News
REL 499: Religious Things
Spring 2010 special topics course to be taught by James McHugh focuses on the material world of religion.
REL 599: Religion and Politics in East Asia
As part of the RIGG Program, the Spring 2010 semester will offer Religion and Politics in East Asia, to be taught by Lori Meeks.
CRCC Funding Opportunities for USC Scholars
CRCC provides support for USC faculty members and graduate students to pursue innovative projects related to religion
Professors Campany and McHugh Receive ASHSS Funding
Professors Robert Campany and James McHugh have received funding from the Provost’s Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences for their research proposals.
CRCC to Announce PCRI Awards in February 2010
The Center for Religion and Civic Culture will announce the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative award in February 2010.
Students Find ARC Research an Awarding Experience
USC Archaeology Research Center students worked hard on their academic research and plans for summer field and lab projects - with their dedication receiving big payouts. They were recognized for their academic work from both USC and outside organizations.
New Course Examines Pluralistic Nature of Religion in Japan
Professor Lori Meeks is offering a new course this fall titled "Religions of Japan" (REL 332). The course will examine religious life in Japan, from ancient through contemporary times, and will focus on issues of religious identity. Readings will range from philosophical and doctrinal works to poetry, popular narrative, and autobiography. Students will also be encouraged to explore documentary and animated films that address religious life in Japan. The course will also feature at least two fieldtrips, one to observe a religious site, and another to see a Buddhist collection at a local art museum. For more information, click here.
New Course Unveils Women's Role in Islamic Society
The School of Religion is offering a new undergraduate course this fall: REL 316: Women and the Islamic Tradition. Prof. Megan Reid, who has been conducting research overseas for the past year, has developed a new course on the role of women in Islamic society.
This exciting new course will look at the social and legal status of women in Islamic society. Students will participate in their learning by conducting their own research projects and group presentations on a topic of their choice. They will discuss and question how women are portrayed in Islam and study references to women in the foundational texts of Islam, the Qur'an and the hadith. Using a variety of literature from the Islamic world, the course will examine the social roles established both for Muslim women and by them, and the ways in which those roles have been maintained and/or transformed over time. A basic premise of the course is that there is a difference between theory and practice, and thus students will assess how historical evidence of women's lives in pre-modern Islamic societies relates to the theoretical literature written by their male contemporaries.
USC Archaeology Students Recognized
Undergraduate students from the USC Archaeology Research Center participated in this year's Undergraduate Symposium for Scholarly and Creative Work, held on April 15, 2009. Students from all fields of study had the opportunity to exhibit their significant research and share examples of their creativity with the university community.
Students presented their work to a number of judges, and an awards ceremony followed. We are pleased to announce that two of the winners were from the Archaeology Research Center. Jennifer Crawford ('10 Archaeology, Photography) took first place in the Humanities category for her project, "Bringing the Past to Life: Recreating an Ancient Egyptian Gilding Technique." Her prize is $1,000. Jacob Bongers ('11 Archaeology) received an honorable mention in the Humanities category for his project, "Illuminating Culture Clash: Material Smashing in Northern Chile." Bongers also recently received a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship for his work.
Campany's Book Presents New View of Medieval Chinese Ascetics
Robert Campany, director of the School of Religion and professor of religion, has a new book on the shelves titled, Making Transcendents: Ascetics and Social Memory in Early Medieval China. This looks at early Chinese Daoism and the quest for transcendence that shaped it. Many people sought to become deathless, godlike beings with supernormal powers (xian). These people have traditionally been portrayed as secretive and hermit-like, but Campany explores a new and very different view of xian-seekers in late classical and early medieval China. He suggests transcendence was not necessarily a withdrawal from society, but rather a choice to take a religious role within society that simply involved a contrasting lifestyle to other societal roles.
USC Center Receives $6.9 Million Grant to Research Global Pentecostalism
Los Angeles is the birthplace of American Pentecostalism. It is appropriate, therefore, that the city now will be the home of one of the largest grants ever awarded to study Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity. USC's Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC) has announced its new Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative (PCRI), made possible by a $6.9 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
Finding Common Ground Between Jews and Palestinians
Rabbi Reuven Firestone spent the last weekend in January at Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, TX, giving presentations on the search for common ground between Muslims and Jews in the Middle East.
Firestone is a professor of Medieval Jewish and Islamic Studies at Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, and he also teaches courses in Judaic Studies at USC. His specialties include early Islam and its relationship with Judaism, scriptural interpretation of the Bible and the Quran, and the phenomenon of "holy war."
