Biography

Vanessa D. Verner is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Texas A&M. During her time in the doctoral program she has earned an additional Practitioner Certification through the Center for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) at Texas A&M. Her primary research focus areas include race, gender, religion, culture and research based learning.

Focusing on racial consciousness, cultural developments, and gender politics across several institutions, Vanessa’s dissertation work focuses on women in pastoral leadership within Black Pentecostalism, a Protestant Christian tradition that has historically been against women in such positions. Additionally, Vanessa has engaged in some interdisciplinary work connecting Black rhetorics in church spaces as mechanisms of criticism against women. Deploying a Black Feminist lens, forthcoming published work will explore Beyoncé’s song “Church Girl” and its attachments to the COGIC as a proxy for resisting epistemic violence, silencing, and a restricted theological exploration for Black church women writ large.