Derrick Hudson

Dr. Hudson is a Teaching Associate Professor of International Relations in the Division of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, where he teaches undergraduate courses in International Relations, African History and in the HASS Graduate program.  He earned his PhD in International Relations from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.  He specializes in religion and politics in Africa, with particular expertise on the role of prophetic Christianity as an agent for social change in selected historically deeply divided societies. His teaching interests also includes the role of truth commissions as societies are in transition from authoritarian to democratic rule and will teach a course on power and leadership in the McBride Honors Program at CSM.  Prior to coming to Mines, Dr. Hudson was an Assistant Professor in the Department of African and African American Studies at Metropolitan State College of Denver in which he gained valuable experience in teaching African American Studies, Social Movements, and Kenyan Politics and Culture.  He developed and led a team of students for a one-month study abroad experience in Kenya in 2007.  Prior to earning his doctorate, Dr. Hudson has worked with several Denver-based nonprofit organizations as a Program Director, Academic Director, and served as an affiliate faculty member at Colorado Christian University in which he developed a program in Urban Studies and Leadership.  His field work has been conducted in numerous countries, most notably South Africa, Kenya, Sudan, and Guatemala.  He is currently finishing an article that explores the common patterns of resistant spirituality amongst Indigenous people in Mesoamerica and Afro-Caribbean peoples in the Caribbean.  His next major project will explore the transition processes as southern Sudan declares its independence in 2011.  Prior to his academic career, Dr. Hudson served as an Air Weapons Controller with the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWCS) in the United States Air Force in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, western Europe, and Puerto Rico.