We have a large incoming class of M.A. students joining us in the Fall and to help them to get set for the new semester we’ve already hosted one Zoom meeting, with our Chair and Graduate Director, to answer some questions about the program. It was a success so we’ve decided to hold a few more voluntary online meetings, to help everyone prep for their Fall courses. […]
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.
Living Room Classrooms and Kitchen Offices
As universities across the country are making plans for whether, and if so how, to return to face-to-face instruction in the Fall semester, I wanted to send out a big thank you to the REL faculty and staff who, like so many others around the U.S. and the world, quickly turned their homes into their offices and their classrooms for the past two months. That means that private internet connections and home utility bills have quite literally kept the lights […]
A Case Study in Framing and Interpretation
Brady Duke is a senior at the University of Alabama majoring in Religious Studies and Latin. After graduation, he plans on pursuing a master’s degree in Classical philology with a concentration in Latin language and literature. Throughout this semester, we have been learning various ways in which individuals, either scholars or laypersons, interact, define, and interpret the past. Consequently, the interpretations stemming from these discourses reflect more about those analyzing the object of study than the object of study itself; while […]
American Examples Fellow
We are very pleased to announce that, in consultation with the REL Graduate Committee as well as Prof. Mike Altman, who heads up our American Examples workshop, Jack Bernardi has been named as our next American Examples Graduate Fellow. Jack earned a B.S. in Pure Mathematics in 2017 and is now nearing the end of his first year in REL’s M.A. program. His research interests are wide, but focused around issues of apocalyptic narratives and climate change. Throughout 2019-20 he […]
Stranger than Fiction: On “Superheroes” and “Essential Workers”
Martin Lund is senior lecturer in religion at Malmö University in Sweden. He is currently working on a co-authored book about the “supervillain” Magneto and a single-authored book about the “superhero” and theory. For many of us, the world seems a pretty strange place right now. What we consider “normal” has been upset and we’re having to make adjustments. People are reacting in different ways, some enthusiastically embracing self-quarantine and others grousing that they can’t go about their business as […]
Read More from Stranger than Fiction: On “Superheroes” and “Essential Workers”
Faculty News
This is the time of year when faculty who applied last Fall for promotions are notified of the decision of the Office of Academic Affairs. We’re therefore quite pleased to announce that Dr. Merinda Simmons and Dr. Nathan Loewen have each been promoted — Dr. Simmons to the rank of Professor (sometimes called Full Professor) and Dr. Loewen to the rank of Associate Professor. In addition, Dr. Loewen was awarded tenure. Professor Simmons, who earned her Ph.D. in English at […]
Going Remote
It’s surely not news to anyone that we’ve gone remote, taking all REL courses online as part of our effort to combat the spread of COVID-19. The University of Alabama, like so many schools nation-wide (let alone throughout the world) continues on what we call limited business operations (LBO), with academic offices closed, in-person classes suspended, students gone from the residences, and only essential employees still working on campus. (Get info on UA’s response to the pandemic.) But classes continue, […]
Until We Meet Again
Faithful readers of this blog already know that Donna Martin and Betty Dickey are retiring (see the announcement) — in fact, today is their last day. […]
Tips on Working from Home
We realize that working from home for the rest of the semester, whether here in Tuscaloosa or elsewhere in the country, can present a few challenges — even if you don’t have a cat. To help with that, the Student Government Association tweeted out some helpful advice this morning and it struck us as worth sharing: […]
Coming Attractions: A Change in Format
As communicated to all of our students over the past week, UA is maintaining limited business operations (LBO) for at least the next two weeks (and it will re-assess during that time concerning whether those conditions continue), with students asked not to return to campus. (A plan will soon be rolled out, from the central administration, concerning when those living in the residence system can return to collect their possessions.) This means that offices will not be staffed in person […]