Dr. Garry Sparks

Biography

Garry Sparks joined Princeton’s Department of Religion in Fall 2023 as an Associate Professor. His research focuses on ethnohistorical understandings of theological production in the Americas, particularly among Indigenous peoples. His areas of expertise include critical histories of Christian thought, religions of Indigenous peoples in the Americas, and religion in Latin America. He specifically examines periods of contact between Native Mesoamericans and Iberian missionaries during the sixteenth century, as well as current religious movements such as liberation theologies and Indigenous theology. His notable publications include 'Americas’ Theologies: Early Sources of Post-Contact Indigenous Religion' (Oxford University Press, 2017) and 'Rewriting Maya Religion: Domingo de Vico, K’iche’ Maya Intellectuals, and the Theologia Indorum' (University Press of Colorado, 2019). His current book project, in collaboration with Dr. Frauke Sachse from Dumbarton Oaks, involves a critical edition of the Library of Congress Kislak 1015 manuscript, tentatively titled 'Pastoral Fieldnotes: A Sixteenth-century Handbook for the Maya Highlands.' Sparks is coordinating critical translations of the Theologia Indorum, focusing on Mayan-language manuscripts.

Research Interests