Casey A’Hearn completed their MA in Religion in Culture from the department in May 2024 and will be starting their PhD at Princeton in August 2024. In 2008, a group of Ravidassia practitioners held a parade in Bedford, England to celebrate the birthday of Guru Ravidas. It was this image taken by Mr. Simon Speed that caught my attention. I am not a scholar of Ravidassia, nor am I particularly familiar with their traditions. But I have learned that they […]
Category: Religion in Culture
Posts in this category discuss how those aspects of culture known as religion can be studied in a way comparable to all other cultural practices.
What Can You Do With a MA in Religious Studies?
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The skills developing studying religion lead to a variety of career options, as three REL MA alums detail their career experiences and advcie. […]
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Religion is….
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Some students have been asking me about my Fall REL 440/REL 512. The course will enroll both REL undergrads, via a course devoted to Theories of Religion, and grad students, in a course on Debates in Method & Theory. The specific debate that we’ll be focusing on — as the required book above should make clear (click the image to learn more about it) — is how to define religion. And the theories of religion part…? Well, definitions are theories […]
Adding a Second Major: An REL Tale
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Exploring another part of scholarship through a double major is a great opportunity, and Religious Studies is an ideal place to do that. […]
From REL Undergrad to an Air Force Major: Learning to Analyze and Construct Arguments
![Smiling man in beige coat standing before rolling hills](https://religion.ua.edu/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rhodes-berry.jpg)
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. […]
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Negotiating Difference: The Intersection of Religious Studies and Working with International Students
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Her MA in Religious Studies helped prepare for working with international students with organizing logistics and promoting education about difference […]
Are You Taiwanese or Chinese?
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People in Taiwan identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, which has influenced politics, recent elections, and relations in families. One factor is a shift in the teaching of History in the 2000s from Chinese history to Taiwanese history, generating some generational tensions. […]
Close & Distant Reads of the REL Blog’s “2014” with Voyant Tools
![Meme from Disney's Toy Story. "Random pictures and relying on memory of dept. events. The REL blog documenting and recording its history for us.](https://religion.ua.edu/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Blog-Meme.png)
Trevor Linn compares close and distant readings of the REL blog’s “2014 data” using the NLP platform Voyant Tools. […]
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Social Dynamics and the Transformations of Religious Texts
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A Computer Science Honors student took REL105 with Prof. Simmons, and then got to thinking about how religions change over time. […]
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How an idea can be cultivated into undergraduate research and national presentation
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Carter Sheldon a senior at UA was able to work with REL faculty members and eventually present his research at a national presentation. […]
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