There’s an interesting moment near the end of a new online interview with the Duke University’s David Morgan, Chair of his Department, when he reveals far more than he might imagine. […]
Month: December 2013
Religious Difference and the Monkey King of Oklahoma City
Interested in what our own Mike Altman has to say about the current goings on in Oklahoma concerning public religious monuments? Then click here. […]
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Bonding with a Himalayan Spider
by Hannah Etchison Hannah Etchison, a graduating senior majoring in Religious Studies with a minor in Asian Studies, spent six weeks of this fall in India, staying primarily at a monastery where she learned from the women staying there and helped them with their English. Don’t miss her previous posts about her experiences (Hannah Goes to India 1, Hannah Goes to India 2, iPhones, Monks and the Images We Construct, Immediate Relativism). I’ve been getting it a lot: “how was India?” I generally follow up with […]
“We’re in a Tight Spot”
I once went to a presentation, delivered by a education consultant, on the history of MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) and how a university such as my own might utilize this technology. The irony was that the whole presentation, which didn’t so much argue as assert that “traditional” lectures are pedagogically uninspiring and unengaging for students, was a 90 minute lecture (I kid you not — I timed it) accompanied by routine PowerPoint bar graphs and Venn diagrams. That’s it. […]
For Example…
What’s the relevance of the study of religion? Well, religious studies students know how to study things like myths and origins tales, right? And all of us tell origins tales, no? From Uncle so-and-so spinning an annual yarn at some family holiday to scholars trying to find the origins of civilization, we’re all doing it. So that suggests that we’re particularly well-equipped to say a fair bit about how these tales work and why we all tell them. For example, […]
AAR, Take Three
We know you’ve been waiting for the third installment of interviews from the AAR. This video features two of our faculty members, Profs. Eleanor Finnegan and Steven Ramey, talking on their conference experience and the benefits of collaboration at these conferences. AAR 2013: Talking with Our Faculty from UA Religious Studies. […]
AAR, Take Two
Prof. Ted Trost, who is currently on sabbatical at Leeds University in Leeds, England, met up with us at the AAR to talk about what he’s doing during his year abroad. To find out more about sabbaticals and Prof. Trost’s work, take a look at the latest video from the AAR. And stay tuned for Part III… AAR 2013: Talking Sabbaticals with Prof. Trost from UA Religious Studies. […]
REL at the National Conference for the American Academy of Religion, 2013
The faculty of the Department of Religious Studies recently attended the National Conference for the American Academy of Religion which was held in Baltimore, MD, this year. The interviews are broken into three parts with the first one featuring our Instructors Profs. Sarah Rollens and Michael Altman. See what they had to say about their conference experience, and stay tuned for more… REL Goes to the 2013 AAR from UA Religious Studies. […]
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Immediate Relativism
by Hannah Etchison Hannah Etchison, a graduating senior majoring in Religious Studies with a minor in Asian Studies, spent six weeks of this fall in India, staying primarily at a monastery where she learned from the women staying there and helped them with their English. Don’t miss her previous posts about her experiences (Hannah Goes to India 1, Hannah Goes to India 2, iPhones, Monks and the Images We Construct). Indian food is way better than Japanese food. This Buddhist temple smells exactly […]
There And Back Again, Part 2
Tim Davis (right), visited the Department on December 4, 2013, as the second returning grad in our new “There and Back Again: A Grad’s Tale” speakers’ series. Tim graduated from UA in 2006, taught high school Spanish for two years, before returning to UA for law school. He is now practicing law, with an emphasis in civil litigation, in St. Clair County, AL. […]