Education
- Ph.D., Baylor University
- M.Div., Princeton Theological Seminary
- B.A., Baylor University
Courses
- Theology in the Southwest
- Race and Racism
- Introduction to Moral Theology
- Major Themes in the History of Christianity
- Independent Study: Ethics and Migration
Biography
Tyler B. Davis, Ph.D., teaches courses in moral theology and ethics at St. Mary’s, where he has taught since 2021. Recent courses have explored the history, theology and practice of sanctuary in South Texas. Davis supports initiatives and collaborations across St. Mary’s through the Department of Theology, Program in Mexican American Studies, Center for Catholic Studies and Office of Sponsored Projects.
His first book, God of the Whirlwind: Horror, Memory, and Story in Black Waco (Baylor University Press, 2025), is a community-based project that recovers and examines the significance of storytelling traditions about divine justice in a Black Texas community. His current research focuses on the international development of liberation theology as well as moral dimensions of sanctuary and migration.
Davis’ work has been supported by fellowships and grants from the Martin Marty Center (the University of Chicago Divinity School), the Cushwa Center (University of Notre Dame), the Crossroads Project (Princeton University) and the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation.
Selected Publications
Books
God of the Whirlwind: Horror, Memory, and Story in Black Waco. Baylor University Press, 2025.
Articles, Chapters and Essays
“Theology from Below: Liberation Theology as a Popular Movement and Freedom Practice,” Encyclopedia of Social Justice in Education, eds. Nina Mehta, Donna Nevel, Jason Wozniak. Forthcoming Bloomsbury.
“The Phantom Limb of the One-armed Bandit: Nigel Biggar’s Colonialism and the Crucified People of Quintana Road.” Conrad Grebel Review, 40.2 (Spring 2022 [2024]): 169-180. uwaterloo.ca/grebel/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/vol.-40-no.-2-spring_2022.pdf.
Davis, T., Siggelkow, R. “Turning Barth Right-Side-Up: James Cone and the Risks of a Contextual Theology of Revelation,” in Karl Barth and Liberation Theology, eds. Paul Dafydd Jones, Kaitlyn Dugan. Bloomsbury, 2022.
Davis, T., Harris, M. “‘in the hope that they can make their own future’: James H. Cone and the Third World,” Journal of Africana Religions, 7.2 (July 2019): 189-212. doi.org/10.5325/jafrireli.7.2.2019.0189.
“Liberating Discernment: Language, Concreteness, and Naming Divine Activity in History.” Religions: 10, 562 (2019), Special Issue: “Reenvisioning Christian Ethics.” mdpi.com/544604.
Public and Community Based Scholarship
“God of the Whirlwind: An Archive of a Black Waco Oral Tradition.” The Crossroads Project, Princeton University, 2023. crossroads-spirithouse.org/davis.
“Currently,” participatory exhibit on capital punishment by Mark Menjívar. Contributor. Haverford College, 2023. exhibits.haverford.edu/currently/.
“The Praxis of Faith: A Panel Conversation on the Life and Work of James Cone.” The Leadership Center for Social Justice Podcast, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, 2023. tinyurl.com/4szwtbum.
“Sí de Aquí, Sí de Allá: Storytelling as a Way to Empathy and Action.” Open Plaza of the Hispanic Theological Initiative, 2021. htiopenplaza.org/content/si-de-aqui-si-de-alla.