HTI Alumni
Melissa Pagán
Director of Graduate Religious Studies & Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles
Field(s) of Study: Religion and Ethics
Dr. Melissa Pagán is a decolonial feminist ethicist. She holds a Ph.D. in Religion, Ethics, and Society from Emory University. Her current research project provides a feminist decolonial and critical spatial appraisal of the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching to ascertain whether, and to what extent the coloniality of knowledge, coloniality of being, and coloniality of gender undergird and therefore undermine its teachings on social justice. Dr. Pagán’s areas of expertise and research include feminist social ethics, critical geographies, postcolonial and decolonial theories and theologies, and Latinx theologies. For the academic year 2021-2022, Dr. Pagán was the recipient of a First Book Grant for Scholars of Color from the Louisville Institute. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS), the Board of Directors for the Web Branch of Feminist Studies in Religion, Inc., and is the current Chair for the Committee on Underrepresented Groups for the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA). She is currently Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Religious Studies at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles.