Having just come from the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion, where scholars of religions’ input on the topic of climate change was encouraged, inasmuch as we are presumed to have some special expertise based on what we happen to study — as phrased in a memo sent last year to the chairs of its various program units, written by our then incoming President: It is our scholarly duty, I would argue, that we bring forward a scholarship […]
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.
“It’s what makes Thanksgiving Thanksgiving.”
By Andie Alexander Andie Alexander earned her B.A. in Religious Studies and History in 2012. She is now working on her M.A. in Religious Studies at CU Boulder. Andie also works as the online Curator for the Culture on the Edge blog. With Thanksgiving upon us, television commericals have been selling holiday food and related items. The closer Thanksgiving got, more and more ads for sweet potatoes, turkey, cranberry sauce, etc., starting popping up on TV. That’s no surprise, right? […]
A Good Book with Prof. McCutcheon
The sixth episode in our A Good Book series is now on Vimeo! This video features Prof. Russell McCutcheon and his discussion of Alfred North Whitehead’s book Process and Reality. A Good Book with Prof. McCutcheon from UA Religious Studies. […]
A Good Alabaman
Allie Rash is a senior double majoring in Mathematics and Religious Studies. She hails from Franklin, TN but calls North Carolina and Kansas home as well. She wrote this post for Dr. Finnegan’s class, REL 370: Hijab, Hip Hop, and Halal. Gerald Allen is the State Senator from the 21st district of Alabama, representing Hale, Pickens, and Tuscaloosa counties. Before his election to the State Senate, Allen served four terms in the Alabama House of Representatives. Politically, according to his most recent […]
A Few Moments with Kelly Baker, Part 2
The second part of our interview with Dr. Kelly Baker, this year’s Day lecturer, is now up and running! In this second installment, Dr. Baker discusses reactions to her work, her favorite monsters, and more. If you missed the first part of the interivew, you can read the blog post here. Have you seen Dr. Baker’s lecture? Watch it here. A Few Moments with Kelly Baker, Part 2 from UA Religious Studies. […]
All Work and No Play…
We’re experimenting with a new feature in our Department this year: Live Tweets form the Lounge. For we’re now on Twitter, and it occurred to us that periodically inviting a different faculty member to just hang out in our Department lounge for an hour and tweet about what’s going on, what they’re teaching this semester, or what they’re working on in their own research might be a way to engage students or any other Twitter followers. It’s fun, sure, but it’s […]
ar·ti·facts with Prof. Simmons
The latest video in our second season of ar·ti·facts has been uploaded. This episode features Dr. Simmons and her Jane Austen action figure, a memento of days gone by. ar·ti·facts: A Memento of Departments Past with Prof. Merinda Simmons from UA Religious Studies. […]
Reason to Be
“As professors in the Department of Religion, we are often asked by prospective students (and their parents) about the ‘Christian’ in Texas Christian University, or the ‘C,’ as they more often put it, in TCU…” So opens an interesting blog post that I think is well worth the read; for it tries to elaborate on the role of the study of religion at private denomination college — specifically, one affiliated with the Disciples of Christ. […]
A Few Moments with Kelly Baker, Part 1
A little while back Dr. Simmons and the REL film crew sat down for a chat with Dr. Kelly Baker, who gave our 2nd annual Day Lecture. The video of the interview is now ready! So give it a watch to see what Dr. Baker has to say about her background, her work (zombies included), and more. Check out part two of the interview here. Have you seen Dr. Baker’s lecture? Watch it here. A Few Moments with Kelly Baker, […]
What Does it Really Mean to be ‘Mentally Ill’?
Sarah Sawyer is a senior at the University of Alabama studying International Relations and Chinese. She spends her ‘free time’ studying and wondering if Publix will have a sale on its wine anytime soon. She wrote this post for Dr. Ramey’s class, REL 321: Religion and Identity in South Asia. “Many people feel ashamed because our society places illogical taboos on mental health issues and our silence can have deadly consequences.” These wise words are those of UA’s very own Elise Goubet as […]
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