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July 1, 2021

Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion Community Outreach Program

For 2021-2022, the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion at UC Berkeley is delighted to announce a new Community Outreach Program.

Spotlight Interview with BCSR Co-Director Carolyn Chen

Graduate Working Group on Religion

The Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion has launched a Graduate Working Group on Religion for 2021–2022, coordinated by Mohamad Jarada (PhD candidate, Anthropology) for graduate students interested in the study of religion, broadly construed.

Grad Student Spotlight: Joshua Benjamins

Joshua Benjamins is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies. Before coming to Berkeley, he earned a BA in Latin and History at Hillsdale College and an MA in Early Christian Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He specializes in the intellectual and cultural history of the later Roman Empire, with a special focus on Augustine and late antique Christianity.

May 21, 2021

DE in the Study of Religion Online Open House and Information Session
May 21, 2021 / 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm / 

May 20, 2021

DESR Open House and Information Session Recording Now Available

The Designated Emphasis in the Study of Religion (DESR) recently held an Online Open House and Information Session with Mark Csikszentmihalyi (DESR Chair, BCSR Co-founder, East Asian Languages and Cultures) and David Marno (DESR Board Member, BCSR Co-director, English) for a discussion and Q&A about the DE in the Study of Religion.

May 1, 2021

Announcing Designated Emphasis in the Study of Religion | Applications Due June 1, 2021

Applications for the first cohort of the Designated Emphasis in the Study of Religion are now open. Please note that applications are due Tuesday, June 1, 2021 at 5 pm.

Program Description:

April 28, 2021

Centering Asian Voices in American Buddhism: Anger, Refuge, Solidarity

April 20, 2021

DE in the Study of Religion Online Open House and Information Session | Friday, May 21

Friday, May 21, 3 pm
Zoom link to join: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/2087073649

Join DESR faculty for a panel discussion and Q&A about the Designated Emphasis in the Study of Religion (DESR). All UC Berkeley PhD students interested in applying to the DE are invited to attend.

Toleration and Its Discontents

April 12, 2021

Race and Responsibility: A Conversation on Black-Jewish Relations and the Fight for Equal Justice

April 5, 2021

The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) 2021 Surjit Singh Lecture, “Navigating Topographies of Belonging and Difference: Contemporary Shared Sacred Sites in the Mediterranean”

March 17, 2021

BCSR New Directions in Theology Grants for Graduate Students | Applications Due April 12th

For the 2021 fall semester, BCSR is offering eight fellowships in the amount of $3,750 each for graduate students to explore the relationship between democracy and religion. Led by two BCSR faculty members, students will meet bi-weekly to read key texts in the history of religion, explore research topics, and meet Berkeley and visiting faculty working in the field.

2021-22 BCSR New Directions Cohort Announced

BCSR faculty will mentor an intellectually diverse set of New Directions in Theology grant winners throughout the academic year. The incoming New Directions students will regularly meet with BCSR faculty to discuss contemporary religious research and to refine their academic projects. 

BCSR welcomes the incoming New Directions cohort and looks forward to working with them in 2021-2022 and beyond! 

March 11, 2021

DESR Fall 2021 Courses Announced

The Designated Emphasis in the Study of Religion (DESR) has approved 10 fall 2021 courses to count towards the core and elective requirements for the DE.

March 5, 2021

In the Shadows of Whiteness: Race, Religion, and Radicalization in the Time of Pandemics

February 9, 2021

Modernity in the Eastern Sephardi Diaspora: The Jews of Late Ottoman Izmir

January 2, 2021

Grad Student Spotlight: Aaron Eldridge

As part of our series spotlighting UC Berkeley graduate student research, BCSR recently had the opportunity to sit down with Aaron Eldridge, a PhD student in Anthropology. Aaron Eldridge is an anthropologist specializing in contemporary asceticism in the Levant.

January 1, 2021

Faculty Spotlight: Henrike Lange

BCSR sat down with Henrike Lange, who holds a joint appointment in the Departments of History of Art and Italian Studies.

BCSR: What is your first memory of Berkeley?

Faculty Accomplishments from Fall 2020

BCSR is proud to share a sample of recent accomplishments, publications, awards, and news from affiliated faculty from fall 2020.

Please join us in congratulating our affiliated faculty members Charles Hirschkind, Ethan Katz, Rita Lucarelli, and Ronit Stahl on these achievements!