NEWS AND EVENTS

Student News

CONGRATULATIONS to Janeta Tansey who received a Collegiate Teaching Award for the 2007-08 academic year. Janeta, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and a faculty member in the college's Program in Biomedical Ethics and Medical Humanities, directs the clerkship and electives in psychiatry. She mentors students, medical residents and junior faculty, and she provides lectures and small-group facilitation in topics in medical ethics and psychiatry. She directs a seminar in psychiatric ethics for residents and provides a clinical teaching site in Psychology-Oncology in collaboration with the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.

ADLER STUDENT AWARDS ANNOUNCED:

Undergraduate Awards

Graduate Awards

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FIFTH YEAR STUDENTS :

Eric Dickman is a recipient of the Seashore Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Iowa for the 2008-2009 academic year.  He will use the fellowship to complete his dissertation, tentatively entitled, "Divinities in Dialogue: A Hermeneutics of Open Questions in Religious Discourse" under the direction of Dr. David E. Klemm.  Eric also presented two papers this spring.  At the Religion and Arts Conference in March he presented a paper entitled, "Student Questions, Master Questions, and Open Questions:  Iconoclastic Discursive Practice in Classical Chan 'Encounter Dialogue' Literature."  He also presented a paper at teh Jakobsen Conference in March, titled "Take Action:  A Critique of the Concept of Pratice in Recent Ethical and Ritual Theory."  Eric will also be presenting a paper at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in the Tillich group this fall.

Denise Kettering is also a recipient of the Seashore Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Iowa for the 2008-2009 academic year.  She will be completing her dissertation entitled, "Pietism and Patriarchy:  Spener and women in seventeenth-century German Pietism" under the direction of Dr. Raymond Mentzer.  She presented two papers this spring.  The first was at the Florida State University Religion Graduate Student Symposium at the end of February.  Her paper was entitled "Sectarian, Seditious, or Studying:  The Problem of Conventicles in Seventeenth-Century England."  She also presented a paper entitled, "Heaven's Glory or Hell's Flames:  The Problem of Certainty in Arthur Dent's Plaine Man's Pathway to Heaven" at the Upper Midwest Regional AAR in March.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR THIRD YEARS STUDENTS AND THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Abby Helgevold presented a paper at the Upper Midwest Regional AAR entitled, "The Height of Forgiveness and the Depth of Fault:  Paul Ricoeur on Forgiveness and Respect."

Cal Lane presented a paper in January at the American Society of Church History Winter Conference entitled, "John Milton Mourned Lancelot Andrewes?:  Diversity in the Jacobean Church."  He also presented a paper at the Upper Midwest Regional AAR in March on "Answers in Transatlantic Puritan Historiography."

Matt Wilhite presented a paper in the World Religions Panel of the Upper Midwest AAR entitled, "Permanent Movement:  Peregrination in Chan Literature."

Nahed Zehr presented a paper on March 21 at the Indiana University Religious Studies Graduate Conference entitled, "The Shifting Diasporic Consciousness Among Transnational Muslims in a Post 9/11 United States."  She also presented at the Upper Midwest Regional AAR in March.  Her paper was titled, "A Revival at the Hajj:  Revisiting the Siege of Mecca."

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING GRADUATE STUDENTS:

Dan Boscaljon had a busy semester serving as one of the organizers of the Religion and Arts Conference at the University of Iowa this March.  He presented a paper at that conference entitled, "The Origin of the Work of Faith."  He also presented a paper, "Hearkening to Objects (faith's role in witnessing the testimony of things)"  at the Craft Critique Culture Conference held at the University of Iowa in April.

Matt Creswell presented a paper entitled, "Kantian Theories of Freedom and Religious Ethics" at the Religion and Arts Conference held at the University of Iowa in March.

Christine Darr presented a paper at the Jakobsen Conference at the University Iowa in March.  The title of her paper was "How Friends Can Combat Racial Injustice:  Conceptions of Friendship and Selfhood."

Sarah Dees presented three papers this spring.  At the Religion and Arts Conference held at the University of Iowa in March, she presented "Nina Simone, the Supremes, and the ‘Soul’ of Soul".  The same weekend she also presented a paper entitled, "Religious Studies Methodology (In 3‐D!): A Descriptive Model of Approaches" at the Jakobsen Graduate Student Conference.  In April, she presented a paper titled, "Symbolic Violence and Spiritual Genocide:  Media Portrayal of the 1890 Massacre at Wounded Knee" at the 9th Annual CIC-AIS Consortium Graduate Student Conference at Purdue University.

