Professor and Holstein Family and Community Chair in Religious Studies
Faculty Graduate Advisor
INTN 2046
melissa.wilcox@ucr.edu
Office Hours
By appointment in Fall 2019.
Biography
Melissa M. Wilcox received her doctorate in Religious Studies from U.C. Santa Barbara in 2000. Her transdisciplinary research program focuses on queer and transgender studies in religion, with particular emphasis on the U.S. in the context of transnational queer and religious politics. Her books include Coming Out in Christianity: Religion, Identity, and Community (Indiana University Press, 2003); Sexuality and the World’s Religions (co-edited with David W. Machacek; ABC-CLIO, 2003); Queer Women and Religious Individualism (Indiana University Press, 2009); Religion in Today’s World: Global Issues, Sociological Perspectives (Routledge, 2013), and Queer Nuns: Religion, Activism, and Serious Parody (NYU Press, Sexual Cultures series, 2018). Her 2009 book received the annual book award from the Sociology of Religion Section of the American Sociological Association. She is currently finalizing two textbooks focused on sexuality and queer studies in religion, and beginning work on two new projects: one, tentatively entitled Queering/Religioning, will be an exploration of theory at the intersection of queer studies, trans studies, and religious studies; and one, tentatively entitled Ecstasies, will focus on leather spiritualities.