Graduate students in this area can specialize in the study of modern (American Religion, African American religion, Pentecostalism, and Evangelicalism) and pre-modern (Syriac Christianity, late antique Christianity, Christianity in the Middle East, and Byzantine) Christianity. Our approach to Christian history and culture is informed by broad methodological and theoretical interests, including material culture, gender and sexuality, literary criticism, media and communication, and politics.
Cam Grey (Classical Studies)
Kim Bowes (Classical Studies)
Ivan Drpic (Art History)
Mary Caldwell (Music)
Penn strongly encourages interdisciplinary research. The Department of Religious Studies is closely connected to other departments and programs that enrich the study of Christianity at Penn. Africana Studies, NELC, History, Classics, Art History, and Medieval Studies are among the units with which we collaborate in research and teaching. Students applying for our program are encouraged to situate their projects with an eye to interdisciplinarity. Coursework is similarly broad, enabling students to focus on Christianity from multiple methodological and theoretical angles. In addition to regular coursework, the department encourages students that are working in the pre-Modern era to take advantage of language course offerings, including but not limited to Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Arabic.