OU Department of Religious Studies

07/31/2026

Religious Studies students! We encourage you to submit your research to the AAR SW conference. This is an amazing opportunity - The due date for proposals is October 1, 2026. Full papers are due for undergrads by January 15, 2027. If accepted, undergrad presenters will be given a $50 travel stipend and have their registration fee waived. Please visit the website for more information.

"The Southwest region of the American Academy of Religion invites proposals for the SWCRS regional conference, March 5-7, 2027 in Irving, Texas. We warmly encourage scholars (at all career stages) who work on religion in the Southwest region to submit proposals and to join us for a weekend of scholarly exchange, collegial conversation, and community. Also note that our meeting takes place in person. There are no virtual sessions.

Our theme for the 2027 conference is Religion and Power. This is an open call for all topics related to religion or theology, but we especially invite proposals that examine religion as both a source of power and a response to it, exploring how religious actors and communities shape, and are shaped by, the forces that structure human life. This year, we are also excited to welcome Dr. Laurel Schneider, President of the American Academy of Religion, as our plenary speaker."

The Southwest region of the American Academy of Religion invites proposals for the SWCRS regional conference, March 5-7, 2027 in Irving, Texas. We warmly encourage scholars (at all career stages) who work on religion in the Southwest region to submit proposals and to join us for a weekend of scholar...

07/10/2026

Please join the OU Religious Studies community in congratulating core faculty member, Dr. Roberta Magnusson, on her new book, *Urban Infrastructure in Medieval England: Sustainability and Resilience.*

The book includes a full chapter ("Pragmatic Piety") on the range of Catholic concepts of charity and the associated funding methods for infrastructures such as bridges and roads (e.g. alms, bequests, indulgence drives, hermits, chantry chapels, fraternities). It also has a detailed examination on the rather mixed impact that the Reformation had on infrastructure support.

It was just published by the prestigious Johns Hopkins University Press and is available here:

How medieval English towns built, sustained, and reimagined the lifelines of urban life.In the bustling market towns and growing cities of medieval England between 1200 and 1600, public works were the lifelines of urban society. In Urban Infrastructure in Medieval England, Roberta J. Magnusson offer...

06/09/2026

Congratulations to Religious Studies alumnae Sadee Songer and Cole Cloyd. Sadee was this year’s Content Editor for The Graduate Journal of Harvard Divinity School. Cole published a paper in this year’s journal titled: “The Bright Fiery Cross: The Role of Hostile Rituals for the Second Ku Klux Klan.”

You can view the paper here:

06/05/2026

Please join us in congratulating Associate Professor and Academic Chair Deonnie Moodie on being awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar award. She will travel to India in 2027 and 2028 to create partnerships between US and Indian institutions, scholars, and students that will advance research in postcolonial and decolonial studies in the humanities and management:

Zermarie Deacon, Ph.D., and Deonnie Moodie, Ph.D., have each been named a 2026-2027 Fulbright U.S. Scholar by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. These prestigious fellowships support research and development opportunities abroad.

05/15/2026

Finals weeks is almost over! Still looking for fall classes? Check out our course listing with OU History Department, "History of Heaven and Hell," HIST 3733-001, Dr. Shmuel Shepkaru, TR 3 - 4:15 pm | Bizzell Library 0104, Core IV-WDC!

05/08/2026

Check out our course listing with OU History Department, " Judaism: A Religious History," HIST 3973-001, Dr. Alan Levenson, TR 9 - 10:15 am | David L Boren House 0180, Core IV-NW!

05/06/2026

Coming for the fall 2026 semester - a new course from Dr. Dallam! Check out RELS 1313 001 U.S. Religious Controversies on MWF at 10 a.m. It counts as an arts and humanities western culture gen ed credit (IV-WC). 📚

05/06/2026

Coming for the fall 2026 semester! Check out RELS 2703 001 History of Buddhist Traditions on M/W/F at 11 a.m. with Dr. Goble. It counts as an arts and humanities world culture gen ed credit (IV-WDC). 📚

04/28/2026

Join us May 6 at noon in Zarrow Hall for our final JuSt Lunch of the semester, "Monstrous Humanity in the Bible and Its World,” with Tyson Putthoff!
Bring your lunch. Coffee and sweets provided.
For visitor parking & more info, visit:
https://www.ou.edu/cas/judaicstudies/events

04/28/2026

Congratulations to Religious Studies major and Judaic and Israel Studies minor Amy Hotchkiss for receiving first place in the world division with her paper "From Martyrdom to Survival: Rethinking Kiddush HaShem in the Holocaust" at the regional Phi Alpha Theta conference this past Saturday, April 25th at OCU. Well done, Amy!