Yanan Rahim N. Melo is a writer, artist, and
theologian from Cagayan de Oro, Philippines
Curriculum Vitae
Music
Born and raised in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, Yanan is currently pursuing his M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS), where he engages with the intersections of theology, politics, and the arts. His academic journey began at Moody Bible Institute, where he earned a B.A. in Theology, studying race and postcolonial theology. This foundational work has informed his current focus at PTS on political theology and decolonial theory, for which he received The Archibald Alexander Hodge Award in Systematic Theology and The Edward A. Dowey Jr. Award for Excellence in Reformation Theology.
Yanan's forthcoming master's thesis, After Asian America: Doing Theology at the End of the World, investigates how Asian American Theology must remain unwaveringly committed to liberation theology’s demand for the “option for the poor” if it is to have any prophetic witness at the end of the world. To accompany this thesis, he is crafting a contemporary classical album, Palimpsests: A Theology, which contemplates the open-ended, palimpsestic nature of doing theology.
Outside academia, Yanan is an accomplished writer with essays published in Sojourners, Bittersweet Monthly, Christianity Today, Space on Space, Geez Magazine, Interfaith America, and more. He serves as the Managing Editor for the Center for Barth Studies and as the Magazine Editor for the Center for Asian American Christianity—both esteemed research centers at Princeton Seminary. His involvement in broader discussions of faith and society is evident in his role as a Global Interfaith and Climate Change Fellow with Faith For Our Planet and Duke University. Currently, as a This Common Life Fellow at the Scholarship for Religion and Society, he leads a cohort called "Doing Theology and the Arts in a Time of War."
Yanan's creativity extends beyond the academy and the written word. Through his music project Yanan & Siegfried, he weaves threads of theology, theory, and sound. Crafting genre-defying compositions, Yanan draws from a rich tapestry of influences, from post-rock to hip-hop and electronic music. His music crafts liminal spaces, suspended in the tension of possibility, inviting listeners to explore alternative modes of living, being, and belonging together.
He currently resides in Princeton, New Jersey, with his wife Christine.
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Connect with Yanan:
Email, yananrahim@gmail.com
Bandcamp, Yanan & Siegfried
Newsletter, Sacred Sonder
Instagram, @yananrahim
LinkedIn, /yananrahim