Department News
Jeremy Steinberg Publishes Article in Judaica
Jeremy Steinberg, doctoral candidate in RELS, has just published a new journal article in Judaica: Neue Digitale Folge
Dr. Angela Xia Interviewed about Her Research
Dr. Angela Xia, former doctoral student and now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Notre Dame, has been interviewed by the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism.
Congratulations to Dr. Max Dugan!
Max Dugan successfully passed the defense of his doctoral dissertation “Feeling Authentically Islamic: Halal Consumption, Islamic Traditions, and Material Religion in a Gentrify
Professor Schaefer's "Sacred Stuff" Gets Coverage in Penn Today
Professor Schaefer took members of his Penn Global Seminar, "Sacred Stuff," on a tour of the UK to sites such as churches and stone circles.
Congratulations to Dr. Angela Xia!
On July 10, Angela Xia successfully defended her dissertation, "The Rest of Life: Old Age and the Politics of Care in the United States, 1946-1981." The newly minted Dr.
Congratulations to Dr. Ali Noori
Ali Noori successfully defended his dissertation, "Pious Praise Poetry: Emotions, Piety, and the Making of Medieval Islamic Subject," on June 27th, 2024.
Jeremy Steinberg Named 2024–25 Wolf Humanities Center Doctoral Fellow
PhD Candidate Jeremy Steinberg has been named the Wolf Humanities Center Doctoral Fellow for the 2024–25 academic year. He will participate in a series of workshops on the theme of "Keywords."
Graduate Students Win Research Prizes
The Graduate Group in Religious Studies is pleased to announce the recipients of several annual prizes.
Kirby Sokolow Receives Dissertation Research Award
PhD Candidate Kirby Sokolow has received a Dissertation Research Award in support of her archival and oral historical research for her dissertation, “Buddhist Exceptionalism Behind Bars: Transformi
Claire Elliot Receives Hopkinson Fellowship
PhD student Claire Elliot was recently selected as a recipient of the Hopkinson Fellowship.
With particular strengths in the study of Christianity, Judaism, American religions, Islam, secularism, Buddhism, and other Asian religions, the Department of Religious Studies emphasizes descriptive, historical, and theoretical approaches to the study of religion.
Upcoming Events
A Body of Knowledge: Reperformance and Embodiment as Rigorous Historical Method
RELS Colloquium
Lauren Mancia (Brooklyn College/Grad Center at CUNY)
Wehshat: Or, the Poetry and Ethics of Living with the Unbearable.
RELS Colloquium
Anand Vivek Taneja (Vanderbilt)
Premeditated Indifference: Shadowboxing the Ridiculous
American Lectures in the History of Religions
Emilie M. Townes, Boston University School of Theology
Faculty Bookshelf
Wayward Distractions: Ornament, Emotion, Zombies and the Study of Buddhism in Thailand
When more than 93 per cent of the citizens of one country profess a single religion, as Thais do Buddhism, and when that religion is deeply integrated into national institutions and ideologies, it
The Origin of the Jews
The Jews have one of the longest continuously recorded histories of any people in the world, but what do we actually know about their origins?
Muslims Against the Muslim League: Critiques of the Idea of Pakistan
An anthology of essays, edited by Ali Usman Qasmi and Megan Eaton Robb, exploring Muslim criticism of the founding of Pakistan.
From Mulberry Leaves to Silk Scrolls: New Approaches to the Study of Asian Manuscript Traditions
From Mulberry Leaves to Silk Scrolls is a multidisciplinary consideration of Asian manuscripts.
Solomon: The Lure of Wisdom
Tradition has it that King Solomon knew everything there was to know—the mysteries of nature, of love, of God himself—but what do we know of him?
Gathering Leaves and Lifting Words: Histories of Buddhist Monastic Education in Laos and Thailand
Gathering Leaves and Lifting Words examines modern and premodern Buddhist monastic education traditions in Laos and Thailand.
The FBI and Religion
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has had a long and tortuous relationship with religion over almost the entirety of its existence.
Buddhist Narrative in Asia and Beyond
Publication of the proceedings of the conference "Buddhist Narrative in Asia and Beyond" at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, August 2010, edited by Peter Skilling & Justin McDaniel.
Religion and the Self in Antiquity
Many recent studies have argued that the self is a modern invention, a concept developed in the last three centuries.
The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk: Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand
Stories centering on the lovelorn ghost (Mae Nak) and the magical monk (Somdet To) are central to Thai Buddhism.
Jacob of Sarug’s Homilies on Women Whom Jesus Met
Bi-lingual in Syriac and English. Published by Gorgias Press.
The Throne Carrier of God: The Life and Thought of ‘Ala’ ad-dawla as-Simnani
This book constitutes a comprehensive investigation of the life and teachings of one of the most famous Sufis of the Iranian world.