Mel Webb
Professor of Instruction, Program Director, The Philosophy & Literature Circle & Texas Education Justice Alliance-South, Philosophy and Classics
Contact
- MH 04.02.82
- Mel.Webb@utsa.edu
Bio
Dr. Mel Webb (they/them) is a queer theological social ethicist who believes in the power of circle processes to transform lives and communities, foster trust and accountability, and generate possibilities for more just, peaceful, and liberatory futures. Dr. Webb founded and currently directs The Philosophy and Literature Circle program, which brings together participants who are incarcerated and university students engage and create works in literature, philosophy, and the arts. The mission of the Circle is to cultivate collaborative learning communities so that people in prison and beyond can thrive and build trust across divides. Through UTSA, Dr. Webb launched the first Circle with UTSA students and participants at the Dominguez State Jail in spring 2019 and, in partnership with faculty and staff at Trinity University, launched a second Circle with Trinity students and participants at the Torres Unit in spring 2020. Mel has over fifteen years of teaching experience in universities, seminaries, online classrooms, churches, and prisons. As a member of the Humanities and Liberal Arts Assessment Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, they studied manifold ways in which the humanities support personal well-being and catalyze civic engagement and political participation.
Dr. Webb’s commitment to promoting social and personal well-being motivates their approach to teaching and program-building. Their faith in students’ capacities to build a more just and peaceful world drives program and course design that approach learning as a process of self-transformation through meaningful encounters. Dr. Webb fosters students’ capabilities as ethical subjects who see themselves as constructive members of a learning community that bridges time, space, and our own contemporary divides. Such outcomes become possible through recognition of the full dignity of each member of our learning community; the importance of responsibility and accountability in our personal and collective growth; and the role of truth- and story-telling in developing trust and fostering just transformation. Mel invites students into critical, compassionate, creative, and collaborative engagement with ourselves, the course materials, our colleagues, and our world.
Dr. Webb approaches their research, like their teaching, as a collaborative, interdisciplinary process. They have studied Augustine and Augustinianisms, moral and ethical imagination, and pastoral responses to sexual and state violence. Mel also pursues collaborative research opportunities with scholars across several different disciplines, including political theory, cognitive psychology, social work, healthcare, and educational theory. Their most recent publications include co-authored pieces in the Bloomsbury Handbook of Prison Education, edited by Erin S. Corbett, and a co-authored chapter on “Transformative Justice” in the Encyclopedia of Social Work (Oxford).
Building on the success of The Philosophy and Literature Circle, they are now directing the development of the Texas Education Justice Alliance-South (TEJA-S), which links institutions of higher education to contribute to a more just, peaceful, and free society by making high-quality, arts- and humanities-based postsecondary education accessible to people who are incarcerated in the South-Central Texas region and upon return to their communities.
Research Interests
- Theological, religious, and social ethics, with a focus on queer and trans studies
- Historical and literary Christian theology, with a focus on early Christianity and late antiquity
- Critical, engaged, and transformative educational theories and practices, with a focus on higher education in prison
- Restorative and transformative justice approaches for education and collective care
Degrees
- Ph.D. in Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary (2016)
- Th.M. in Theology/Philosophy, Princeton Theological Seminary (2009)
- M.Div., Reformed Theological Seminary-Orlando (2007)
- B.A. in Philosophy and Religion, Covenant College (2004)
Honors and Awards
2024: SA Lights Award from the San Antonio Express-News, honoring individuals in the community who make a difference
2024: Richard S. Howe Undergraduate Teaching Award from UTSA
2021-2022: Public Humanities Fellowship with the Humanities Collective at Trinity University
2020: President’s Distinguished Excellence in Community Engagement Award from UTSA
2014-2015: Princeton Theological Seminary: Graduate Instructor Award
