He holds a doctorate in English from Duke University, with a certificate in African and African American Studies, and a Master of Theological Studies degree from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, with concentrations in feminist thought and queer theology. Crawley's research and teaching experience spans the areas of Black Studies, Performance Theory and Sound Studies, Philosophy and Theology, and Black Feminist and Queer Theories. He is at work on a book that investigates the relationship of aesthetic productions to modes of collective intellectual practice.