There are longstanding relationships between the secular and the sacred. The relational ties between the poet and the pastor, the artist and the choir director, the pew and the pulpit all signal a constant intertwining of the two. With this is mind, I’d like to introduce myself. Hi, my name is Briana Whiteside and I am a Christian academic from Chicago, Illinois. I’m completing a PhD in Literature with an emphasis on African American Literature and Science Fiction while building the Kingdom of God.

 

Too long, people have tried to divorce their spiritual selves from their careers and studies. I know because I’ve tried it. However, over time I’ve learned that God didn’t create us to only occupy one arena, but to go out into the entire world and possess it. With this in mind, my academic pursuits are largely informed by my spiritual journey, and they reciprocally contribute to the woman that I am to date.

 

There are three things that are dear to me: God, education, and service.