| Full Name |
Sela E. Finau |
| Bio |
I am a native of Tonga, a small group of islands situated in Oceania, otherwise known as the Pacific. For me, it is the South Pacific. I was born and raised there for the first few years until my family migrated to another Pacific Island, namely the Islands of Hawai’i, also known as the 50th State of the U.S. I could, perhaps, tell you a talanoa, a story, of how Hawai’i and other Pacific Islands were subjugated to foreign powers, but that would take a while. Simply, the islands is home. One of my fondest memories of growing up and attending school in the islands, particularly Hawai’i, was walking to the beach once a week as part of the school’s fourth grade curriculum. That was a long time ago. Since then, I have drifted towards the “mainland” and have taken up residence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the past twenty something years. I am currently enrolled in my last semester as an MDiv student at Perkins Schools of Theology, SMU, in Dallas, Texas. As part of the MDiv program, I am serving a local church as a ministerial intern. My other profession is in the financial/investment sector, where I currently hold a position. Life is busy! My developing interests are in the areas of postcolonial, postmodern, feminist, ecological crisis, and diaspora. Particularly, I am interested in culture hermeneutics and seeing how various groups develop and implement knowledge by making it part of their culture and/or religious identity. I am also interested in analyzing the economic effects that each of these bring to that particular context. |
| Focus |
Theory and Theology |
| Category |
Poco Student-MA |
| Keywords |
#christianity , #climate change in the pacific, #diaspora, #ecological crisis in the pacific, #ecology, #feminist theology, #hybrid and identity, #interreligious dialogue, #oceanian theology, #pacific islands, #pasifiki theology, #polynesia, #polynesian, #postmodernity, #race and #culture, #south pacific, #tonga islands, #women’s studies, #world christianities, #world religions |
| Geographic Location |
Australia-Oceania |
Education
| Alma Mater(s) |
Perkins School of Theology , Southern Methodist University (2012)Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University (2009) University of Texas at Arlington (2003) |
| Degree(s) |
MTS , BBA (Finance) |
| Dissertation or Thesis Title |
MTS Thesis (2009) , A Feminist Christology from an Out-of-Place Oceanian Drifter |
| Description |
The title in itself refers to my physical and social location, and re-presents my reality of not truly belonging to any permanent post, but rather drifting between places. Indeed, the thesis is contextualized between and betwixt various locations, in diaspora, and as a foreigner to many places. It is at this drifting location(s), that I de/re-construct a Christology, but particularly from a feminist, unorthodox, hybrid-identity, postcolonial, postmodern and an out-of-place identity. |
| Supervisor |
Professor , Dr. Namsoon Kang (MTS Advisor, Brite, TCU) |
Additional Information
| Website |
http://smu.academia.edu/SelaFinau, http://finaus.wordpress.com (a developing blog!) |
