Recent Events

Greetings OU RELS community,

As many of you know, OU’s Giving Day is coming up on Tuesday, April 8.

It is through donations made by alumni and supporters like yourself that, over the past few years, we have been able to greatly enhance our undergraduate programming through speakers, social events, and travel opportunities. If you feel so moved, we would be honored to receive your donation and to put it toward providing more of these kinds of transformative experiences for our students. 

For Giving Day this year, the Department of Religious Studies is highlighting our Student Enrichment Fund.  This fund directly benefits our RELS majors and minors through the creation of unique student opportunities.  This past year, the department was able to fund four students' travel expenses and conference fees for them to attend the American Academy Annual Meeting in San Diego from November 23 - 26.  Students were able to attend panel sessions on everything from religion in the ancient world to contemporary politics and social justice movements. They networked with students and faculty from across the United States and came back buzzing with new ideas for their own research projects.  All of this was made possible by generous donors.

We in the Department of Religious Studies at OU are grounded in our mission to study and understand what matters most to people, to train students be critical interpreters of the world around us, and to prepare them for a life of meaning and success. Your donations are a pivotal part of helping us live out that mission.

With joy and gratitude,

Deonnie Moodie

Associate Professor and Chair,

Department of Religious Studies, University of Oklahoma

RELS students,

You are invited to a special opportunity to have lunch with the Agnes & Herbert True Memorial lecturer Daniel De Haan at noon on Thurs., April 3 in the Community Room in Dale Hall Tower.  The title of his lunchtime talk will be "Can AI Become a Human Common Good?"  Please RSVP using the QR code.

Religious Studies students and friends,

You are invited to March’s Religious Studies Student Lunch, featuring Religious Studies alumni, Cole Cloyd, Rhea Brown-Bright, and Lauren Gastineau on “Life After OU.” Please join us! Hideaway Pizza will be provided.

Thurs., March 27

12:30 p.m.

Robertson Hall 118

Religious Studies students and friends,

You are invited to February's RELS Student Lunch. Hideaway Pizza will be provided.

Thursday, February 27
12:30 p.m.
Robertson Hall 118

The department celebrated our students and their amazing achievements over the course of the year in our annual End of the Year Celebration on Saturday, May 11, following the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences commencement.  Guests enjoyed lunch from Kebabish Bites in Norman, celebrated our student graduates and scholarship recipients and generally enjoyed each other’s company.  We are extremely proud of our students’ accomplishments over the past year, and we cannot wait to hear what they achieve in the future.

RELS students, RELS-curious students, and friends,

You are invited to the RELS student monthly lunch, tomorrow, Friday, May 3 at noon. Come take a break from studying and enjoy lunch on us. Pizza will be provided.

Fri., May 3

Noon

Robertson 118 (RELS Conference Room)

The Department of Religious Studies and the University Buddhist Association invite you to the 2024 Oklahoma Buddhism Conference.  Registration is free, but an RSVP is required.  The conference will feature Bhante Piyaratna, the founder and abbot of the Oklahoma Buddhist Vihara; Jianhu Shifu, the former dean of Chung Tai Buddhist Institute in Taiwan and the founder of Prajna Dharma; and keynote speaker Ann Gleig, Professor of Religion and Cultural Studies at the University of Central Florida.  Visit here for more information.

The Department of Religious Studies is proud to announce that Caroline Perkins, a University of Oklahoma junior majoring in Religious Studies and English, has been awarded the American Academy of Religion Undergraduate Research Grant for 2024.  This grant program supports undergraduate students conducting research on religion under the supervision of an AAR member. (You can find out more about the grant program here.)  OU's Department of Religious Studies Associate Professor and Chair Deonnie Moodie will supervise Caroline's research project, and Caroline will conduct ethnographic research at four different megachurches in the American south in the summer of 2024.  Congratulations, Caroline and well done!

