Category: Grad Blog

Posts in this category are written by, or are about, graduates of the Department.


Owed to Murphy

John Parrish graduated from the Department of Religious Studies in 2004. He went on to pursue graduate study in Christian Origins at the University of Alberta, the University of Toronto, and Brown University, while maintaining his interests in 19th & 20th C religious thought. In the following, John reflects on the role played in his own undergraduate education by the late Dr. Tim Murphy, pictured above as he looked when he arrived in the Department in the Fall of 2002. […]

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“It’s Andie, with an ‘ie'”

By Andie Alexander Andie Alexander earned her B.A. in Religious Studies and History in 2012. She currently works as a staff member in the Department as a Student Liaison and filmmaker, and will begin working on her M.A. this fall 2014 at CU Boulder. Andie also works as the online Curator for the Culture on the Edge blog. I go by “Andie.” I say “go by” not to distinguish my name from my legal name “Amanda” but to draw attention […]

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Paradise Lost

By Colin McElvenny Colin McElvenny graduated from The University of Alabama in 2011 with a double major in Religious Studies and Psychology. Currently, he lives in Hawaii on the island of Oahu teaching biology and human physiology at Leilehua High School. I’ll be honest. When I was first offered a position teaching biology and human physiology in Hawaii, a few thoughts came to mind instantaneously. The first being, “Thank god I got placed in paradise”. Quickly that notion was overrun […]

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Renaming Our Boats

Christopher Hurt graduated in 2008 with an REL major and a minor in Creative Writing. Now living in Los Angeles and training dogs at The Zoom Room (he’s been working with dogs for 3 years), he is pursuing a career in music: recently singing and playing Hammond Organ in the Jamestown Pagans. Like many people, from what I read, I have been obsessed with HBO’s “True Detective” lately…. […]

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Les petits pas: A Response to Baby Steps

By Kim Davis Kim Davis earned her B.A. in French and Religious Studies from the University of Alabama in 2003. She went on to get her Masters in French Linguistics and Literature in 2007 and a Masters in Secondary Language Pedagogy in 2010, both from UA. Kim now teaches French and Mythology at Tuscaloosa County High School. I recently have gone through a period of questioning how much I have been able to accomplish in my job as a French […]

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Liberal Arts Student Finds Gainful Employment

Yes, that’s our own Chris Scott — crimson cap, bottom right — in an Associated Press photo of UA’s 2011 graduation. He reports that this pic has so far been used online as a stock graduation photo by NPR, The Blaze, and Jezebel. He’s therefore let us know that he is willing to play the role of a university graduate, even a student (say, reading on the grass of a quad, smiling while drinking coffee in a library, studiously listening […]

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Living on a (Deconstructed) Prayer

Geoff Davidson earned his B.A. in Religious Studies and Political Science in 2009. He went on to earn his M.Div. from Baylor University in 2012. He is currently employed at Habitat for Humanity of Waco, Texas, while also working as a supply preacher. Last week a state representative in the Alabama Legislature lit up social media by proposing a bill requiring public school classrooms to begin each day with the examination of a text. The politician in question is Rep. […]

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