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José is a Ph.D. Candidate specializing in early modern Latin American history, studying the historical interplay between Africana religions and Christianity. His research interests intersect around race and slavery, the development and expression of African religiosity, and historical, theological, and theoretical interpretations of Christian interaction with surrounding cultures and religions in the Atlantic world. His dissertation, "Slave Servants and Saved Souls: Jesuit Evangelization and the Development of Afro-Caribbean Catholicism, 1605-1654," questions the early formation of Afro-Caribbean Catholicism through the encounter of enslaved Africans with the missional thought and methods of Jesuit missionaries in the early 17th century. Beyond scratching the surface of such little-known Afro-Catholic histories, his work further aims to provide solid historical grounding for the continuing work of critically understanding the popularly misunderstood complex relationship between and development of religion, race, and slavery in Latin America and the U.S.A.

José has a B.S. in Sport Management and M.A. in Theological Studies from the University of Dayton. He is a member of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States, the American Society for Church History, and a doctoral scholar with the Hispanic Theological Initiative. He is from Cleveland, Ohio, where he currently resides with his wife, Amberly, and three children, Luis, Leo, and Ávila.

Dissertation Advisors: Drs. Carlos Cardoza-Orlandi and James H. K. Lee

Dissertation Title: "Slave Servants and Saved Souls: Jesuit Evangelization and the Development of Afro-Caribbean Catholicism, 1605-1654"

Publications: 

Santana, José L. "To Walk with Slaves: Jesuit Contexts and the Atlantic World in the Cartagena Mission to Enslaved Africans, 1605–1654." Religions 12, no. 5 (2021): 334. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12050334.

Santana, José L. "Review of Romero & Grande: Companions on the Journey, by Ana María Pineda, R.S.M." Perspectivas 17 (2020): https://perspectivasonline.com/books/romero-grande-companions-on-the-journey-by-ana-maria-pineda-r-s-m-lectio-publishing-2016-200-pages-19-95/.

Presentations:

"Resistance and the African Heritage in Caribbean Catholicism." Presented at Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States annual colloquium, Dayton, Ohio, June 4, 2019.

"Permeability and Resistance: Toward an Interreligious Dialogue Between Santería and Catholicism." Presented at Paths to Unity: Christian Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue Today, Perkins School of Theology, Dallas, Texas, March 4, 2019.

"An Absent History: The Marks of Africa on Puerto Rican Popular Catholicism." Presented at Stander Symposium, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, April 2017.

"Growth Mindset and Catholic Social Teaching." Presented at Colors of Leadership Conference, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, March 2016. Co-presented with Amberly Santana.

Fellowships, Awards, and Service to the Profession:

2022-2023 Dissertation Fellowship, Honorary, Louisville Institute

2021-2022 Doctoral Fellowship, Forum for Theological Exploration

2020-2021 HTI/Lilly Dissertation Fellowship, Hispanic Theological Initiative

2017-2020 Fellowship in Latino/a Christianity and Religions, Center for the Study of Latino/a Christianity and Religions at Perkins School of Theology

2016 Graduate Student Summer Fellowship, University of Dayton

Organizational Administrative Intern, ACHTUS

Research Assistant, Center for the Study of Latino/a Christianity and Religions

SMU Community Life Chair, GPRS Graduate Student Organization, SMU