Faculty profile: Barbara Pemberton
Interdisciplinary focus, religious lens
May 15, 2019
- Rachel GaddisIf you were to play two truths and a lie with Dr. Barbara Pemberton, you would probably lose. Facts about her you would guess are untrue would turn out to be the truth – like how she once took a group of Ouachita students to Saudi Arabia, where she and her husband lived for a time. Or how she belongs to the International Society for the Study of New Religions. Or how her latest religious analysis is a book review on drone metal and spirituality.
“Writing about the intersection of new religious movements and popular music is entirely too much fun!” Pemberton said. “But it is an academic field that has become my little niche.”
Pemberton is entering her 19th year of teaching at Ouachita and her ninth as director of Ouachita’s Carl Goodson Honors Program. A scholar who has traveled the world to present academic research, Pemberton finds great joy while brainstorming thesis and directed study ideas with her honors students. And, having studied and seen much of the world herself, Pemberton is dedicated to helping her students see the world through the lens of religion.
“Undoubtedly, Barbara is one of the very best classroom teachers on campus,” said Dr. Danny Hays, dean of the Pruet School of Christian Studies. “She delivers a high level of academic scholarship in the classroom and general interdisciplinary discussions. And, there is that endless, constant influx of sheer energy that she brings to the entire school every time she walks in the building!”
Pemberton has been passionate about world religions since she surrendered to ministry at age 12. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi in radio & television production and philosophy/comparative religion – a new major created specifically for Pemberton.
She would later help start a mission church in Anchorage, Alaska, along with her husband, Jim, and serve as the church’s youth pastor. After earning a Master of Theology degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Pemberton earned a Ph.D. in religion from Baylor University and discovered new territory: Christian higher education. Another fact many would find hard to believe? She never anticipated teaching in a classroom setting.
“It was thrilling to take something that I love, and that I believe everyone needs to understand about world religions – to understand the world – and make it beneficial and applicable, no matter what my students’ majors,” Pemberton said.
Among the first classes Pemberton taught when she came to Ouachita in 2002 were Contemporary World and World Religions. She would later introduce an Islam class and establish the Pruet Sisterhood, a fellowship for women studying Christian studies at Ouachita. Now, Pemberton also teaches Discipleship in the Church and Interpreting the Bible.
From teaching her students sound Christian theology to introducing them to other cultures, Pemberton's classroom is not solely on campus. Her Islam class visits the mosque in Little Rock, and this summer she traveled, for the eighth time, as a guide for Ouachita’s European Study Tour.
“I want my students to really capture the connection between understanding other people, other religions and whatever field God is calling them to,” she said. “I know, from my own experience, God is going to use that in some amazing way.”
Photo by Andy Henderson
You Also Might Like
Recent
