Department News
Aditya Bhattacharjee Receives Fellowship at Cornell's Society for the Humanities
The Department of Religious Studies is delighted to announce that alumnus Aditya N.
Jules Lingenfelter wins 2025 Albert Clark Award
We are thrilled to announce that Julia (Jules) Lingenfelter (Sophomore) has won the 2025 Albert Clark Award of Theta Alpha Kappa, the Nat
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.
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
"Toward the Human, After Man": A Sylvia Wynter Schematic
RELS Colloquium
Nathan Snaza (Richmond)
Coincidence, Contradiction, Affect: On Spirited Knowing
RELS Colloquium
Emily Ng (Penn Anthropology)
Islam in the Tamil World
Co-sponsored by the South Asia Center, Department of South Asian Studies, and Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania
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.
Muslims Against the Muslim League: Critiques of the Idea of Pakistan
An anthology of essays, edited by Ali Usman Qasmi and Megan Eaton Robb, exploring Muslim criticism of the founding of Pakistan.
Figures of Buddhist Modernity in Asia
This book introduces contemporary Buddhists from across Asia and from various walks of life.
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
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
Print and the Urdu Public: Muslims, Newspapers, and Urban Life in Colonial India
Published by Oxford University Press
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
Religion and the Self in Antiquity
Many recent studies have argued that the self is a modern invention, a concept developed in the last three centuries.
Alef is for Allah: Childhood Emotion and Visual Culture in Islamic Societies
Alef Is for Allah is the first groundbreaking study of the emotional space occupied by children in modern Islamic societies.
The FBI and Religion
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has had a long and tortuous relationship with religion over almost the entirety of its existence.
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.
