We’re pleased that we’ve been joined by Dr. Lauren Horn Griffin this year; so we asked her a few questions, about her background and her work. What was your undergraduate major and what were you thinking, as you came to university, that you’d be doing with that degree? I was an English Education major. I came to college as a first generation student with no idea what to expect, and I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to complete a […]
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.
An Evening with Annette Yoshiko Reed
The Aronov Lecture brings to the University of Alabama renowned scholars of religion whose work can communicate lessons and insights relevant to the broader human sciences. One of our department’s two annual lectures, we are excited to host this year’s speaker, Dr. Annette Yoshiko Reed on the evening of Wednesday, October 21 at 7 pm (central time). […]
Our MA Students Have Been Busy
Our first year MA students have been busy creating their own websites for their required REL 502 course this semester with Prof. Loewen. So we thought you might like to see what they’re interested in, let alone what they’ve created — here’s just a few: […]
Recognizing Alum Accomplishments
At Honors Day 2019 the Department first awarded a new annual prize, to recognize the accomplishments of our graduates — the majority of whom go on to succeed in a wide variety of fields, making evident to our current students, we hope, the wide applicability of the skills gained in our classes. Then, this past Spring, it was renamed in honor of the commitment to our student shown by our longtime Administrative Secretary, Betty Dickey, who retired on April 1, […]
The Ins and Outs of Archival Research
Prof. Nathan Loewen received funding from the University of Alabama, a while back, to conduct archival research on the Derrida Papers in Irvine, California. So REL MA student, Morgan Frick, posed a few questions to him about what all that archival work entails. Morgan: What was the project and how did you hope to improve your research with this archival work? Nathan: In 2016-17, I was really fortunate to be funded by the Research Grants Committee at UA. My position at […]
What’s a Sabbatical?
I have the good fortune to have been granted a sabbatical this semester. But what does that mean? What should I do? I looked up the word “sabbatical” in the Oxford English Dictionary and found a number of definitions. […]
Welcome Back
Yes, it’s here: the start of another Fall semester. And, yes, we have a new video to mark the occasion, which includes the newest members of the REL faculty. It also includes an important message for this particular Fall semester: #maskup. Don’t hesitate to contact your REL professor if you have questions about your classes. And…, welcome back! […]
You Better Believe, I’m Back!
The anticipation is palpable, we know, for this year’s welcome back video — which hits the airwaves tomorrow morning, on the first day of the semester. But until then, take a deep breath — inhale…, exhale…, repeat — and enjoy last year’s video: a walk around some familiar spots on campus. And make sure to be checking your crimson email account or your classes’ Blackboard sites, for updates from faculty about how your classes will start off the semester. #TideTogether […]
Navigating a Diverse World Critically
The World Religions course is a fabulous opportunity to teach students to think critically about the various representations of the world’s religious traditions. With the critique of the world religions paradigm and its colonial roots (see Masuzawa’s Invention fo World Religions), as well as problematic assumptions contained in any singular description of world religions (see, for example, my Culture on the Edge post The Harm of World Religions), it is vital to challenge singular narratives and to help our students […]
Now It’s On
If you’re new to REL then you may not know much about any of our traditions — such as our annual welcome back videos. Started in 2012, with a drive around town and an TV show theme song from the 1970s, they’ve progressed over the years, both as a way signal the start of a new school year and to tip our hat to the new faculty members who have joined us. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic changing the game last […]