What follows is Alondra Arriaga-Rosales’s address as delivered at the School of Liberal Arts Commencement, May 10th, 2024 Welcome students. My name is Alondra Arriaga-Rosales, and I am one amongst many 2024 School of Liberal Arts graduates. Can you all believe that we have made it right celebrating our academic success?! Today marks the end …
Read MoreExploring the Ethical Landscape: Why You Should Enroll in REL-R 383 Power, Sex, and Money In a world where ethical dilemmas constantly challenge our moral compass, the importance of understanding diverse perspectives on issues such as war, medicine, discrimination, welfare, marriage, and sexuality cannot be overstated. These topics not only shape our individual lives but …
Read MoreAt a time when the humanities are often overlooked in favor of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, Dr. Rachel Wheeler, chair of Religious Studies, proposed an innovative solution to revitalize the humanities: one-credit “co-labs” attached to STEM courses. Dr. Wheeler’s idea seeks to address the imbalance between technical skills and essential humanistic understanding …
Read MoreWhat can a religious studies major or minor offer you? How does it benefit? Read what some students have to say about their time in religious studies. “Religious studies is very eye opening. We get to learn and talk about so many topics that most people don’t talk about often in an academic way.” – …
Read MorePrepare your Spring 2024 schedule with courses in Religious Studies! Here are the upcoming semester course offerings: REL-R 101 Religion and Culture (3 cr.) An introduction to the diversity of human cultures from the perspective of religious studies. The course uses a case study approach to understand how religion shapes, and is shaped by, culture and …
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In May 2023, King Charles III was crowned with all the pomp and ceremony that the shrunken British Empire can still muster in the way of symbolic excess. It was a grand spectacle, made even more so by the extravagant regalia and ritual finery on display: the radiant emblems of rule encrusted with jewels, the …
Read MoreWhat happens when you load our Course Bulletin into ChatGPT and ask it to speak Gen Z? Read on to find out! REL R103 The Bible and Culture: Fulfills Cultural Understanding General Education Core requirement. A cultural introduction to this central text of Western civilization. Explores some of the Bible’s major themes and literatures in …
Read MoreOver the last academic year, two students Kayla McVeigh and Alondra Arriaga-Rosales, have been working as Religious Studies Community Engagement Associates (CEAs) with Dr. Kelly Hayes. As Community Engagement Associates Alondra and Kayla work with their faculty mentor on a community-centered project, conducting interviews, compiling a list of community contacts, and creating a final report …
Read MoreBy Prof. Tom Davis and Kayla McVeigh “A real conversation always contains an invitation. You are inviting another person to reveal herself or himself to you, to tell you who they are or what they want.” David Whyte About a year and a half ago, I found myself seated next to Jing Wang, a colleague …
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While I was still writing Muslims of the Heartland: How Syrian Immigrants Made a Home in the American Midwest (NYU Press, 2022), I became determined to take the book back to the places where its stories unfolded from the 1890s to the 1940s. At first, I thought that perhaps I should do one big road trip and …
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