— Cori Tucker-Price, 4th-Year PhD Student in...

Cori Tucker-Price, 4th-Year PhD Student in Religion and Society

“A scripture that inspires me is ‘Seek ye first his kingdom and righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.’ I don’t want to possess the world in any kind of way. I don’t want to privilege my ideas; I want to privilege the good of humanity. I have to refocus myself to not be so self-invested that I want to be exalted. I want to exalt something bigger than myself.”

Beginnings

I didn’t expect to pursue religion. I was a communication major and political science minor. I thought I wanted to go into journalism or law.

The summer before my senior year I went to a camp at Catalina Island with a group called InterVarsity and for a week we read through several parts of the Bible. I remember I had ethical questions about things we read. During my senior year I went to a prospective student meeting at a school and a professor encouraged me to check out the master of theological studies program at HDS. I thought, “I’ve never taken a religion course. What am I doing?” It looked like a really great program because it seemed as if I could build my interests through the course work, but then the thought of leaving California–where I was born and raised–was a little scary. I wrote my personal statement for the application but didn’t turn it in by the deadline.

Then HDS announced that the deadline was extended, and I thought, “This must be a sign.” I wrote it and rewrote it, and then I submitted it and I didn’t tell anyone. Right before spring break I found out I was admitted. That’s where it all started.

Research

The project I’m working on examines how African Americans who migrated to California during the early twentieth century organized their lives within a religious institution–and how that helped them to bolster claims to citizenship and inclusion in the wartime effort. During World War II, when the mass influx of African Americans moved out to the West Coast, the People’s Independent Church of Christ helped them secure employment and housing. The church is fascinating but its historical narrative is missing in the academic field. I hope my project will complicate what we already know about southern and northern migration and also expand what we know about how religious institutions have contributed to cultural and historical shifts.

Faith

I grew up Christian nondenominational. My dad was raised Seventh Day Adventist and my mom was raised in the Church of Christ, but we went to a nondenominational church. Sometimes we went to Seventh Day Adventist services.

In the Wilderness

Before I moved and started my master’s program, my grandmother told me, “You’re in the wilderness. You are out there to figure it out.” I held onto that when I moved out here because it really did feel like I was in the wilderness at times.

Especially now, since I’m writing my dissertation, I keep the memory and the history of people who’ve passed on since I’ve been in this program. Since I’ve been out here for so long there are people in my family who have died who haven’t been able to see this come to fruition. My project studies people who made a migration to the West Coast. I often imagine the kind of the faith they must have taken with them on that journey, to be able to leave their families and go to a completely different place in order to have a better life.

Sometimes when I’m writing my dissertation I’m thinking of their stories, but I’m also thinking about all of the other migrant stories and how many people feel like they might be wandering through life. There are metaphors that relate to my faith that I see in the work I’m doing.

Words of Wisdom

Looking back, if I could give myself advice at the start of my program, I probably would have told myself to trust more of my instincts and to make more time for myself. There were so many times during the master’s program where I would fall asleep studying and just wake up with my laptop and books all around me. There’s something special about looking back on that time–it was magical because I was consuming so much information and I was mentally exhausted. It was great, but if I could go back and do things differently, I would have made time to foster the relationships that sustained me. I would have made more of an effort to do that instead of placing everything I was doing here on such a high pedestal. I would have wanted to think about my life holistically.

What to Love about HDS

I don’t think there’s one traditional divinity school student. When you get all those personalities in a classroom it becomes an interesting and dynamic conversation.

I met my husband here, who has been an incredible source of support, comfort and love. Clearly, the people at HDS are fantastic!

My advisor, Jonathon Walton, has been phenomenal. Marla Frederick is on my committee. Wallace Best, who is at Princeton, is also on my committee. His book inspired my project. The support and mentorship of these people has sustained me through my program.

My family has also been a source of wisdom and support. In addition to my husband’s patience and constant reassurances, I also have a loving family in Bakersfield, California who have guided me throughout my life.

Finding Inspiration