USC Archaeology Team Digs for Buried Treasure
Prof. Lynn Swartz Dodd led her class (REL 495: Field Methods in Archaeology) on a day trip to San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura to excavate the grounds there. The group was spotted by a Ventura County Star photographer, who snapped this photo.
The Travels of Donald Miller: Professor Studies Religion in China
Prof. Donald Miller, Executive Director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at USC, spent three weeks in October traveling to various parts of China in an effort to understand religious expression there, both contemporary and historical. Throughout his travels, Miller met with a number of Chinese scholars, government officials, religious leaders, and Chinese citizens of all ages. He also visited many ancient religious sites. Miller encountered a wide variety of religions throughout China, including Buddhism, Christianity (specifically Pentecostalism and Roman Catholicism), Islam, and Confucianism.
New Institute for Violence Prevention and Church Growth
Rev. Cecil Murray, Tanzy Professor of Christian Ethics, and Prof. Donald E. Miller, Executive Director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at USC, have created the Clergy and Lay Institute for Violence Prevention and Church Growth to inform, train, and provide networking opportunities for pastors, clergy, and lay leaders to deal with gang violence issues. The Institute offers training from scholars, prevention practitioners, and law enforcement on violence prevention. The monthly class will feature case studies, successful gang prevention and intervention programs for pastors and lay leaders.
Religion Double Majors Earn Degrees In Many Disciplines
Over fifty percent of religion majors earning a Bachelor of Arts degree at USC are double majors. The religion major requires a total of thirty two units which includes only two requirements making the major flexible enough for even science majors. Religion majors are completing a second major across disciplines and even from schools other than the College. Currently, there are majors from anthropology, archaeology, broadcast journalism, chemistry, cinema television, economics, international relations, kinesiology, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology.
New Equipment Yields Exciting New Details
The USC Archaeological Research Center studied fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls with new equipment in November. Not only was it a chance to unlock new clues to these ancient texts, but it was an opportunity to test out some of the most high-tech equipment in the field using techniques only available in their labs at USC.
Religions of Contemporary Africa
The School of Religion will offer a unique course, "REL 499: Religions of Contemporary Africa," for the spring 2009 semester. This course will address such questions as: What kinds of religions can be found in Africa today? How and why do Africans practice Christianity, Islam, and Judaism along with “traditional” African religions? Why are politics, economic life, and healing techniques in Africa all influenced by religion? These themes will be approached with case studies from throughout the continent, from Seventh-day Adventists in Madagascar to Islamic clerics in Senegal. Professor Karen Smid will be teaching this exploration of religion in Africa.
Building Community: The Ethiopians of Los Angeles
The Center for Religion and Civic Culture explores religious and cultural identity among Ethiopian immigrants through photographs, music, and interviews.
Native American Landscapes
The Native American Cultural Landscape project in the Archaeology Research Center at USC is focused on the preservation of Native American pictograph sites in Southern California. This project is directed by USC professor Lynn Swartz Dodd and student research associates from Religion, Archaeology, and Anthropology. The current student research leader is Archaeology major Lucy Harrington. Our goal is to create resources that will assist tribes, conservators and researchers to preserve the endangered heritage landscape of southern California. We are doing this by testing ways to remove graffiti with lasers and by creating an interactive GIS database that includes maps and mobile light images (or polynomial texture maps).
native_american_landscapes
The Native American Sacred Landscapes Project focuses on the conservation of Native American rock art in Southern California.
Brave Knights and Heroic Courage
On November 12, The Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies will present Brave Knights and Heroic Courage, a film by Michael Flaherty, at the Davidson Conference Center. The reception will begin at 4:30pm; the lecture will follow at 5pm.
The Religion and Public Life Seminar
The last seminar of the Religion and Public Life Seminar Series will be held on November 21, 2008, from 12:00pm to 2:15pm in ASC 331. This seminar welcomes all who would like to engage with research on how religious organizations, traditions, identities, or sensibilities participate in public life. You need not consider religion your primary research interest. You need only to be interested in making the role of religion part of a conversation about public institutions, processes, or events; we'll focus on the modern (post-1600) period. The seminar invites researchers who focus on western and non-western contexts, contemporary and historical.
Please remember that in order to participate, you must contact Diane Winston or Paul Lichterman.
