Olubunmi Adegbola

Olubunmi (Bunmi) Adegbola is a doctoral candidate in New Testament and Early Christian Studies at Vanderbilt University. She minors in Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies. She is also a fellow in the Theology and Practice Program. She holds master’s degrees from Vanderbilt Divinity School, Vanderbilt University, as well as the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. She was awarded a Dean’s Scholarship and was also jointly awarded the J.D. Owen Prize for distinguishing herself through outstanding coursework in a Biblical field at Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Her research focus is on the letters of Paul where she interrogates the placement of agency and the displacement of presence and collective resources. Her research interests lie in the intersection of class, gender, racial-ethnic identity, and the re-production of nationalist ideology for exclusivity within nation-states and in Pentecostal traditions. Also, her research methodologies are interdisciplinary, encompassing postcolonial feminism, materialist criticism, political theology, and rhetorical criticism. She has presented her research both at national and international conferences on the study of religion and religious phenomena. Currently, Bunmi is working on her dissertation, and she is learning about the necessity of finding a balance between doing what she enjoys and creating a space for rest and play.