Itohan M. Idumwonyi is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and a lively interdisciplinary scholar. The pillars of her interdisciplinary scholarship intersect with African Religions, African Diaspora religions, African Studies, Sociology of religion, African Womanist Theology, Religion and Gender. The structure of these creative areas is characterized by the rigorous ethnographic exploration of innovative acumens and mapped out in her research, teaching, and publications. She is finishing a book project with a tentative title “Policing the Gender Gap in Nigerian Pentecostalism: Interrogating a Shifting Goal Post” and under review by a major press. She is concurrently working on a project that focuses on the “Dynamics of Gender Relations in African and African Diaspora Religions in the United States.” Specifically, her research employs theories and articulations from African-womanist religious thought and Gender Politics as a frame to highlight religious resources in negotiating boundaries for gender inclusivity.
Idumwonyi comes to Gonzaga University with over ten years of teaching and research experience from the University of Benin, Nigeria. Before going to the University of Benin, she served as Research Fellow and Program officer for the African Women Empowerment Guild (AWEG), a non-profit organization in Benin. She has over fourteen published papers in various journals and book chapters. Her research and scholarship have won generous funding.
She brings excellent experience and strength to teaching and scholarship, commitment to ongoing learning, and a role model for students in ways that are compatible with the Zag community. Her pedagogical style inspires students to challenge preconceived notions and conventional boundaries that inspires them to embrace the reality of their new findings, and prepares them for life beyond the classroom, mostly in our growing diverse settings.
