Department News
Abdul Manan Bhat reviews Ali Khan Mahmudabad at the Marginalia Review of Books
PhD student Abdul Manan Bhat recently published a review of Ali Khan Mahmudabad's Poetry of Belonging: Muslim Imaginings of India, 1850–1950 for the Ma
Professor Butler Speaks on Black-Jewish Relations in the Civil Rights Movement
At a recent Katz Center event hosted by Professor Steven Weitzman, Department Chair Anthea Butler spoke on Black-Jewish relations
Dr. Andrew Hudson Appointed Louisville Institute Fellow and Associate Director at Wabash Center
The department is delighted to congratulate alumnus Dr. Andrew Hudson, who has been appointed Associate Director at the Wabash Center as a Louisville Institute Fellow! Dr.
Prof. Jolyon Baraka Thomas Wins AAR Book Award
The department extends its congratulations to Prof.
PhD Candidate Gabriel Raeburn Receives Dissertation Grant
PhD Candidate Gabriel Raeburn has received the 2020 Dissertation Grant from the National Institute of Social Sciences.
Prof. Thomas Hosts Book Discussion, "Christian Sorcerers on Trial"
On 9/24/2020, Professor Thomas hosted a discussion of the new translation and critical edition "Christian Sorcerers on Trial: Records of the 1827 Osaka Incident," by Fumiko Miyazaki, Kate Wildman N
Prof. Butler at the Straight White American Jesus Podcast
Professor Butler was a guest on the Straight White American Jesus Podcast hosted by Bradley Onishi. Here's a description:
Congratulations to Dr. Paul McBain!
The Department of Religious Studies is thrilled to announce that PhD candidate Paul McBain successfully defended his dissertation, “A Drunken Bee: Sunthorn Phu and the Buddhist Landscapes of Early
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.
Faculty Bookshelf
Religious Affects: Animality, Evolution, and Power
In Religious Affects, Donovan Schaefer challenges the notion that religion is inextricably linked to language and belief, proposing instead that it is primarily driven by affects.
Print and the Urdu Public: Muslims, Newspapers, and Urban Life in Colonial India
Published by Oxford University Press
Architects of Buddhist Leisure: Socially Disengaged Buddhism in Asia’s Museum, Monuments, and Amusement Parks
Buddhism, often described as an austere religion that condemns desire, promotes denial, and idealizes the contemplative life, actually has a thriving leisure culture in Asia.
Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making a Sanctified World
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC), an African American Pentecostal denomination founded in 1896, has become the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States today.
Figures of Buddhist Modernity in Asia
This book introduces contemporary Buddhists from across Asia and from various walks of life.
Death before Dying: The Sufi Poems of Sultan Bahu
These 115 poems introduce readers in English to Sultan Bahu (d. 1691), a Sufi mystical poet who continues to be one of the most beloved writers in Punjabi.
Drawing on Tradition: Manga, Anime, and Religion in Contemporary Japan
Manga and anime (illustrated serial novels and animated films) are highly influential Japanese entertainment media that boast tremendous domestic consumption as well as worldwide distribution and a
Gathering Leaves and Lifting Words: Histories of Buddhist Monastic Education in Laos and Thailand
Gathering Leaves and Lifting Words examines modern and premodern Buddhist monastic education traditions in Laos and Thailand.