Department News
Professor Durmaz Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure
On February 28, Penn's Board of Trustees voted to confirm Dr. Reyhan Durmaz's promotion to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure, effective July 1, 2025.
Professor McDaniel on "Living Deliberately through Existential Despair"
OMNIA has shared a video of Professor McDaniel's recent talk on his popular classes "Living Deliberately" and "Existential Despair."
Professor McDaniel Featured on "Black Beryl" Podcast
Professor McDaniel was recently interviewed on the "Black Beryl" podcast.
Professor Robb's "Religion and Sports" Course Featured in Omnia
With Super Bowl LIX on the minds of many Philadelphians this week, Omnia naturally decided to
Professor Thomas Publishes Co-Edited Book on Japanese Religions
Professor Thomas recently published a co-edited volume,
Professor McDaniel Publishes New Book on Illuminated Siamese Manuscripts
Professor McDaniel has published a new
Professor Robb Named Vice President of South Asian Muslim Studies Association
In an email to members today, RELS Associate Professor Megan Eaton Robb was announced as the Vice President of the South Asian Muslim Studies Association:
Mendel Kranz to Join Katz Center (and RELS) as Postdoctoral Fellow
The Katz Center has announced that Dr.
PhD Student Rushnae Kabir Pens Review Essay for The Hindustan Times
PhD student Rushnae Kabir has published a book review in the Hindustan Times about a brand-new book on Sufism in India. Here's an excerpt:
Jeremy Steinberg Publishes Article in Judaica
Jeremy Steinberg, doctoral candidate in RELS, has just published a new journal article in Judaica: Neue Digitale Folge
With particular strengths in the study of Christianity, Judaism, American religions, Islam, secularism, Buddhism, and other Asian religions, the Department of Religious Studies emphasizes descriptive, historical, and theoretical approaches to the study of religion.
Upcoming Events
The Scopes Trial at 100: Secularism, Race, and Education
2025 Boardman Symposium
Reconfiguration and Revival: Newar Buddhist Traditions in the Kathmandu Valley (and Beyond)
RELS Colloquium
Todd Lewis (Harvard/Holy Cross)
"Toward the Human, After Man": A Sylvia Wynter Schematic
RELS Colloquium
Nathan Snaza (Richmond)
Faculty Bookshelf
Light Upon Light
Light upon Light: Essays in Islamic Thought and History in Honor of Gerhard Bowering brings together studies that explore the richness of Islamic intellectual life in the pre-modern period
Song and Story in Biblical Narrative: The History of a Literary Convention in Ancient Israel
This book examines a literary form within the Bible that has slipped through the cracks of modern scholarship: the mixing of song and story in biblical narrative.
Feeling Modern: The History of the Emotions in South Asia
A special issue of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, co-edited by Megan Robb with Elizabeth Chatterjee (Queen Mary, London) and Sneha Krishnan (Oxford).
Jacob of Sarug’s Homilies on Women Whom Jesus Met
Bi-lingual in Syriac and English. Published by Gorgias Press.
Surviving Sacrilege: Cultural Persistence in Jewish Antiquity
In a world of relentless and often violent change, what does it take for a culture to survive?
Islam
Islam is a concise and readable survey of the history of Islam from the birth of Muhammad in seventh century Arabia to the differing situations of Muslims throughout today's world.
Buddhist Narrative in Asia and Beyond
Publication of the proceedings of the conference "Buddhist Narrative in Asia and Beyond" at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, August 2010, edited by Peter Skilling & Justin McDaniel.
Wisdom as a Way of Life: Theravada Buddhism Reimagined
This wide-ranging and powerful book argues that Theravāda Buddhism provides ways of thinking about the self that can reinvigorate the humanities and offer broader insights into how to learn and how
Aisha’s Cushion: Religious Art, Perception, and Practice in Islam
Media coverage of the Danish cartoon crisis and the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan left Westerners with a strong impression that Islam does not countenance depiction of religious imagery.
Cosmologies and Biologies: Illuminated Siamese Manuscripts of Death, Time and the Body
A beautifully illustrated study of rare and unique Siamese manuscripts.
Key Themes for the Study of Islam
Key Themes for the Study of Islam examines the central themes and concepts indispensable to an informed understanding of Islamic religion and society.
Faking Liberties: Religious Freedom in American-Occupied Japan
Co-winner of the 2020 Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion (Analytical-Descriptive Studies) from the American Academy of Religion