A few weeks ago, Prof. Wendy Mallette’s Introduction to Religious Studies (RELS 1113) class took a field trip to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. Aly Vettese, the Learning and Engagement Assistant, introduced students to Menashe Kadishman's (1932-2015) sculpture, "The Sacrifice of Isaac," and students explored the OU’s “Art of the American West and Native American Art” collection as well as the “Picturing Faith” exhibit.

Photos courtesy of Sophia Armoudian.

Hello Religious Studies community,

Please see this thoughtful tribute to Tom Boyd posted by the Dodge Family College of Arts.

Also, the OU Department of Religious Studies has received a few inquiries on how to donate to the scholarships in Dr. Boyd's name as a memorial to Tom and to his dedication to teaching and his students. If you would like to make such a contribution,  The University of Oklahoma Foundation has established a giving page dedicated to Dr. Boyd.

RELS students, RELS-curious students, and friends: Are you curious about applying to graduate school? RELS professors are here for you! Come join us for the RELS student monthly lunch - we will discuss all things grad school: what it’s like, what you need to do to prepare, the application process, etc. Come with your appetite and questions! Pizza will be provided.

Fri., March 1

Noon

Robertson 118 (RELS Conference Room)

Dear OU Religious Studies community,

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Professor Emeritus Tom Boyd.  Prof. Boyd was a David Ross Boyd Professor of Philosophy at OU and was an integral part of  building the Religious Studies Program at OU along with his partner, Rev. Barbara Boyd.  Our deepest condolences go to Rev. Boyd and their family.

In memory of Dr. Boyd's legacy,

The Department of Religious Studies

Prof. Mallette’s Christian Traditions class spent a week in OU’s Special Collections to view bibles and other artifacts. Their visit was guided by Dr. JoAnn Palmeri who shared about how bibles have intersected with the history of manuscript and print culture.

RELS students curated mini-exhibits for the class with titles including: “Picture Perfect Bible?”, “Translating Divinity: Unraveling the Linguistic Tapestry of the Bible,” and “Destruction of Divine Women: Depictions of Biblical Violence.”

Thank you to Sophia Armoudian for the photos included here.

Congratulations to Prof. Vishanoff and his colleagues for receiving a grant from the Templeton Religion Trust!

David Vishanoff is part of a team of scholars at OU, the University of Kansas, and Pepperdine who have been awarded a quarter-million-dollar grant from the Templeton Religion Trust. The grant will provide extra research time throughout 2024 to read, consult with specialists, and hold a conference on the relationship between the virtue of intellectual humility, the virtue of courage, and interreligious understanding. This interdisciplinary teamwork will bring new perspectives to Dr. Vishanoff’s long-term project on Sacrificial Listening.

We had a great time speaking to everyone at the OU Majors and Minors Fair! Thank you to Profs. Mallette and Vishanoff, and our Religious Studies students who helped us talk to interested majors and minors.  Thank you also to everyone who stopped by to say "hi" and speak to us about Religious Studies.  

Thank you to former director of outreach for the Religious Studies Program, the Rev. Barbara Boyd, for meeting with our students at the December RELS Student Lunch, and thank you to our students for attending. We loved seeing you all, and it was nice to catch up with Rev. Boyd. Have a great end of the fall semester!

This semester, four Religious Studies students were awarded travel grants to attend the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in San Antonio on November 17-20. This opportunity was made possible by the generous support of the Rev. Barbara Boyd and Rev. Larry Angus. Students were able to engage more deeply in academic discourse, attending panel sessions on a diverse array of issues from women and the bible to religion and film. We would like to extend a huge thank you to Rev. Boyd and Rev. Angus for providing our students with an academic experience they will never forget!

RELS students, RELS-curious students, and friends: Come close out the fall semester with our special guest the Rev. Barbara Boyd, MDiv, former Director of Outreach for the Religious Studies Program at OU. The Rev. will lead us in a discussion about your experiences with Religious Studies and the history of religious studies at OU.  Pizza and drinks will be provided.  

