UCSB Religious Studies

Magda Campo of UCSB Religious Studies recently spoke at the “For the Love of Language” event for the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.

Read about the event here: https://www.hfa.ucsb.edu/news-entries/2024/5/31/for-the-love-of-language.

Watch the event’s recording at https://youtu.be/3SXnlco0Asg?si=Ix-QQ0GYIb2xQlBH.

HFA Speaks: For the Love of Language

Our last graduate writing workshop of the year! Kelsey Cooper shared her dissertation prospectus on Afro-Brazilian religion in q***r and trans Activism. Prof. Lisa Perez joined the conversation.

We welcome you to join us tomorrow, Friday (May 31) at 5:00 pm, in HSSB 3041, for this special event, which will feature a talk by our esteemed Faculty Member José Cabezón, Research Professor and Dalai Lama Professor Emeritus at UCSB, on “The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan.”

At UCSB Religious Studies, we are thrilled to announce this year's academic and service awards conferred to the best of our graduate and undergraduate students as well as to staff members who have continued to offer their amazing service to the department this academic year.

On 29th May 2024, the department's esteemed faculty members, the awesome administrative staff members, and the students and their families and friends came together to celebrate the academic success and distinguished service of the people of the Religious Studies department at UC Santa Barbara.

Here are some memories of stellar students and the departmental awards that they have won this year. Many, many congratulations to all the awardees! (Do not forget to read the captions of each picture for details!)

Today’s graduate student writing atelier featured a draft of Yevgeniy Runkevich’s dissertation chapter on The Apocalypse of John’s cosmology as reflecting a migrant experience, and Tomoya Fujihara’s paper on a Japanese occult theory of a Japanese-Jewish common ancestry. Rich conversation and many many questions.

Join Walter H. Capps Center this WEDNESDAY (5/22) at 5pm for a talk by Diane Winston (USC) on "From the Reagan Revolution to the Trump Insurrection." McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). See website for details.

Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/475

Join us this WEDNESDAY (5/22) at 5pm for a talk by Diane Winston (USC) on "From the Reagan Revolution to the Trump Insurrection." McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). See website for details. Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/475

UCSB Humanities and Fine Arts, UCSB Religious Studies, UCSB History Department, UCSB Public History, UCSB Undergraduate Journal of History, Center For Cold War Studies and International History, Diane Winston

Hello, UC Santa Barbara students! The UCSB Religious Studies department is offering fascinating summer session courses. They are now up on GOLD. Check them out and register if you're interested! The flyers are attached!

Join an HFA Speaks panel of UCSB foreign language faculty as they discuss the importance of language learning. Led by student moderator Jackie Jauregui, this discussion will delve into how foreign language courses offer a portal to global culture. The event will be in person on Thursday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room at the Student Resource Building.

Our own UCSB Religious Studies faculty member Magda Campo will be speaking. Do attend!

Join an HFA Speaks panel of UCSB foreign language faculty as they discuss the importance of language learning. Led by student moderator Jackie Jauregui, this discussion will delve into how foreign language courses offer a portal to global culture. The event will be in person on Thursday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room at the Student Resource Building.

Join Walter H. Capps Center on 5/22 at 5pm for a talk by Diane Winston (USC) on “From the Reagan Revolution to the Trump Insurrection.” McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). Books will be sold by Chaucer’s Books. See website for details. Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/475

Join us on 5/22 at 5pm for a talk by Diane Winston (USC) on “From the Reagan Revolution to the Trump Insurrection.” McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). Books will be sold by Chaucer’s Books. See website for details. Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/475

We are all delighted that UCSB Religious Studies alumna Sarah McFarland Taylor has received the 2023 Iris Book Award for “Ecopiety: Green Media and the Dilemma of Environmental Virtue.”

The Iris Book Award is awarded by the Center for Religion & the Human at Indiana University and is directed by UCSB Religious Studies and UCSB Environmental Studies Program Professor Lisa Sideris.

More about the award:

Sarah McFarland Taylor receives 2023 Iris Book Award Winner of the 2023 Iris Book Award: Sarah McFarland Taylor's "Ecopiety: Green Media and the Dilemma of Environmental Virtue."