The Color of Jewish Life
The Color of Jewish Life: Imagining Polychromy in the Art of the Ancient Synagogue
The Jerome Nemer Lecture will be held on Monday, November 10, 2008 at the Davidson Executive Conference Center. The reception will begin at 4:45pm, followed by the lecture at 5:30pm. Please R.S.V.P. by October 31 to (213)740-3405 or via email at: casden@usc.edu.
Finding Faith
A new book by Richard Flory and Donald Miller, Finding Faith: The Spiritual Quest of the Post-Boomer Generation (Rutgers University Press, 2008) examines religious trends among Christian Gen Xers and Millennials.
Generation Next Votes: Does Faith Matter?
On October 29, a panel of experts and student leaders will consider the Millennial generation's role as a possible swing vote in the presidential election and how their use of technology, views on spirituality, and ethic of social responsibility will influence the political future.
Live from L.A.: Good/God and Evil
The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative is presenting the second "Good/God and Evil" panel discussion: "Forgive Us Our Sins: Institutional Evil and Personal Responsibility" on Wednesday, October 22 at 5 p.m. in the Annenberg Auditorium. Tom Fontana, executive producer of Homicide and Oz; Amy Hollywood, professor at Harvard Divinity School; and Wendell Pierce of The Wire will join moderator James K. Lee, professor at UC Santa Barbara, for a discussion of whether and how 9/11 affected American ideals about individual and corporate evil as evidenced on such television shows as The Wire, The Sopranos, Oz, and The Shield.
On The Waterfront
The Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies presents "On the Waterfront: The Great American Catholic Movie" on September 24, 2008 at the Davidson Conference Center. The reception begins at 4:30pm, and continues until the opening lecture at 5:00pm with James T. Fisher of Fordham University and Leo Braudy of USC.
God's Heart Has No Borders
A new book on immigration has recently been published by the University of California Press: God's Heart Has No Borders: How Religious Activists Are Working for Immigration Rights, by Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, USC College sociology professor.
The School of Religion Welcomes Karen Smid
Karen Smid has been appointed as the Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow in Islamic Studies at the School of Religion for the 2008/09 academic year. This fall, she is teaching REL 315:Thought and Life of Islam as well as REL 590: Directed Research with several graduate students. She will be teaching REL 499: Religion in Contemporary Africa in the spring of 2009.
She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan in 2008. Her dissertation was entitled "How Tomorrow Precedes Yesterday: Visions of Time and Locations of Authority for Muslims in the Fouta Djallon, Guinea." Professor Smid is a scholar of Islamic and African Religions. Her research shows how Muslim political and religious leaders established and maintained authority over their students, family members, and neighbors by communicating certain legitimating, religiously-inspired visions of time and temporal periods. It is based on two years of ethnographic and linguistic research and Quranic study in a set of rural clerical communities in the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea.
In the spring of 2007, she developed and taught an undergraduate course for the University of Michigan. It was "The Anthropology of Religious Language" which compared linguistic practices and ideologies in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
McHugh to Join Religion Faculty
We are delighted to welcome Professor James McHugh to the USC School of Religion. Prof. McHugh comes to us from Harvard University where he completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies.
USC Office of Religious Life Proposes New Multi-Faith Center
USC is making plans to create a setting unparalleled in any other instutution of higher education -- a center dedicated to interfaith learning and particular practice side by side with the religious studies research.
The True Wealth of Nations Conference to be held June 2008
The Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California is hosting a conference, June 18-22, 2008. The conference's theme will be: The True Wealth of Nations: Developing an Architecture for Analysis.
Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement Established
The Center for Religion and Civic Culture is proud to announce the beginning of The Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement. CMJE aims to enhance the understanding of Muslims and Jews about each other's faiths, as well as increase their ability to engage with each other on issues of mutual importance
Miller's Pentecostal Phenomenon Video on YouTube
This video highlights some of the documentary footage that Donald Miller, executive director of CRCC and director of the USC School of Religion, shot during research visits to more than 20 countries.
Seven Deadly Sins Updated
The Pope's update of the seven deadly sins list is discussed on the Knight Chair in Media and Religion website.
School of Religion involved in RIGG project
Course development is one of the focuses of the RIGG project. The goal of the project is to have 8 to 10 new courses focusing on religion in international relations at USC.
Can Shared Beliefs Clash With Values?
In the February issue of American Sociological Review, USC sociologist Paul Lichterman investigates how values instilled by faith affect relations among religious groups attempting to tackle community issues together.
Diane Winston Rolls out New Website
Professor, journalist, and Knight Chair in Media and Religion, Diane Winston has launched the new Knight Chair website.
