Lectures and Events
FACULTY LECTURES
- April 20, 2023 - Catholics, Comics, and Horrors - Professor Matthew Cressler
- February 22, 2022 - Sacred Geographies: Land and Religion at Bears Ears National Monument - Professor Brennan Keegan
- November 29, 2018 - 4 Solstices in Ashville, North Carolina: A Story of Spiritual Improisation and Cultural Appropriation - Professor Elijah Siegler
- April 3, 2018 - Drunken Festival Songs, Love Poetry, and Dimly Lit Inscriptions - Sabbatical talk presented by Professor John Huddlestun
- March 2018 - Black Religion and Black Lives Matter in Historical Perspective - Professor Matthew Cressler
- January 18, 2018 - Jews on the Frontier and Authentically Black and Truly Catholic. Professors Shari Rabin and Matthew Cressler
- December 5, 2017 - RELS Book Release Celebration and Presentation - Professors Cressler, Irwin, Levasseur and Siegler
- November 13, 2013 - Brown Bag Lunch Series - Biblical Taboos: Sodomy - Professor John Huddlestun
- February 14, 2013 - Reincarnation in Western Esotericism - Professor Lee Irwin
- October 31, 2012 - Through a Glass Darkly: Transformation of the Otherworld in Medieval and Lutheran Iceland - Professor Margaret Cormack
- February 21, 2012 - Improving The Study Abroad Experience Using the Latest Pedagogy in Religious Studies - Professor Elijah Siegler
- January 31, 2012 - Why Many Gods Become One God: Indonesia's Strategy For Avoiding Jihad - Professor June McDaniel
- January 27, 2012 - Man, Church, and the Icelandic Environment - Professor Margaret Cormack
- November 1, 2011 - Blood on the Water: Contextualizing the First Biblical Plague - Professor John Huddlestun
- September 23, 2011 - Religion: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution? - Professor Louise Doire
GUEST LECTURES
The Department of Religious Studies is pleased to host a series of lectures and colloquia each year to serve the needs and interests of our students, the College, and the Charleston community. These lectures are open to the public and free of charge as they are funded by the Department of Religious Studies and other departments and programs at the College. Please consider attending one of our upcoming events. Past events have included:
- October 4, 2023 - Living Folk Religions - Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Aaron Ullrey, Seth Ligo, Padraic Fitzgerald, and Jason Purvis
- April 18, 2023 - Black Atlantic Religions: Passionately Human, No Less Divine - Dr. Troy Mills (Claremont McKenna College)
- April 11, 2023 - Ghostly Spirituality: Horror, Hip Hop, and Black Religion in Lovecraft Country - Professor Deanna Daniels (Rice University)
- April 6, 2023 - The Crossed Causes: Catholics Memorials, Confederate Monuments, and the Power of Sacrifice - Dr. Brandon Bayne (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- April 3, 2023 - Organizing and Lawyering for Religious Pluralism - Madeline Liebin ('18)
- November 29, 2022 - Heritage, Identity, and the Biracial Experience - Natasha Akery ('09)
- November 1, 2022 - Kendrick Lamar on the Life and the Nature of Death - Dr. Anthony Pinn (Rice University)
- March 4, 2022 - Panel Discussion on Interfaith, Ecojustice and Local Community Activism - Alecia Brewster, Omar Muhammad, Queen Quet, Ragina Scott Saunders, and John Grim
- February 15, 2022 - The Religion and Science of the Brain Observed: A Panel Discussion - Dr. John Modern (William and Marshall), Dr. Daniel Greenberg (CofC), and Dr. Andrew Aghapour ('07)
- November 4, 2021 - Sacrifice & Surrender: Precious Offerings in an African-Inspired Community in Cuba - Dr. Todd Ochoa (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- November 1, 2021 - Reflection on Contemporary Art and Faith - Lecture and Q&A with The Foundation for Spirituality and the Arts
- November 8, 2019 - A Question of Membership: A Guided Discussion - Dr. Wendy Cadge and Dr. David Slucki (CofC)
- November 7, 2019 - Boston's Hidden Sacred Places: An Illustrated Lecture - Dr. Wendy Cadge (Brandeis University)
- October 31. 2019 - The Discomfort of Things: Materiality, Agency, and Demons in Spiritual Warfare - Dr. Sean McCloud (UNC-Charlotte)
- October 10, 2019 - Opening session for the Black Catholic Theological Symposium. Christian Forgiveness As Incarnational: Turning to the Black Existential Experience in the Era of Hate - Dr. SimonMary Aihiokhai (University of Portland).
