Who is Janell Williams Paris?

                                                                      
Professor of Anthropology and Sociology
Messiah College
Box 3057
Grantham, PA 17027
717-796-7044
jparis@messiah.edu

Her blogg is www.jenellparis.blogspot.com. 

Jenell Williams Paris is professor of anthropology at Messiah College in Grantham, PA.  Previously she taught at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN and the American Studies Program in Washington, D.C.

Jenell has authored two books, Urban Disciples: A Beginner’s Guide to Serving God in the City (Judson Press, 2000) and Birth Control for Christians: Making Wise Choices (Baker Books, 2003).  She has written many chapters and articles on sexuality, race, gender, and personal essays, published in magazines including Christianity Today, Books and Culture, and The Other Side.  She earned her doctorate from American University in Washington, D.C. in cultural anthropology with an ethnographic study of African-American women’s political activism in an urban ghetto.  She is currently working on a book about the social construction of sexual identity in Christian perspective.

A lifelong evangelical, she spent six years as an active member of an emergent church and continues to participate in postmodern Christian dialogue through her blog, The Paris Project.  Jenell is currently a layperson at the Grantham Church (Brethren in Christ), and also worships at an Anabaptist house church.  Her roots are in the Evangelical Free and Baptist traditions. 

Jenell is married to James, a stay-at-home dad and part-time electrician.  They have three living children, Oliver (3), Wesley (3), and Maxwell (1).