The Department of Religion is thrilled to be bringing Professor Judith Weisenfeld (Princeton University) to campus. Dr. Weisenfeld’s most recent book is Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery’s Wake (NYU, 2025), which examines the ways 19^th century Black religious practices were used as justifications for the widespread commitment of Black Americans in psychiatric wards. Dr. Weisenfeld has also done groundbreaking research on religio-racial groups during the Great Migration and early Hollywood’s promotion of “race films” that focused on Black religion.