- April 16, 2019 - Holding Space in Charlottesville: Showing Up Against White Supremacy - Dr. Jalane Schmidt
- April 5, 2019 - Discussing the Impact of Climate Change on the Indigenous People of Greenland - Kalaalit Shaman Angaanaq Angakkorsuaq
- March 7, 2019 - The Confession: Video Games, Violence and the Problem of Evil in Far Cry 5 - Dr. Gregory P. Grieve
- November 12, 2018-Powwows and Christmas Trees: Ute Land Religion and the Barriers to Native American Reconciliation - Dr. Brandi Denison
- October 22, 2018 -Abraham: The First Jew, Christian or Muslim: A Comparative Study of the Patriarch in Three Scriptures and How to Diss a False Prophet: Protecting Religion be Rejecting God's Messengers - Rabbi Reuven Firestone, PhD
- March 27, 2018 - Turbans, Beards and White Supremacy: Intersections of Race and Religion in America - Dr. Simran Singh
- March 1, 2018 - Environmental Justice on the Era of Climate Change - Katherine Brown (2009)
- January 29, 2018 - Fasting and Feasting: A Dialog between Muslims and Jews - The Christian Jewish Council of Greater Charleston
- January 25, 2018 - Resilient Injustices, Unyielding Revolve - Dr. Clifton Granby
- October 30, 2017 - Death and the Afterlife in Comparative Perspective: Jewish, Islamic and Buddhist Perspectives - Professor Mark Berkson
- October 26, 2017 - Can Art Save Us from Fundamentalism? - Professor Philip S. Francis
- September 28, 2017 - Lightning, God, and the Future - Professor Jeffrey Kripal
- April 11, 2017 - The Artifacts of White Supremacy - Kelly Baker
- February 2, 2017 - The Religious History of American Happiness - Kathryn Lofton
- November 15, 2016 - Particularity and Pluralism - Charles Kimball
- April 14, 2016 - Singing the Soul Free: Gullah/Geechee Religion & Practice - LeRhonda Manigault-Bryant
- April 14, 2016 - Environmental Possibilities in the Worship of Sacred Mountains and Trees in India - Dr. David Haberman
- April 5, 2016 - Wrapped Up and Ready to Go: Elite Burial Practices in Warring States in China - Dr. Leslie Wallace
- March 31, 2016 - Calypso and Christianity - Dr. Alison McLetchie
- March 30, 2016 - Undisciplined Religion Research: Queer Topics at the Boundaries of the Field - Dr. Claudia Schippert
- November 19, 2015 - Why Practicing Virtue Is Better than Working Out: Indian Buddhist Associations Between Bodies and Morality - Dr. John Powers
- November 18, 2015 - China's Green Religion: Daoism and the Quest for a Sustainable Future - Dr. James Miller
- November 5, 2015 - Envisioning Howard Finster: The Religion and Art of a Stranger from Another World - Dr. Norman Giradot
- October 29 & 30, 2015 - Misunderstanding Judaism Means Misunderstanding Jesus - Dr. Amy-Jill Levine
- October 29, 2015 - How Jews and Christians Read Scripture Differently - Dr. Amy-Jill Levine
- April 21, 2015 - Two Paths toward the Formless Lord: Mystics' Practice and Social Change in Hindi Sant Tradition - Dr. Daniel Gold
- April 7, 2105 - Religious Freedom, Incorporated - Dr. Finbarr Curtis
- April 2, 2015 - Muslims and Christians in Medieval Spain - Dr. Brian Catlos
- March 24, 2015 - The Religion of Homo Nexus: Neuroplasticity in an Age of Enhancement - Ph.D. Candidate Andrew Aghapour
- March 18, 2015 - The Shaman's Apprentice - Dr. Mark Plotkin
Photo Credit: Priscilla Thomas; class of 2007