Rhodes Berry learned to analyze and compose arguments as an REL major and those skills have been instrumental in his success as an Air Force lawyer. […]
Read More from From REL Undergrad to an Air Force Major: Learning to Analyze and Construct Arguments
Jacob Barrett is a first year M.A. student in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama. From Colorado Springs, he earned his B.A. from Nebraska Wesleyan University in Philosophy & Religion and Biology. In the Spring he will present his research at the southeast regional meeting of the American Academy of Religion. Junior year of my undergraduate degree, I was asked by the chair of the Religious Studies department to represent the major at an event where […]
Read More from The Relevance of Religious Studies is Not that We Study Religion
Prof. Steven Jacobs has worked in the Department of Religious Studies for nearly two decades now. As a professor and the Aaron Aronov Chair of Judaic Studies, Dr. Jacobs spends his time lecturing, researching, and especially reading and writing. Beyond his focus in biblical translation and interpretation, Jewish-Christian relations, the Holocaust, and historical and contemporary genocides, Prof. Jacobs has written and edited numerous books and articles across varying subject matters (with one work that was even translated into Japanese and Arabic). […]
With the start of another school year right around the corner I’m thinking about service — one of those three main areas into which scholars usually divide up their work (the others being research and teaching, of course — and the order in which they’re written is not insignificant). It’s not hard to find faculty posting on social media bemoaning committee work, as if it gets in the way of a professor’s real work, but I’m here to say how […]
In my Introduction to Religious Studies course, my students think a lot about “making the strange familiar and familiar strange.” With those lessons in mind, I thought I’d make a bit more familiar for students who won’t see me as much in the Spring a practice that happens within the academy—the sabbatical. After being awarded tenure (typically in year 5 or 6), professors can apply for a sabbatical by outlining a specific research project that would benefit from some time […]
It’s that time of the semester: final essays. But before you mash the print button or send that paper to your professor, you should take a quick look at this writing advice from Prof. Matthew Bagger. Prof. Bagger gave these tips to his REL 360 course but they are helpful for any papers you may have coming due this semester. “If there’s anything [God] hates, it is… oozy writing.” –William James (1905) A good persuasive essay presents a cogent and compelling […]
Read More from Writing Well: An Incomplete Set of Guidelines
Given that we’re once again on the verge of exam time, and many REL students are now beginning to write their end-of-term papers, we thought we’d offer this helpful 11-step plan for crafting the ideal essay. 1. Get Inspired […]