Brittany Brooks is a senior from Midland City, Alabama, who is majoring in Religious Studies and minoring in Anthropology. She has a beautiful, lovable, four pound sister named “Eva the Diva” and enjoys the “awesomeness” that is taught in the Department. This post was originally written for Dr. Sarah Rollens’ course, REL 360: Popular Culture/ Public Humanities. The Indie film A Serious Man is a work that is fascinating, perplexing, gloomy, and funny all at the same time! It tells the story […]
Category: Student Blog
Posts in this category are written by, or are about, undergraduate students in the Department.
Book Review: Pollution and Religion in Ancient Rome
Pollution and Religion in Ancient Rome. Jack J. Lennon. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 229 pages. Mark Ortiz is a senior majoring in Religious Studies and New College with a depth study in Political Ecology. This review was written as a final project as part of Dr. Sarah Rollens’ course, REL 237: Religion and Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean World. In many societies, concepts of social order have been shaped considerably by notions of purity and pollution. According to […]
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A Pleasant Surprise: Lage Raho Munnabhai
Vincent M. Hills is a senior at the University of Alabama majoring in History and minoring in Religious Studies. This post was originally written for Dr. Rollens’ course, REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. Lage Raho Munnabhai is a prime example of the statement that “appearances can be deceiving.” What at first glance looks like a mediocre comedy ends in a film that not only provokes laughter, but also serious thought. The movie attempts to show that people, regardless of their social […]
The Rabbi and the Lawyer
Khortlan Patterson is a Junior at the University of Alabama majoring in Religious Studies and African American Studies. She is interested in education reform and minority academic achievement. This post was originally written for Dr. Rollens’ course, REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. A Serious Man is a film detailing a series of unfortunate life events of a Jewish man, Larry Gopnik. Many of us find ourselves in similar messes where we look for or actively commission others, who we consider qualified […]
Zombieland is Your Land
Sarah Griswold is a junior double majoring in Mathematics and Religious Studies. She spends her “free time” analyzing her favorite shows on Netflix, which of course winds up ruining them. This post was originally written for Dr. Sarah Rollens’ course, REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. Stories about zombies are a fascination for many people in today’s popular culture. Beyond zombie movies and television shows, there are books, games, and even people who are preparing in real life for a threat that […]
Just Look at That Parking Lot
Catie Stewart is a sophomore at the University of Alabama from Madison, Mississippi. She is double majoring in English and Religious Studies and minoring in Psychology. This post was originally written for Dr. Rollens’ course, REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. I recently watched the film A Serious Man for REL 360, and as the plot unfolded, I found myself wondering: What is going on? The storyline is riddled with seemingly disastrous events that all lead up to the movie’s finish, which […]
Religious Terror
Dana Grant is a senior pursuing a Liberal Arts degree through New College. She is interested in the development of the self and the acquisition of knowledge, and how they affect people’s daily lives as well as the world as a whole. This post was originally written for Dr. Ramey’s course, REL 321: Religion and Identity in South Asia. For quite some time now there has been increasing tension in Myanmar between groups that identify as Buddhist and Muslim. According to […]
Deifying Gandhi: National Icons and Moral Authority
Emily Vork is a sophomore majoring in History, Religious Studies, and American Studies. This post was written in response to viewing Lage Raho Munna Bhai as part of Dr. Sarah Rollens’ course, REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. What makes a person worthy of being treated as a national icon? There are so many people who show up throughout history and stand out, even today. They remain in the collective mind of a region—or a nation, or the world—and history looks fondly upon […]
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Whence Mother Earth?
John D. James is a senior at the University of Alabama majoring in Religious Studies and minoring in General Business. This book review was written for Dr. Michael J. Altman’s REL 370: Empire and the Construction of Religion course. In Mother Earth: An American Story, Sam D. Gill begins to articulate and explain with physical evidence that the term “Mother Earth” is commonly misused and presented to audiences as some common knowledge involving Native American thought and belief. Gill takes […]
You Are What We Say You Are
Robert Scholl is a senior at the University of Alabama studying Middle Eastern Studies. Mr. Scholl comes from Norcross, Georgia. He wrote this post as part of Dr. Ramey’s course, REL 321: Religion and Identity in South Asia. Identity is impacted greatly by those around you and how they perceive you. Due to this fact, both your own identity and your inclusion within society are strongly dependent on these labels used by society to define you. This is the case with […]