Category: Relevance of Humanities

Posts in this category discuss the wider relevance of those tools, methods, and disciplines often grouped together and called the Humanities.


A Great Start to a New Annual Event

Yesterday evening the Department hosted its first annual REL Honors Research Symposium that showcased our undergraduates’ own independent research. Our panelists Andie Alexander (a grad of REL), Jordan Atkinson, Seth Cox, Wesley Davidson, and Katelyn Smith presented their research—most of which was produced as a final paper for different courses in the department—on varying topics ranging from history and narrative, to religious/social identification, redefinition, and inter-generational differences. […]

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Coming Soon…

On March 4, 2014 at 7:00pm in Gorgas 205, Dr. Richard King, University of Kent, will be presenting his “From Mysticism to Spirituality: Colonial Legacies and the Reformulation of ‘the Mystic East” for the 12th annual Aronov Lecture for the Department of Religious Studies. Prof. King’s work focuses on the history of European colonialism and the study of South Asian cultures, histories, and traditions. He also has a particular interest in Indian philosophical thought in the period between 200-900 CE and especially […]

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It’s Not Always About Credentials

One of our faculty posted this article the other day — “Why Google doesn’t care about hiring top college graduates” — and I thought it worth re-posting here. In the article, Google’s head of people operations, Laszlo Bock, discussed the qualities that the company seeks in people they hire: “And increasingly, it’s not about credentials.” […]

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“They Engage in … Clarification”

Thanks to Amanda Anderson, in 15 minutes or less you can think a little more clearly about challenges to the Humanities in the modern university — and come up with a few possible answers to those challenges. They help one to develop and integrate a fundamental practice into one’s life. If the dinner table question was not “But what will you do with an English major?”… but rather “What kind of life do you find meaningful or valuable and what […]

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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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