Pastor R. Janae Pitts-Murdock is the Senior Pastor at Light of the World Christian Church (DOC) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is focused on studying the intersection of race, rhetoric, and religion; specifically, the contributions of African-American preachers to American culture. For her dissertation, she’s investigating the rhetorical artistry of Rev. C.L. Franklin, an iconic figure in the Black preaching tradition. Janae is using rhetorical analysis through close reading as her primary method of investigation.
She chose the PhD Program in African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric because it provides a unique opportunity to participate in the scholarly mining and celebration of the Black preaching tradition. Janae believes the program will equip her with tools to research and analyze texts and, ultimately, discover meaningful elements of rich oratory.
Some of Janae’s achievements include:
- Serving as the first female pastor of Light of the World Christian Church in its 154-year history
- Presenting “Black Liberation Rhetoric and Christian Proclamation: Rev. C.L. Franklin and The Meaning of Black Power” as a panelist for the Center for the Study of African American Rhetoric and Public Address and Memphis Theological Seminary virtual conference “The Contours and Configurations of Black Religious Rhetoric”
- Presenting “C.L. Franklin and Womanism: A Close reading of ‘Hosea and Gomer'” at the 16th Biennial Communications Ethics Conference at Duquesne University