Fri., Dec. 1

Noon

Robertson 118 (RELS Conference Room)

The Department of Religious Studies invites you to join us for a lecture with Chris Hoklotubbe, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Classics at Cornell College and Director of Graduate Studies at NAITS, titled "Reading the Bible on Turtle Island: Indigenous Interpretations of the Bible" on Tues., Nov. 14, 2023 at noon in Gaylord College room 2020.

The Department of Religious Studies at the University of Oklahoma invites you to join us for a presentation by Jill Hicks-Keeton titled "Making the Bible Benevolent" on her most recent publication, Good Book: How White Evangelicals Save the Bible to Save Themselves.  Snacks will be provided.

4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Wed.., Nov. 8, 2023

Farzaneh Hall, Room 145

RELS students,

Please join us for the Religious Studies November student lunch featuring Matt Brim on Fri., Nov. 3 at 12:30 p.m. in the RELS conference room (Robertson 118).  Brim will have to conversation with you all about his encounters with queer studies as an undergrad, in grad school, and beyond.  See you there!

The Dept. of Religious Studies with the Dept. of Women's and Gender Studies will host guest Matt Brim on November 2-3 to lead a pedagogy workshop on teaching queer studies.

There will be two categories of events - one slate of events for teachers, faculty, and graduate/teaching assistants, and another slate of events for undergraduate students. The schedule is as follows:

We have two events open to all faculty, staff, and graduate teaching assistants:

A Conversation about resources and opportunities available at CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at CUNY with Matt Brim, who serves as the executive director of CLAGS.
Thursday, November 2, 3:30-4:30p
Dale Hall Tower, Seminar Room 905

Queer Pedagogy Workshop for Instructors
Friday, November 3, 9:30-11:30a
Dale Hall Tower, Community Room 906

We have two events open to all interested undergraduate students:

Engaging Queerness in the Classroom: Undergraduate Workshop
Thursday, November 2, 1:30-3:00p
Carson Engineering Building, Room 438

Free Pizza Lunch and Conversation with Dr. Matt Brim
Friday, November 3, 12:30-1:30p
Robertson Hall, Room 118

Matt Brim is professor of queer studies in the English department at the College of Staten Island, Staten Island, New York and an affiliate faculty in the Women's and Gender Studies M.A. Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. He teaches courses in LGBTQ literature, women's studies, queer/feminist research methods and queer higher education. Brim is also the executive director of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center. Founded in 1991, CLAGS is the first university-based research center in the United States dedicated to the study of historical, cultural and political issues of vital concern to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals and communities.

Harvard Divinity School at OU

Join Harvard Divinity School’s Assistant Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Steph Gauchel, to learn more about HDS and the relevance of graduate study in religion in a complex world.

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 16

Robertson Hall 118

Pizza lunch will be provided!

Please join us for the October JuSt Brown Bag Lecture with Rangar Cline on "Pilgrimage Souvenirs from the Holy Land: From the Roman Period to the Early Middle Ages" at noon on Wed., Oct. 4 in the Dale Hall Tower Community Room. 

Please join us in congratulating Associate Professor Jill Hicks-Keeton for her new book, Good Book: How White Evangelicals Save the Bible to Save Themselves, now available from Fortress Press.

A smart, fearless deconstruction of evangelical attempts to "save" the Bible, Good Book is compellingly written, persuasively argued, and brillantly feminist. Jill Hicks-Keeton has written a necessary book for our moment.

-Rhiannon Graybill, Rhodes College

Congratulations Prof. Hicks-Keeton!

Learn more about the book here.

The Department of Religious Studies, along with the Departments of Sociology, Economics, and Political Science invite you to hear U.K. MP Rehman Chishti to speak on "Advancing Religious Freedom."  The lecture will be held on Monday, Oct. 2, at 1:30 p.m. in Dale Hall 200.

