The Department’s doctoral program focuses on the areas of inquiry listed below. This list of areas was developed to reflect the current strengths and interests of the faculty, and most areas bring together faculty with expertise in varied traditions, approaches, methodologies, and traditional subfields of Religious Studies. Students are encouraged to align themselves with one or two of these areas, but we also welcome prospective students to identify their own areas of inquiry and to nominate faculty who might support that endeavor.
Students interested in applying to work in a particular area of inquiry are welcome and encouraged to be in contact with faculty members affiliated with those areas whose interests and research seem closest to the prospective student’s. If prospective students need assistance identifying relevant faculty members, please contact Daniel Vaca (Director of Graduate Admissions).
Areas of Inquiry
- Art, Literature & Media: The study of artistic and literary works of relevance to religion from different periods, locations, and traditions. The study of the aesthetic values in religious traditions. The study of media from philosophical, historical, and anthropological perspectives.
Affiliated Faculty: Stephen Bush; Mark Cladis; Nancy Khalek; Jason Protass; Michael Satlow; Daniel Vaca; Andre C. Willis - Culture, Ethics & Society in Modern South Asia: The study of religion in modern India from anthropological, historical, textual, ethical, and aesthetic perspectives.
Affiliated Faculty: Leela Prasad - Emotions and Affect: The study of emotional and affective aspects of religious practice, as well as the discourse about emotions and affects in religious text and speech.
Affiliated Faculty: Nancy Khalek; Paul Nahme; Michael Satlow - Gender & Sexuality: The study of discourses, practices, and identities associated with gender and sexuality, as they intersect with religion, other markers of identity and social location.
Affiliated Faculty: Mark Cladis; Susan Harvey; Leela Prasad; Michael Satlow; Kera Street - Jewish Studies: The study of the Jewish tradition throughout its history, including the Hebrew Bible in its ancient West Asian and Mediterranean contexts, rabbinic literature, and modern Jewish history and thought.
Affiliated Faculty: Jae H. Han; Paul Nahme; Saul Olyan; Michael Satlow - Medieval Islamic History & Thought: The study of Islamic beliefs and practices within the cultural and historical context of the Middle East and South and Central Asia.
Affiliated Faculty: Shahzad Bashir; Nancy Khalek - Religions of East Asia: The study of East Asian religions in their historical, intellectual, and cultural contexts, with a focus of pre- and early-modern eras.
Affiliated Faculty: Jason Protass; Harold Roth; Janine Sawada - Philosophy & Ethics: Philosophical and ethical studies related to religious traditions and practices.
Affiliated Faculty: Stephen Bush; Mark Cladis; Nancy Khalek; Leela Prasad; Michael Satlow; Andre C. Willis - Religion & Ecology: The study of ecological themes as they relate to religious practices, from historical, literary, and ethical perspectives.
Affiliated Faculty: Stephen Bush; Mark Cladis; Susan Harvey; Jason Protass - Religion & Politics: The study of politics and its interconnections with religion, from historical, textual, and constructive perspectives
Affiliated Faculty: Stephen Bush; Mark Cladis; Paul Nahme; Michael Satlow; Janine Sawada; Daniel Vaca; Andre C. Willis - Religion in the Americas: The study of religion in North America from historical and anthropological perspectives.
Affiliated Faculty: Kera Street; Daniel Vaca - Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean: The interdisciplinary study of religion throughout the ancient Mediterranean and West Asia.
Affiliated Faculty: Jae H. Han; Susan Harvey; Saul Olyan; Michael Satlow - Religious Experience & Mysticism: The historical, phenomenological, and critical study of religious experiences and mysticism in various traditions and contexts.
Affiliated Faculty: Stephen Bush; Paul Nahme; Harold Roth; Michael Satlow; Kera Street - Race & Indigeneity: The study of race and indigeneity, as well as their intersections with other identities, discourses, and structures of power.
Affiliated Faculty: Mark Cladis; Paul Nahme; Leela Prasad; Michael Satlow; Kera Street; Daniel Vaca; Andre C. Willis