Coming up next Thursday (May 14), we're thrilled to welcome actor William Atherton to the Po***ck Theater! Best known for his iconic roles in DIE HARD, GHOSTBUSTERS, and BIO-DOME, Atherton will be joining us for a screening of Sam Kadi's 2013 drama, THE CITIZEN. Following the film, Kadi and Atherton will sit down with Juan Campo of the UCSB Religious Studies to discuss this prescient and resonant drama, which tells the story of an Arab migrant, Ibrahim Jarrah, who arrives in New York City seeking a better life the day before the 9/11 terror attacks. Tickets available now at the link below!

Storytelling for the Screen: The Citizen - Carsey-Wolf Center Storytelling for the Screen: The Citizen Tuesday, May 14, 2024 / 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (PDT) Po***ck Theater Screening Format: 4K digital projection (99 Minutes) With William Atherton (actor) and Sam Kadi (writer/director) Starring: Khaled Nabawy, Agnes Bruckner, William Atherton, and Cary Elwes Home  ...

Join Walter H. Capps Center on May 10-12 for the 11th Annual American Indian and Indigenous Collective Symposium on "Indigenous Health and Well-being." McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). See website for details. Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/485

Join us May 10-12 for the 11th Annual American Indian and Indigenous Collective Symposium on "Indigenous Health and Well-being." McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). See website for details. Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/485

UCSB Religious Studies, UCSB Humanities and Fine Arts, UCSB American Indian and Indigenous Collective AIIC, UCSB American Indian Cultural Resource Center - AICRC, UCSB American Indian Organizations, UCSB American Indian and Indigenous Student Association (AIISA), UCSB EOP, Las Maestras Center for Xicana-x Indigenous Thought, Art and Social Praxis, Department of English, UC Santa Barbara, LegacyWorks Group

Join Walter H. Capps Center on THURSDAY (5/9) at 4:00pm for a panel on "Asian Americans, Religious Freedom, and the State." BEW Pavilion (Faculty Club) at UCSB. See website for details. Free and open to all!

https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/480

Join us on THURSDAY (5/9) at 4:00pm for a panel on "Asian Americans, Religious Freedom, and the State." BEW Pavilion (Faculty Club) at UCSB. See website for details. Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/480

UCSB Religious Studies, Henry Luce Foundation, UCSB Humanities and Fine Arts, APIA - UCSB Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, Asian Resource Center - UCSB EOP, Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition UCSB, UCSB Southeast Asian Union, UCSB Vietnamese Student Association, UCSB Sikh Student Association

Many congratulations to UC Santa Barbara PhD student Makoto Hunter! The Juanita Brooks Utah History Conference proudly awards the Crandell/Ryskamp Prize in Family History to Makoto Hunter, who works with faculty members of UCSB Religious Studies and UCSB History Department.

This honor recognizes her outstanding contributions to histories of family and genealogical research. Hunter’s paper, “Getting Beyond ‘the’ Polygamist: Co-wives and Polymaternalism in the Udall Family,” disentangles notions of kinship in nineteenth-century Latter-day Saint polygamist relationships.

The prize was presented during the Juanita Brooks Utah History Conference, where Hunter’s groundbreaking research stood out among her peers. The award committee praised her work: "Makoto’s research challenges conventional narratives and encourages scholars to use more precise language when discussing Latter-day Saint polygamist families. Her use of q***r theory and anthropologically-inflected analysis is a reminder to historians that interdisciplinary work can help them understand the broader contexts in which historical actors lived."

For more information about Makoto Hunter and her research, please visit https://www.history.ucsb.edu/graduate-student/pmh/

Watch or listen to the February 27 discussion between UCSB Religious Studies faulty members Janet Afary and Dwight Reynolds about Prof. Afary’s new book, Mollā Nasreddin: The Making of a Modern Trickster, 1906-1911.
https://bit.ly/Afary-IHC

RECORDING AVAILABLE
Watch or listen to the February 27 discussion between Janet Afary and Dwight Reynolds about Afary’s new book, Mollā Nasreddin: The Making of a Modern Trickster, 1906-1911.
https://bit.ly/Afary-IHC

At UCSB Religious Studies we are thrilled to congratulate our faculty member and Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Elizabeth Pérez, for being one of 15 finalists (out of 428 submissions!) for the inaugural Cardinal Poetry Prize, for poets aged 40 and over.

