Each year the Department of Religion at the University of Florida awards top student performers in Religious Studies. The 2023 Russell Jaberg Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a graduating religion major, went to Shiri Abramson. *Photo Credit: Dr. Narayanan
Distinguished professor Dr. Vasudha Narayanan has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She helped create the University of Florida’s Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions (CHiTra), the first such center in the United States. Founded in 1780 by members like John Adams and John Hancock, the American Academy of […]
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The Department of Religion is happy to announce – and welcome – our new addition to its faculty: Prof. Yaniv Feller. Prof. Feller is a scholar of modern Jewish thought and museum studies. His first book, The Jewish Imperial Imagination: Leo Baeck and German-Jewish Thought was supported by an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship and is under contract […]
Just a few of the courses being offered in the spring of 2022 in the Department of Religion. Click HERE for more information about each of these courses as well as a complete listing of all courses being offered in the spring of 2022.
Preview of some of the courses being offered this fall in the Department of Religion. Click HERE for more information about each of these courses as well as a complete listing of all courses being offered this fall.
The University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the creation of a new fund that will support the study of Jainism, an ancient religious tradition with roots in India. Established through a generous $500,000 gift from a group of donors, the Sri Kanjiswami Endowment in Jain Studies will fund […]
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As a quick skim through any newspaper or social media feed reveals, contemporary societies face many complex, large-scale challenges that have no easy solutions, such as climate change, police violence, terrorism, and world poverty. While these challenges may all seem very different, they each force us to confront ethical questions: what is morally right and […]
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The Religion Department provides advice about classes, credits, and other questions for Religion majors and minors. Many of your general questions about our major and minor are answered on our department webpage. If you have additional questions or wish to schedule an appointment, our undergraduate coordinator (advisor) for 2020-21 is Dr. Anna Peterson. The best way […]
The goal of this course is to instruct students with no prior knowledge of Sanskrit with a systematic introduction to the language. Using introductory textbooks and handouts students will learn to read core narrative and philosophical Sanskrit texts by mastering the grammar and vocabulary. Class time will consist in practicing exercises and reading Sanskrit sentences. […]
Due to current admission examination testing difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic the Department of Religion, in sync with the UF Graduate School, is waiving the GRE requirement for applicants seeking Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Summer A/B/C 2021, or Fall 2021 admission. This temporary emergency waiver applies only to admission for those four semesters.
The study of Muslims in South Asia—in India, but also in Bangladesh and Pakistan—is crucial for understanding contemporary Islam in our global world. South Asian Muslims are also active in the Arabian Gulf region and in Western Europe and North America, especially in the UK. In this course, we take “Islam in South Asia” as […]
This class explores the role of religion in movements for social change. We will address core questions in study of social movements – how movements emerge, why people join, how they mobilize resources, what strategies and tactics they employ, and what goals they seek – by examining a range of case studies, including civil rights […]
The modern study of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) effectively began in the nineteenth century, when scholars, through painstaking critical analysis of the biblical text, discovered that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) was written not by one author — Moses, according to venerable tradition — but by several, over the course of several centuries. […]
Religion is arguably the most powerful and pervasive force in the world. Majoring in religious studies can help you understand the complex and sometimes volatile relationships between religion and politics, economics, and social structures, as well as the ways in which the past (scripture, tradition, history) has helped shape the present. Fall classes now enrolling! […]
Due to the Covid-19 virus, the Department of Religion is temporarily shut down. If you need any assistance please contact our office manager, Annie Newman (annen1@ufl.edu), or our chair, Terje Østebø (ostebo@ufl.edu). If you need to contact any of the faculty, you can find their contact info here: https://religion.ufl.edu/faculty/core/
The American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting brings thousands of professors and students, authors, publishers, religious leaders, journalists, and interested laypersons to its Annual Meeting each year. Co-hosted with the Society of Biblical Literature, the Annual Meetings are the largest events of the year in the fields of religious studies and theology. Some […]
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Our very own Assistant Professor Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons devoted her life to civil rights, the public understanding of religion, justice, and international human rights. Now, she is entering into a new exciting phase in her career: retirement. During her distinguished career, her academic work focused on Islamic feminism and the interpretation of shariah and its […]
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What do you get when you mix traditional Catholicism with Vaporwave art? The answer is, “TradWave.” TradWave is a microgenre of “cultural traditionalist themed vaporwave art with Catholic motives.” Vaporwave itself began as a sub-genre of electronic music and morphed into a visual culture of internet memes and digital art in the early 2010s. Samantha […]
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Louis Reinstein of the law firm Kelly Kronenberg was elected to serve as a Board Member for the University of Florida’s Department of Religion’s Advisory Board. Established in the 1980s, the Advisory Board promotes the visibility and recognition of religious studies and helps raise awareness for the critical contribution that religious diversification provides to society. The […]
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A Summer Institute at the University of Florida Lived Islam in Contemporary Africa co-hosted by the Center for African Studies, Center for Global Islamic Studies, & Department of Religion May 7–25, 2019 This Summer Institute will explore ways of being Muslim and lived Islam in contemporary Africa from a comparative perspective. Our main objective […]
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The University of Florida, with a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s Initiative on Religion in International Affairs, will appoint a postdoctoral associate to begin August 16, 2018. This is a one year position to work within the project “Islam in Africa in Global Context.” The postdoctoral associate will be affiliated with the Department of […]
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