Kalamazoo College has named Dominique Somda and Taylor Petrey to endowed professorships, recognizing their outstanding scholarship, teaching and service to the institution. These distinguished positions are supported by earnings from endowments established through gifts to the College.
“Endowed professorships are vital to Kalamazoo College because they provide lasting support for the faculty members whose teaching and mentorship are at the heart of a liberal arts education,” Provost Danette Ifert Johnson said. “Dominique and Taylor bring extraordinary scholarship and a deep commitment to everything they do as professionals.”
Dominique Somda, Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Professor of African Studies
Somda’s research explores questions of power, social hierarchy, and ethics through anthropology. Her work examines the enduring legacies of slavery, Christianity and Lutheran missions, gender and the religious ethics of healthcare technologies within Madagascar ‘s postcolonial context and in conversation with feminist studies. Under her leadership, K re-established the African studies concentration in 2024. She also co-convenes Africa Month, an annual public celebration that brings world-renowned scholars, artists, filmmakers and performers to K.
Somda joined K in 2024 from the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA) at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she was a research fellow. Her academic career also has included visiting professorships in the Department of Anthropology at Reed College and in the Department of Anthropology and Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She previously served as a postdoctoral fellow at the London School of Economics and at the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Paris.
Beyond K, Somda contributes to the field of African studies through her professional service. She is an associate editor of the Canadian Journal of African Studies and serves on the board of the Canadian Association of African Studies. She received her Ph.D. from the Laboratoire d’Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative at the University of Paris Nanterre and holds two master’s degrees from the University of Paris Nanterre and the University Clermont Auvergne.
Taylor Petrey, Ann V. and Donald R. Parfet Distinguished Professor of Religion
Petrey teaches courses on the Bible and biblical interpretation, early Christianity, ancient Judaism, and theory and method in the study of religion. His research focuses on gender and sexuality in religion, especially in ancient Christianity and Mormonism. He is often interviewed by publications such as the Salt Lake Tribune, the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Detroit News.
Petrey is the author of Queering Kinship in the Mormon Cosmos (2024), Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism (2020) and Resurrecting Parts: Early Christians on Desire, Reproduction and Sexual Difference (2015). His work has been published in academic journals such as Religion and American Culture, Harvard Theological Review and the Journal of Early Christian Studies.
Since joining K in 2010, he has served as chair of the religion department; director of women, gender and sexuality; and chair of the faculty executive committee. Petrey also was a research associate and visiting associate professor at Harvard Divinity School in the 2016–17 academic year. He earned his bachelor’s at Pace University and his Th.D. and MTS from Harvard Divinity School.