Join us for the Sept. 29 RELS Student Lunch with featured speaker Myo Win, a human rights activist and visiting scholar at OU, who works for social justice for ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar.

RELS Student Lunch

"Social Justice for Religious Minorities in Myanmar"

Myo Win

12:30 p.m., Sept. 29

Robertson Hall 118

True Family Lecture:

"Still Mining the Forgotten: The Hidden History and Legacies of Black Catholic Nuns in the United States," by Shannen Dee Williams

Wed., Sept. 20 at 5:30 p.m., Sam Noble Museum of Natural History

The Department of Religious Studies is excited to announce that we will again offer student sponsorships to attend the American Academy of Religion's annual meeting to be held in San Antonio this year. The Annual Meeting takes place Nov. 18-21. Students who attend will be able to experience everything the meeting has to offer, including attending academic sessions, receptions and tours. A limited number of sponsorships are available to current RELS students.

Students may apply here: AAR Student Funding Application.

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m., Sept. 7.

All interested OU students are encouraged to apply. The selected students will receive full funding to attend. Priority will be given to applications from majors and minors, but non-majors and minors will still be considered. Thank you to Revs. Boyd and Angus for creating such an amazing opportunity for our students!

Read all about RELS: where we've been, what's happening, and what's to come in 2023-24!

RELS Fall 2023 Newsletter

Welcome back, RELS! Help us kick off the academic year with some free Hideaway pizza and good conversation. We will catch up with you all and you can hear about all of the good things that will be happening this year in Religious Studies.

12:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1

Robertson Hall 118

The Department of Religious Studies had the honor of celebrating our students – including our scholarship recipients and graduates. 🎓 Congratulations on all of your achievements! We are incredibly proud and can’t wait to see what you do next! 😊

Join us for the RELS End of Year Celebration to celebrate our amazing students and their accomplishments over this past academic year.

April's Religious Studies Student Lunch will feature RELS alumna, Stacy Minnick, an attorney with DeBee Clark and Weber, PLLC.  Join us on Friday, April 28 at 12:30 p.m. in the Religious Studies Conference Room (Robertson 118) for free lunch and to listen to Stacy speak about "Life after a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies: Choosing the Study of Law."

RELS April Student Lunch

A big thank you to Tulasi Srinivas and to all who attended our first Pujari Foundation Lecture in Religious Studies yesterday evening. Prof. Srinivas spoke on her current research during the talk titled "The Fiery Lake: Water, Caste, and Gender in a Climate Apocalypse." It was an enjoyable and educational evening. 

The Department of Religious Studies invites you to join us for the Pujari Foundation Lectureship in Religious Studies with Tulasi Srinivas, "The Fiery Lake: Water, Caste and Gender in a Climate Apocalypse."

Tuesday, March 28

6 - 7 p.m.

Beaird Lounge, Oklahoma Memorial Union

Tulasi Srinivas Pujari Lecture

Thank you to Prof. Jill Hicks-Keeton and to all who attended yesterday’s New Horizons event "White Evangelical Bible." Prof. Hicks-Keeton gave an engaging presentation on her newest publication *Does Scripture Speak for Itself?* followed by some thoughtful questions from the group. It was a great event!

The Department of Religious Studies invites you to join us for a presentation by Jill Hicks-Keeton on her most recent publication co-authored with Cavan Concannon, Does Scripture Speak for Itself? The Museum of the Bible and the Politics of Interpretation.  Snacks will be provided.  

Jill Hicks-Keeton New Horizons Lecture

We had a great time speaking to everyone at the OU Major Minor Fair! Thank you to everyone who helped organize the event and to those of you who stopped by to say "hi" and discuss Religious Studies.

The theme for this year's fair was "How Sweet Finding Your Major Can Be!" 🍭, and we couldn't agree more! 😀

On February 10, the Center for Social Justice at OU will host a Teach OUt on Race and Religion in the Heartland on Zoom.

