Author: Michael Altman

About Michael Altman: Michael J. Altman is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies. Dr. Altman's areas of interest are American religious history, theory and method in the study of religion, the history of comparative religion, and Asian religions in American culture. Overall, his research sits at the crossroads of American religious history and religious studies, using the theoretical insights of religious studies to dig deeper into what we mean by "religion" in religious history. His current research examines cultural constructions of Hinduism in 19th-century America.

Posts by Michael Altman

American Examples 2024: Call for Participants

September 13, 2023

We are excited to announce a call for participants for the 2024 American Examples workshops! American Examples is a collaborative working group for early career scholars who study religion in America, broadly conceived, from a variety of disciplines. That is, it is for scholars from any discipline who study “something someone called religion somewhere someone called America.” The program is generously funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. American Examples engages the study of religion in America across three areas: research, teaching, […]

We’re hiring: Assistant Professor in Social Theory and Digital Studies of Religion

August 31, 2023

The Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor in the area of Social Theory and Digital Studies of Religion, beginning August 2024. The area of specialization (historic period, region, or group studied) is open; however, the successful candidate must complement and enhance the current specialties of the Department by using social theory to understand religion as an element of culture. The specific research area is […]

Announcing the 2023 American Examples Cohort

December 5, 2022

We are excited to announce our cohort of participants in the 2023 American Examples program! These early career scholars of religion will participate in a series of three workshops on research, teaching, and digital public humanities hosted by the Department of Religious Studies during the 2023 calendar year. Each workshop is led by mentors from the Department’s faculty and the program is funded by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. […]

Examples: Why Would a Religious Studies Scholar Study That?

September 9, 2022

We are really cranking out the podcast series on our Study Religion podcast here in REL. One of our latest podcast series is an American Examples and RELdl production hosted by Religion in Culture MA student and American Examples fellow, Ciara Eichhorst. It’s called “Examples” and it’s a podcast that explores what we have come to call the “examples approach” to studying religion in culture. The examples approach sees specific case studies of religion in America as opportunities for investigating […]

Kayfabe, or, Why a Scholar of Religion Might Be Interested in Pro Wrestling

April 28, 2022

As a scholar of religion, I’m interested in the term “belief.” I find it to be a very curious term. For example, why would 75,000 people fill a football stadium for two nights of Wrestlemania earlier this year to watch professional wrestling matches that they didn’t believe were “real”? Because pro wrestling is “fake,” right? No one believes it’s a real sport or a real competition, right? But yet enough people in the spend their time and money on these […]

Announcing the 2022 American Example Participants

December 1, 2021

The American Examples steering committee is proud to announce the cohort of participants for the 2022 American Examples workshops. American Examples is a collaborative working group for early career scholars of religion in America, broadly conceived, from a variety of disciplines. American Examples engages the study of religion in America across the three areas of research, teaching, and public scholarship. This year, our entire cohort is non-tenure track participants, continuing our emphasis on opening up opportunities for early career scholars. […]

American Examples 2022: Call for Participants

October 6, 2021

American Examples is a collaborative working group for early career scholars who study religion in America, broadly conceived, from a variety of disciplines. The program is generously funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. American Examples engages the study of religion in America across three areas: research, teaching, and public scholarship. Drawing on expertise from across the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama, American Examples produces scholars whose work exceeds the academic and geographic boundaries of “American religion” or “American […]

Got a question? 1-800-REL-HELP is here with an answer.

July 26, 2021

Sometimes there are tough questions in the academic study of religion. That’s why there’s 1-800-REL-HELP, a hotline for your most difficult religious studies quandaries. Written by participants in the 2020 American Examples working group and produced by recently graduated MA students Jack Bernardi and Jeremee Nute, these videos answer questions about everything from atheism to ritual and cults to charisma. The videos are posted on the American Examples YouTube channel (Subscribe!) or you can watch them on the playlist below. […]

Announcing the 2021 American Examples Participants

November 19, 2020

The Department of Religious Studies is so happy to announce the participants in the 2021 American Examples program. This will be the third year of the program’s history and the second year the program has been funded by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. This year’s program will be hosted virtually, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the virtual format, a record number of applications, and a strong applicant pool, we have expanded the program from 9 […]

Hear More About American Examples on the Study Religion Podcast

October 22, 2020

Did you know that we are now accepting applications for American Examples 2021? American Examples is our Luce Funded program of workshops for untenured scholars of so-called “religion in America.” You can find out more at the American Examples website. Or, you can just listen to the podcast below where American Examples alumni Travis Cooper and Hannah Scheidt talk about their experiences in the program. Applications are due October 31 so listen and apply! In […]

Studying Religion in Culture

Ongoing Discussions at the University of Alabama