Religious Studies Graduate Student Conference

Elias Andrews Room, Theological Hall
Wednesday, May 8th 2019 - 10:00 am - 2:30 pm

One of the major purposes of this event comes out of the fact that fully half of our graduate students have been accepted for doctoral work in Fall 2019. Consequently, this event is conceived as a celebration of Master’s level work in Religious Studies and also a reflection on the demands of doctoral studies. You may be aware of Master’s students who are also about to launch into doctoral work. They might find this event informative as well.  

You are cordially invited to attend.
All presentations will take place in the Elias Andrews Room, 2nd floor, Theological Hall.

Candidates for our position in Contemporary Jewish Religion and Globalized Identities will be presenting as follows:

In her lecture, Professor Chan-Malik considers the ways U.S. Muslim women’s identities are expressions of Islam as both Black protest religion and universal faith tradition,  and explore how this history shapes Muslim women’s identity formation and cultural presence in both the U.S. and Canada. Drawing on archival images, cultural texts, popular media, and interviews, she will show how communities of American Islam became sites of safety, support, spirituality, and social activism, and how women of color were central to their formation. By accounting for Islam’s rich histories of mobilization and community in the U.S, she highlights the forms of resistance that Muslim women have historically engaged in, and how this has come to inform transnational networks of activism and advocacy around issues of Islam, race, and gender. From the stories  she gathers, Professor Chan-Malik demonstrates the diversity and similarities of Black, Arab, South Asian, Latina, Indigeneous, and multiracial Muslim women in the U.S. and Canada, and how North American understandings of Islam have shifted against the evolution of racial and gender politics, nationalism, and the logics of empire-building over past century. In borrowing from the lineages of Black and women-of-color feminism, Chan-Malik offers a new vocabulary for Muslim feminism in North America, one that is as conscious of race, gender, sexuality, and nation, as it is region and religion.

The Workshop on Sufi Whirling has been rescheduled!

Monday, March 18th - 1:30 to 3:30 pm
In the Sutherland Room - JDUC 240

This workshop on Sufi whirling led by Farzad Attarjafari will include music accompaniment by Dr. Amir Koushkani. Koushkhani is an ethnomusicologist, composer, performer and instructor of traditional Persian stringed instruments Tar and Setar, while Attarjafari is a trained whirling dervish in the tradition of Sufism (or Islamic mysticism) and the head of Rumi Canada. They will share some Persian music and the ritual tradition of whirling, through instruction.

Major’s Night
February 28th 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm in Grant Hall

Special thanks to our RELS Student Volunteers who helped out at the Annual Majors Night event!

• Ally Craig
• Norees Gasper
• Emily Saar
• Amanda Szpindel