Her manuscript ‘Lessons in Cuban Cosmology: Fifty-Two Poems & a Villanelle' will have the honor of being reviewed by former U.S. Poet Laureate, literary scholar, and translator Robert Pinsky.

Learn more about the prestigious inaugural prize here at

Cardinal Poetry Prize Finalists Announced - Wesleyan University Press Announcing the finalists for the inaugural Cardinal Poetry Prize We are excited to announce that out of 428 submissions, we have selected fifteen

Today, April 25, from 3 pm to 4:30 pm in HSSB 4080, two UCSB doctoral students, Hayate Murayama of UCSB History Department and Shelby King of the UCSB Religious Studies Department, will deliver brief talks based on their original research.

Hayate's talk, "Sanitizing Ideology: The Repatriation of Japanese Prisoners of War from the Soviet Union,” discusses the experiences of Japanese POWs held by the Soviet Union during and after World War II, along with the political, cultural, social, and psychological conflicts resulting from their repatriation back to Japan.

Shelby's talk, "A 'Great Awakening' for the Cold War: National Security, State Secrecy, and the Leak of the Pentagon Papers,” explores how the revelation of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 provoked public responses that echoed earlier national dramas over religious devotion.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Cold War Studies and International History.

Delicious refreshments will be served! All are welcome.

Join us on May 9 at 4pm for a panel on "Asian Americans, Religious Freedom, and the State." BEW Pavilion (Faculty Club). See website for details. Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/480

UCSB Religious Studies, UCSB Humanities and Fine Arts, UCSB Students of Asian American Studies, Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition UCSB, Asian Resource Center - UCSB EOP, APIA - UCSB Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, UCSB Southeast Asian Union, UCSB Vietnamese Student Association, Henry Luce Foundation

Join us May 10-12 for the 11th Annual American Indian and Indigenous Collective Symposium on "Indigenous Health and Well-being." McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). See website for details. Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/485

UCSB Humanities and Fine Arts, UCSB Religious Studies, UCSB American Indian and Indigenous Student Association (AIISA), UCSB American Indian and Indigenous Collective AIIC, UCSB American Indian & Indigenous Arts Collaborative - AIIAC, UCSB American Indian Cultural Resource Center - AICRC, UCSB American Indian Organizations, UCSB American Indian Organizations, Department of English, UC Santa Barbara, American Indian Cultural Resource Center, Las Maestras Center for Xicana-x Indigenous Thought, Art and Social Praxis, LegacyWorks Group

Join Walter H. Capps Center TODAY (4/15) at 5pm for a talk by Russell Jeung (SF State) on "Anti-Asian Hate, Racial Trauma, and Posttraumatic Growth." McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). See website for details. Free and open to all!

https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/474

Join us TODAY (4/15) at 5pm for a talk by Russell Jeung (SF State) on "Anti-Asian Hate, Racial Trauma, and Posttraumatic Growth." McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). See website for details. Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/474

UCSB Religious Studies, UCSB Humanities and Fine Arts, APIA - UCSB Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition UCSB, UCSB PISA- Pacific Islander Student Association, UCSB Southeast Asian Union, UCSB Vietnamese Student Association, UCSB EOP, Chinese Evangelical Free Church of Santa Barbara, Bethany Congregational Church, Sgi-Usa Santa Barbara, Buddhist Church of Santa Barbara, Vedanta Society Santa Barbara, Islamic Society of Santa Barbara

Storytelling for the Screen: The Citizen - Carsey-Wolf Center Storytelling for the Screen: The Citizen Tuesday, May 14, 2024 / 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM (PDT) Po***ck Theater Screening Format: 4K digital projection (99 Minutes) With William Atherton (actor) and Sam Kadi (writer/director) Starring: Khaled Nabawy, Agnes Bruckner, William Atherton, and Cary Elwes Home  ...

Today is ! We invite you to pay it forward in support of our vibrant Gaucho community: giveday.ucsb.edu 💛💙

Happy UCSB Give Day!

