Dr. Stephen Berkwitz, Professor and Department Head of the Department of Religious Studies, recently published an essay called "Narratives of Buddhist Relics and Images" in the online Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. This essay examines the forms and motives of Buddhist writings about powerful and venerable objects across Asia, giving attention to the central role of … [Read more...] about Stephen Berkwitz Publishes in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion
Dr. Matthew Kuiper of the Department of Religious Studies spoke last evening (May 16) at an interfaith Iftar (breaking of the fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan). The event was organized by the local Muslim community of Springfield, MO, Faith Voices, Ekklesia, Catholic Campus Ministries, and Interfaith Alliance of the Ozarks. Dr. Kuiper shared some personal reflections on … [Read more...] about Interfaith Iftar Features Religious Studies Professor
Dr. Stephen Berkwitz, MSU Religious Studies Department Head and Professor of Buddhism, presented a paper recently at the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford's graduate student workshop, "Political Poetics Across Buddhist Traditions: Gandhara, Sri Lanka, and Tibet". Besides taking advantage of the opportunity to meet students interested in Buddhist studies, … [Read more...] about Dr. Stephen Berkwitz Presents at Ho Center for Buddhist Poetics Workshop
This past weekend, Dr. Matt Kuiper (Professor of Islam), and Dr. Vadim Putzu (Professor of Judaism), accompanied three of our graduate students, Lindsey Argo, Cameron Enochs, and Kayla Jenkins, and one undergraduate student, Brooke Matejka, to the annual American Academy of Religion Conference - Midwest region. As chair of the Study of Judaism section, on Friday afternoon … [Read more...] about REL Students, Faculty Attend Midwest AAR Conference
by Austra Reinis Dr. Austra Reinis and Dr. Magda Hayton took their REL 100 Introduction to Religion students on an evening field trip to Dinh Quang Buddhist Temple in NE Springfield on February 27. The students saw statues and paintings of a number of buddhas and bodhisattvas. The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, they learned, spent a long lifetime alleviating the … [Read more...] about REL 100 and REL 338 Field Trips!