years, and was named Faculty Person of the Year by the student body both years. Kwok is the former William F. Cole Professor of Christian Theology and Spirituality at Episcopal Divinity School. She has also taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Auburn Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, and Yale Divinity School.
Kwok’s research focuses on Asian feminist theology and postcolonial theology. She has written or edited 23 books in English and Chinese, including Postcolonial Politics and Theology (Westminster John Knox, 2021); The Hong Kong Protests and Political Theology (Rowman and Littlefield, 2021); Occupy Religion: Theology of the Multitude (Rowman and Littlefield, 2012, with Joerg Rieger); Postcolonial Imagination and Feminist Theology (Westminster John Knox, 2005); Introducing Asian Feminist Theology (Sheffield Academic Press, 2000); Discovering the Bible in the Non-Biblical World (Orbis Books, 1995); and Chinese Women and Christianity, 1860–1927 (Scholars Press, 1992). Her current research focuses on the practice of postcolonial theology.
An internationally known scholar, Kwok was president of the American Academy of Religion in 2011, cofounded the network Pacific, Asian, North American Asian Women in Theology and Ministry, and has held leadership roles in the Association of Theological Schools and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning.
She received honorary doctorates from Kampen Theological University in the Netherlands (2004) and Uppsala University in Sweden (2011) and was named one of the 95 people in the National Special Exhibition “Luther! 95 Treasures – 95 People,” in Wittenberg, Germany, to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.
Kwok teaches several courses in systematic theology, including Feminist Theologies from the Global South and Spirituality for the Contemporary World.
BOOKS
The Anglican Tradition from a Postcolonial Perspective, Church Publishing Incorporated, 2023
Postcolonial Politics and Theology: Unraveling Empire for a Global World, Westminster John Knox, 2021
Co-editor, The Hong Kong Protests and Political Theology, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2021
Editor, Asian and Asian American Women in Theology and Religion: Embodying Knowledge, Palgrave, 2020
Co-editor, Postcolonial Practice of Ministry, Lexington Books, 2016
Co-editor, Teaching Global Theologies: Power and Praxis, Baylor University Press, 2015
Occupy Religion: Theology of the Multitude. With Joerg Rieger, Rowman and Littlefield, 2012
Globalization, Gender, and Peacebuilding: The Future of Interfaith Dialogue, Paulist, 2012
Editor, Women and Christianity, 4 vols. Routledge, 2010
Co-editor, Empire and the Christian Tradition: New Readings of Classical Theologians, Fortress, 2007
Postcolonial Imagination and Feminist Theology, Westminster John Knox Press, 2005
Introducing Asian Feminist Theology, Sheffield Academic Press, 2000
Discovering the Bible in the Non-Biblical World, Orbis Books, 1995
CHAPTERS AND ARTICLES
“Towards a Political Theology of Post-coloniality,” in Political Theology Today: 100 Years after Carl Schmitt, ed. Mitchell Dean et al. (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023), 157-70.
Co-author, “Slogan, Women’s Protest, and Religion,” in Religion, Protest, and Social Upheaval, (New York: Fordham University Press, 2022), 177-94
“Visiting MIT’s Media Lab,” Wabash Center Blog, December 12, 2022
Award from Anglican Indigenous Leadership Initiative for contributions to postcolonial theology and “in recognition of exemplary and transformative Christ-like servant leadership,” 2023
The Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship, The Archbishop of Canterbury, 2021
Candler Faculty Person of the Year, 2019
Candler Faculty Person of the Year, 2018
Teaching Excellence Award, American Academy of Religion, 2009
Gutenberg Research Award, Gutenberg Research College of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, 2015
Excellence in Mentoring Award, Forum for Theological Exploration and Mentoring Consortium, 2016
Named one of the 95 people in the National Special Exhibition “Luther! 95 Treasures – 95 People,” in Wittenberg, Germany, to mark the 500th anniversary of Reformation