Religion Department Offering Medical Ethics Course
For the first time in Spring 2008, the Religion department is offering REL 460: Senior Seminar in Medical Ethics to juniors as well as seniors.
Murray: Passing the Mantle
Rev. Cecil Murray, School of Religion's Tanzy Chair of Christian Ethics, heads up Passing the Mantle. "This effort is important because the essence of the struggle for black equity has always been based in the black church," says Murray.
School of Religion Welcomes New Professor David Albertson
The School of Religion is pleased to welcome David Albertson as an Assistant Professor to its faculty.
Miller's Book, Global Pentecostalism, Now Avaliable
School of Religion Director Donald Miller's latest work Global Pentecostalism, The New Face of Christian Social Engagement has been published.
First B.A. in Interdisciplinary Archaeology
Georgiana Nikias graduated in May 2007 as the first student to receive a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Archaeology at USC. Georgiana double majored and received a B.A. in Creative Writing as well.
Religion Major Graduates Garner Awards
The School of Religion is pleased to recognize religion majors who graduated with honors in May 2007. Congratulations!
Religious Studies: An Awarding Experience
Religion faculty receive important research awards in 2006-2007.
Porter lectures in Paris
School of Religion professor Ann Porter holds lecture series at College de France in Paris. She is using this coveted opportunity to challenge her colleagues in academia to re-envision the ancient world.
Religion Majors Win Symposium Awards for Ninth Year
Religion major, Kristin Butler and Ashley Sands, were awarded first place in humanities for their project, "Re-examining the Past" at USC's Ninth Annual Undergraduate Symposium for Scholarly and Creative Work on April 11, 2007.
Archaeological Research Collection Move
The Archaeological Research Collection (ARC) has moved to Ahmanson Center for Biological Research. (ACB 335)
Commencement Reception
The School of Religion held their 2007 Commencement reception honoring the 2007 graduates in religion. It was held on May 11, 2007 following the satellite ceremony at the University Club. Religion majors, Ph.d. graduates,their families and faculty joined in the celebration.
Our new location
The School of Religion has moved to its new location at the Ahmanson Center Bldg. (ACB), right across from the Roski School of Fine Arts.
Professor Anne Porter on the move
Professor Porter's scholarship is receiving much attention here and abroad.
Welcome to the REL website
The new REL website is up and running...
Professor Robert F. Campany to join the REL faculty
We are pleased to welcome Professor Robert F. Campany to the USC School of Religion.
Graduating class of 2006 an honored class
REL Seniors receive top honors. Pictures from the graduation are now available.
Indiana Jones and the Ancient Cylinder Seal
Professors Bruce Zuckerman and Lynn Swartz Dodd receive a Mellon Undergraduate Mentoring Grant.
First Tribulation, Then Triumph
Professor Don Miller's work on Rwanda genocide helps net prestigious award for organization helping children orphaned by warfare.
There's Something Else About Mary
Professor Ronald Hock explores a highly influential but little-known document about Jesus
Kudos to REL student Ashley Sands
REL major Ashley Sands (2007) is acknowledged for her outstanding research this year.
Professor Lori Meeks receives SSRC-JSPS Fellowship
Lori Meeks is the recipient of a Social Science Research Council/Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship.
REL professors teaching at the cutting edge
School of Religion faculty are leading the Undergraduate Team Research Communities project and collaborating with the Institute for Multimedia literacy.
Zuckerman and Swartz Dodd do it again...
Professors Bruce Zuckerman and Lynn Swartz Dodd are the recipients of a 2006-07 Undergraduate Research Program Award.
Reaching out is so hard to do....
Professor Paul Lichterman's new book explores church groups and the difficulties of community outreach.
Religion majors inducted into Religious Studies Honor Society
Fourteen majors are inducted into Theta Alpha Kappa.
Professor Jane Iwamura is honored for her work
Professor Iwamura receives a 2006-07 Zumberge Award, as well as other honors.
REL 494 projects win Undergraduate Symposium awards
Students in REL 494 receive awards at the 2006 Undergraduate Symposium.
Conference Explores Pentecostal Movement
in the 100 years since the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, the rapid expansion of Pentecostalism has marked a dramatic shift in the world religious scene.
It's not your pastor's seminary anymore
New York Times: Students Flock to Seminaries, but Fewer See Pulpit in Future
Scholars Document Genocide Aftermath
Joined by USC colleagues, professor Donald Miller returns to Rwanda, where tens of thousands of lives were lost more than one decade ago.