Prof. Deonnie Moodie will give introductory remarks with Rodney Bates, and Prof. James Hill, Jr. will be a featured panelist with J.T. Snipes.

Center of Social Justice Teach OUt on Race : Race and Religion in the Heartland

February 10th Friday, 10:30am-1:30pm,

Registration

The WGS Center for Social Justice is excited to announce the 2023 Teach OUt on Race will be held on February 10th from 10:00am-:30pm. This event will be held virtually via Zoom and registration is required. Designed for a range of participants from budding allies to experienced activists, Teach OUt is an opportunity for attendees to intentionally consider what it means to practice anti-racism across the spaces where we teach, learn, and lead.

The OU Arts & Humanities Forum podcast, *Staying with the Question* features our own Prof. Rangar Cline on the subject of maps. Give it a listen!

"Can you tell a story with a map? Host Kim Marshall talks to OU Scholars Rangar Cline, Farina King, and Asa Randall about the possibilities for learning, teaching, and building community using digital, interactive maps that help us make meaningful connections."

Staying with the Question Podcast - "Maps"

This semester, four Religious Studies students were awarded travel grants to attend the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado on November 18-21. This opportunity was made possible by the generous support of the Rev. Barbara Boyd and Rev. Larry Angus. Students were able to engage more deeply in academic discourse, attending panel sessions on a diverse array of issues from Greek mythology to contemporary bioethics. They also had a chance to explore downtown Denver and shared a meal with Rev. Angus. We would like to extend a huge thank you to Rev. Boyd and Rev. Angus for providing our students with an academic experience they will never forget! 

Thank you, Professor Alan Levenson and to all who attended our New Horizons event for the engaging lecture and discussion on Professor Levenson’s new publication, *Maurice Samuel: Life and Letters of a Secular Jewish Contrarian.* It was a great event! 

Read all about RELS: where we've been, what's happening, and what's to come in 2022-23!

RELS Fall 2022 Newsletter

The Department of Religious Studies is excited to welcome back our students, faculty, and staff to campus for the new academic year!  We would like to invite you as well as interested students and alumni to our RELS Welcome Back Open House on Friday, August 26 from 3 - 4:30 p.m. in our offices on the first floor of Robertson Hall.  Snacks will be provided.

Congratulations to our graduating Class of 2022! We are incredibly proud of your accomplishments. You are what makes us great! 👩‍🎓🧑‍🎓👨‍🎓🅾️🙌🎉 

The Department of Religious Studies would like to extend a hearty congratulations to our scholarship recipients for this academic year! Your achievements are exemplary & we are proud. Well done! 🎉

The Reverend Larry & Gloria Angus Endowed Scholarship:

Menna Elsayed

The Bernita L. Thompson Endowed Scholarship for Undergraduate Research & Writing:

Chris Dixon

The Timothy Cole Stephenson Scholarship:

Ambie Nicholson

The Heather Nicole Stephenson Scholarship:

Chris Dixon

The David D. LeNorman Scholarship for Religious Studies:

Ezra Koenig

The Make a Difference Scholarship:

Amy Hotchkiss

The Tom W. Boyd Endowed Scholarship:

Ben Bernard

RELS had an amazing time together celebrating the accomplishments of our students and our department at our End of Year Celebration.  Thank you to all of those who attended.  We love to see you!

Congrats to our faculty members Jill Hicks-Keeton & David Vishanoff who received Dodge Family College of Arts & Sciences Senior Faculty Summer Fellowships for 2022!  Well done!

The Department of Religious Studies is excited to announce that we are broadening our social media outreach! Please give us a follow on your favorite social media platforms here:

Facebook

Instagram: oureligiousstudies

Twitter: @OUReligStudies

YouTube: OU Religious Studies

The Department of Religious Studies is pleased to announce the publication of *Islamic Legal Theory: A Critical Introduction," by Associate Professor David Vishanoff. Along with a critical edition and English translation of a classic handbook of Islamic legal theory, it offers a novel commentary that highlights the significance of medieval debates for the contemporary concerns of both students and specialists. You can find out more and pre-order print copies here.

