Holstein Dissertation Fellows 2026-2027

Kelsey Cooper is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Kelsey is interested in relations between religion, sexual politics, and activism  Joshua Howard is a PhD candidate in Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion. His dissertation employs historical and ethnographic case studies alongside digital methods to interrogate how conservative Christians, LGBTQ activists, and ex-vangelicals have debated the boundaries of the American nation, the role of the family in producing the "correct" social order, and how these groups have used media to promote that vision. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science, and from Candler School of Theology with a Master of Theological Studies. in Brazil and is currently doing an ethnographic project on the role of Afro-Brazilian religion in queer and trans activism. Kelsey’s dissertation demonstrates that an analysis of Afro-Brazilian religious inspiration offers a unique and fruitful position from which to understand intersecting oppressions of race, class, gender, and sexuality. The dissertation focuses not only on queer and trans resistance to oppression, but also the ways in which Kelsey’s interlocutors cultivate just and joyous existence in an unjust and oftentimes unlivable environment.

Mentor: El/yse Ambrose

Joshua Howard is a PhD candidate in Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion. His dissertation employs historical and ethnographic case studies alongside digital methods to interrogate how conservative Christians, LGBTQ activists, and ex-vangelicals have debated the boundaries of the American nation, the role of the family in producing the "correct" social order, and how these groups have used media to promote that vision. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science, and from Candler School of Theology with a Master of Theological Studies.

Mentor: Suzanna Krivulskaya