Dr. Joel Cabrita

Biography

Joel Cabrita is a historian specializing in modern Southern Africa, with a focus on Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and South Africa. His research examines transnational networks within the Southern African region connecting these countries to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. His recent book, The People’s Zion: Southern Africa, United States Transatlantic Faith-Healing Movement, published by Harvard University Press in 2018, investigates the convergence of evangelical piety, transnational networks, and the emergence of industrialized societies in Southern Africa and North America. Cabrita was awarded the Albert C. Outler Prize by the American Society of Church History in 2019 for this work. He has co-edited volumes, such as Relocating World Christianity, which explores the global dimensions of Christian practice and advocates for a reevaluation of Western-centric views of Christianity. His early research interests also include how Southern Africans have utilized old and new media forms, as reflected in his book, Text Authority: The South African Nazaretha Church. Cabrita holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and has held significant academic positions at SOAS (University of London) and the University of Cambridge before moving to Stanford. He has received prestigious early-career research awards, including the British Arts and Humanities Early Career Research Fellowship in 2015 and the Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2017.

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