Congratulations, Dr. Vishanoff!

Some reviews include:

"In this brilliant, innovative, and engaging book, Vishanoff guides readers through some of the most fundamental questions Muslims have debated, and struggled with, for centuries. Most Muslim scholars' books on these topics are dense and difficult. But here Vishanoff takes one such book—al-Juwaynī’s classic Waraqat—and explains, with lucidity and precision, its complex and obscure arguments. Through this book, readers will reach a better understanding of why such debates mattered to Muslims in the past, why they matter now, and how they affect the ways in which the Sharia—God’s law—might be understood in the future."

—Robert Gleave, University of Exeter

"A gem! David Vishanoff ’s translation of, and commentary on, al-Juwaynī’s short treatise on legal theory is cleverly conceptualized, clearly organized, and lucidly presented. It will engage and instruct those new to the study of Islamic law while inviting specialists to appreciate, reflect on, and perhaps question its comparative and interpretive choices. Highly recommended."

—Kecia Ali, Boston University

Donald S. Lopez Phi Beta Kappa Lecture:

When Buddha Was an Idol: European Encounters With an Ancient Asian Sage

April 11, 2022

The Department of Religious Studies and the Phi Beta Kappa Society Visiting Scholars Program would like to thank Donald S. Lopez, Ph.D. for his lecture on Monday, April 11,  When Buddha Was an Idol: European Encounters With an Ancient Asian Sage.

The lecture was engaging and well-attended, and a healthy question-and-answer session followed.  We greatly extend our thanks to Dr. Lopez for his time with us at OU!

The Department of Religious Studies and the Phi Beta Kappa Society Visiting Scholars Program Present:

When Buddha Was an Idol: European Encounters With an Ancient Asian Sage

A Lecture by Donald S. Lopez, Ph.D.

Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan

5 p.m. Monday, April 11

Heritage Room

Oklahoma Memorial Union

The Department of Religious Studies presents: Understanding Indigenous Religions: Insights from Religious Studies and Indigenous Studies by Abel Gomez, Ph.D., Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Native American Studies

Thursday, November 11; noon to 1 p.m.

Heritage Room, Oklahoma Memorial Union

Pizza and snacks will be provided.

Accommodations on the basis of disability are available by contacting Rebecca Hall-Davis at rebeccahd@ou.edu as soon as possible.

Abel Gomez, Ph.D.; Understanding Indigenous Religions: Insights from Religious Studies and Indigenous Studies - Nov. 11, noon - 1 p.m.

The Department of Religious Studies welcomed our students, faculty, staff, and alumni back to campus at our RELS Welcome Back event on Friday, August 27th.  It was good to see faces new and old come together and celebrate the department.  Here's to an amazing academic year to come!

Introducing James Howard Hill, Jr. - Meet the Newest Addition to the RELS Faculty

The Department of Religious Studies is excited to welcome James Hill to our faculty this fall. Hill is finishing his Ph.D. at Northwestern University and is scheduled to defend his dissertation, titled “Transgressive Witness: Religion, Race Governance and the Michael Jackson Cacophony.”

He is the author of several published and forthcoming articles and essays dealing with such topics as hip hop theopoetics, kneeling and Black athletic protest, Black politics and religion and religion in HBO’s Watchmen.

You can find an example of Hill's work on the African American Intellectual History Society website - aaihs.org - "Watchmen, Haunting, & the Religious Imagination" from February 2020.

Hill will design and offer new courses inspired by his own research and interests, and he will utilize his own expertise and approaches to courses that make up the core religious studies curriculum. Hill comes to us with a rich background in mentorship programs and is eager to work with our students.

Fall 2021