Dustin Eaton presented a paper at the Upper Midwest Regional AAR in March entitled, "Journey of the Three Jewels:  The Triratna in Buddhist Pilgrimage."  Dustin has also been accepted into the American Institute of Indian Studies summer language program with a full tuition waver. He will be studying Pali/Prakrit in Pune, Maharashtra India for three months. He also recieved a Stanely foreign language scholarship.

David Howlett has had a busy semester.  He successfully passed his comprehensive exams in March.  He presented two papers this semester.  The first was at the Florida State University Religion Graduate Student Symposium at the end of February.  His paper was entitled, "Pilgrimage to Kirtland Temple:  Cooperation and Contestation among Mormon Denominations."  He also presented a paper at the Upper Midwest Regional AAR in March entitled, "'We Want to Help Build Zion':  Historical Agency and 1920s RLDS Children's Reflections on the Kingdom of God."  He received a travel grant from the regional AAR as well.  Finally, on April 11 he participated in a Panel Discussion on "Diverse Expressions of the LDS Movement" at the Restoration Studies Symposium.

Doug Jones recently had an article published in the Journal of Religion and Theatre.  The article entitled, "Darkness as a Bride:  Heloise, Isabella and the Dialectic of Transcendence and Deception in Early Modern Theatre" was published in the Fall 2007 (v.6, no. 2) edition.  The article can be located on-line at http://www.rtjournal.org.  Doug also presented a paper entitled, "'Oh Let Me Not Serve So':  Mysticism, Love's Idolatry, and the Iconoclastic Act in Early Modern England" at both the Jakobsen Conference and the Religion and Arts Conference.

Emily Ley took and passed her Master's Degree examination in March.  Emily plans to graduate in May.

Christine Nobiss presented a paper at the Upper Midwest Regional AAR in March.  Her paper was entitled, "Native American Pilgrimage to Lac Ste-Anne:  An Anti-Syncretic Event." 

This spring, Nancy Menning presented papers at the Religion, Literature, and Arts conference (“Entering the landscape: Ecofeminist theology and the earth-body art of Ana Mendieta”) and at the Craft Critique Culture conference (“The first step is paying attention: Tips for witnessing to loss and hope”). In May, Nancy will present a paper at the Mormon History Association annual meeting (“Interrogating faith: Conviction and critique in Terry Tempest Williams’s Leap”). In June, she will give a presentation on environmental ethics as part of a weeklong workshop for secondary school teachers on “Global climate change: Human rights consequences and responsibilities” (organized by the UI Center for Human Rights).

Dan Morris presented a paper at the Jakobsen Graduate Student Conference at the University of Iowa in March entitled, "John Dewey and the Inadequacy of Tolerance."  Congratulations go to Dan as well for receiving a Graduate Student Senate Travel Grant for his trip earlier this year to present a paper at the William James Conference.

Ryan O'Leary presented a paper at the Religion and Arts Conference in March entitled, "Zarathustra the Atheist, Zarathustra the Poet:  The Creative Tension of Symbolic Disclosure."

Michele Petersen has presented two papers this spring and also has an upcoming paper presentation.  She presented a paper entitled, "Absence as Presence:  Silence, Reflexive Consciousness, and Transcendence in the Writings of Paul Ricoeur" at the Jakobsen Conference.  At the Religion and Arts Conference, she presented "A Portrait of a Moral Artist:  Creating the Self of Paul Ricoeur."  She will be presenting a paper of the same title
on April 25 at the Stanford University Graduate Conference, There, Where I Am Not: Approaching the Discourse of Transcendence. 

Ezra Plank presented a paper entitled, "Indigenous Agency:  Conversion and Counter-Colonial Negotiation in Early Modern New France" at the Upper Midwest Regional AAR.

Kari Thompson presented a paper at the Upper Midwest Regional AAR in March entitled, "Keeping Karbala Close:  'Ashura as a Symbolic Pilgrimage."  Congratulations to Kari for also receiving a travel grant from the AAR.

Peter Yoder has been accepted into the Catholic University of America Summer Latin Program.  He also presented a paper at the Upper Midwest Regional AAR entitled, "Digested By God:  Johannes Tauler's Theology of the Eucharist." 

Congratulations to our undergraduates Lindsay, Klinkefus, Claire Koestner, Cory Sanderson, and Abigail Struck-Marcell , Religious Studies majors who have been invited to accept memberships in Phi Beta Kappa!

Faculty News

Congratulations to Morten Schlütter on being named a Dean's Scholar!!

CONFERENCE

The Religion, Literature and the Arts: Theology and Critique conference took place March 27-29. Click on the following link for the schedule: RLA Schedule

SEARCH NEWS

The University of Iowa Department of Religious Studies is pleased to announce the addition of Jordan Smith from Florida State University who has accepted the position of Lecturer in Biblical Studies. 

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