Joseph Winters is an associate professor at Duke University in Religious Studies and African and African American Studies. Winters holds secondary appointments in English and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies. His interests lie at the intersection of black religious thought, black studies, and critical theory. His research examines the ways black literature and art develop alternative understandings of the sacred, the profane, and religiosity in response to the religious foundations and sources of anti-black racism. His first book, Hope Draped in Black: Race, Melancholy, and the Agony of Progress, was published by Duke University Press in 2016. He is currently finishing up a second manuscript titled, Disturbing Profanity: Hip Hop, Black Aesthetics, and the Volatile Sacred.