Today, we celebrate the people and programs that make UC Santa Barbara the No. 5 public university in the nation. Show your Gaucho pride by Giving Back today!

Wherever we are, we share a common experience as UC Santa Barbara students, faculty members, staff, alumni, and friends.

Today, on Give Day, make that experience possible for tomorrow’s students by supporting UCSB Religious Studies and other campus activities that you care about!

Participate in this yearly campus tradition by contributing to the UCSB Humanities and Fine Arts and selecting the Religious Studies department here: https://ucsb.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/75537/donate

Learn more about other methods of giving to UC Santa Barbara here: https://giving.ucsb.edu/Invest/giving-methods

We are thrilled to announce that UCSB Give Day 2024 will be held on April 11! Please save the date for this year’s celebration.

Give Day is a digital event that rallies our community around all that UC Santa Barbara is known for: our supportive culture, beautiful environment, and excellence in research and education.

Wherever we are, whether we are alumni, friends, family, staff, faculty, or students, we are part of the UC Santa Barbara family. Give Day 2024 will bring us together to raise support for campus like never before.

Learn more about the UCSB Give Day here: https://giving.ucsb.edu/giveday

If you are a student, faculty, staff, or proud alumni of UCSB Religious Studies and wish to participate in this yearly campus tradition, please contribute to the department here: https://ucsb.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/75537/department/75544

Learn more about the methods of giving to UC Santa Barbara here: https://giving.ucsb.edu/Invest/giving-methods

Join us on April 15 at 5pm for a talk by Russell Jeung (SF State) on "Anti-Asian Hate, Racial Trauma, and Posttraumatic Growth." McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). See website for details. Free and open to all!
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/event/474

UCSB Religious Studies, UCSB Humanities and Fine Arts, APIA - UCSB Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition UCSB, UCSB Southeast Asian Union, UCSB EOP

UCSB Religious Studies alumnus Bradley Onishi opines on 'Why Christians — and Republicans — Should Reconsider the Premise that ‘Life Begins at Conception’

Read the op-ed here:

Opinion | Why Christians — and Republicans — Should Reconsider the Premise that 'Life Begins at Conception' It’s not settled Christian theology, and it’s outliving its political utility.

PhD student, Sam Kestenbaum, delivers the annual J. Martin Arthur lecture, “Prophets, Psychics, and Other Wild Spirits: Journalism from the Front Lines of American Religion” at his alma mater. Congratulations, Sam!

Award-winning journalist delivers J. Arthur Martin Lecture The official news source for Wheaton College (MA). Read articles about students, faculty, alumni, staff and all the exciting things happening here every day.

As a continuation of our series highlighting faculty, student, and alumni achievements, UCSB Religious Studies is delighted to spotlight an article about its alumnus Steven Barrie-Anthony’s research initiative, 'Public Theologies of Technology and Presence.'

Steven is a scholar of spirituality and public life, holds a research affiliation with UC Berkeley, and is also a psychoanalyst in private practice. He won a large grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to direct this initiative based at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, which gathered and funded religion scholars, theologians, and journalists for their projects examining technologies’ human impacts. Steven holds an MA and Ph.D. in Religious Studies from UC Santa Barbara.

The initiative emerged from Steven’s argument that technologies entangle in a fundamental way with spiritual and religious strata, and that religion scholars are uniquely positioned to help guide tech creation and use. The initiative, which is now complete, also involved creative dialogue between the religion scholar-participants, and technologists and leaders from technology firms such as Google, OpenAI, Neuralink, IDEO, and NAVA.

The initiative supported an ambitious stream of publishing, including more than a dozen books, dozens of scholarly articles and chapters, presentations given across the country, and popular articles in venues such as the New York Times, The Atlantic, Aeon, Vox, The Conversation, and Tricycle.

For more information about the initiative, check out this article written by the Occidental College alumni magazine:

Technology Meets Theology In Dale Wright’s 40-year teaching career, only once did a first-year, first-semester student show up in his office with a research proposal that they wanted to begin immediately. As a religion major at Oxy, Steven Barrie-Anthony ’04 “always had good ideas and interesting plans for what might b...