Villanova professors, with their various individual interests, experiences and publications, make themselves very difficult to introduce. Dr. Jennifer Joyce, who took a class taught by Dr. Crystal J. Lucky during her own undergraduate years, introduced Lucky by saying, “I was immediately captivated by my young, bright and beautiful professor, Dr. Crystal Lucky. I thought to myself: I want to captivate students the way she does.”

Cultivating feelings like this one in a student is the mark of a true professor. Professors aren’t there simply to teach facts or instruct you on how to write a paper. Professors profess; they profess their beliefs about texts, about the opinions of other scholars and even about whole historical movements. We can tell that Professor Lucky meets the criteria for this description based on Joyce’s description; especially when she continued, “she really brings all of who she is to what she does, and that balance and grace shines through to all who encounter her.”

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Dr. Crystal J. Lucky poses for a photo.

In addition to the intangibles, Dr. Lucky boasts an impressive résumé that demonstrates her own dedication to issues of faith and issues of race. With bachelors degrees in English and communication, a masters in African-American Studies, and a Ph.D. in English (all from the University of Penn and Yale), her academic prowess hardly needs explanation. Dr. Lucky is an expert on 19th and 20th century African-American literature, with specific interests in African-American Christian religious thought, the author Toni Morrison, and playwright August Wilson.

Dig Deeper by reading some of her scholarly work, available through these links:

• African American Women Writers and the Short Story
• Her thesis: Without holiness: Free Black women’s spiritual narratives of the nineteenth century
• Her review of “Writing through Jane Crow: Race and Gender Politics in African American Literature.”

In addition to teaching English here at Villanova, her professional career has also included teaching at Washington College, serving as an Assistant Ordained Pastor for the Sword of the Spirit Church, and serving as the District Superintendent for the Church of the Living God International, Inc. in Maryland.

A candid shot of Dr. Lucky.

Her talk at the Falvey, titled “Rev. Charlotte Riley and the Image of Black Women’s Piety,” will take place this afternoon (Thursday, Oct. 27) at 4 pm. Dr. Lucky came across a forgotten autobiography of Rev. Charlotte Riley in her research and published the memoir with a critical introduction and her own notes. The event is co-sponsored by the Africana Studies Program.

Article by William Repetto, a graduate assistant on the Communications and Marketing Team at the Falvey Memorial Library. He is currently pursuing an MA in English at Villanova University.