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Donovan Schaefer says there is no division between thinking and feeling
Left, Donovan Schaefer; right: Book cover of the book, Wild Experiment: Feeling Science and Secularism After Darwin.

Donavan Schaefer is an assistant professor of religious studies. (Image: OMNIA)

Donovan Schaefer says there is no division between thinking and feeling

In his new book, “Wild Experiment: Feeling Science and Secularism after Darwin”, the assistant professor of religious studies posits that thinking and feeling are intertwined.

From Omnia

Jolyon Baraka Thomas on curiosity and contentment
A man in a three-piece suit stands in front of a stone building

For religious studies professor Jolyon Thomas, “faith is a black box,” he says. Rather than be a participant in religious faith, Thomas is much more interested in studying its causations, repercussions, and interplay with identity, politics, and education.

Jolyon Baraka Thomas on curiosity and contentment

For Jolyon Baraka Thomas of the School of Arts & Sciences, the route to religious studies was the same one that led him away from faith.

Kristina García

Justin McDaniel on life, death, religion, and his latest book
A row of gilded Buddha figures sit under a canopy swathed in red cloth

Buddhist temples (like the one above in Wat Pho, Thailand) are often ornately decorated with gilded statues, flowers, and incense. “Religion,” says McDaniel, “is often a celebration, not an austere retreat.” (Image: Frida Aguilar Estrada on Unsplash.)

  • Q&A

    • Justin McDaniel on life, death, religion, and his latest book

    In his new book, “Wayward Distractions,” the School of Arts & Sciences’ Justin McDaniel compiles articles on art and material culture spanning his 20-plus years of scholarship.

    Kristina García

    Religious freedom as a tool for American occupation
    Researcher Jolyon Thomas on left book jacket on right

    Jolyon Thomas, associate professor of religious studies in the School of Arts & Sciences

    Religious freedom as a tool for American occupation

    Jolyon Thomas, an associate professor of religious studies, discusses his award-winning book, ‘Faking Liberties: Religious Freedom in American-Occupied Japan.’

    From Omnia

    Afghanistan’s war rug industry distorts the reality of everyday trauma
    The Conversation

    Afghanistan’s war rug industry distorts the reality of everyday trauma

    Jamal J. Elias of the School of Arts & Sciences wrote about the war rug market in Afghanistan, arguing that collectors and journalists tend to mistakenly view the weavings as reflections of the creator’s worldview. Instead, said Elias, it’s the rug brokers and dealers who determine the motifs. “Ultimately, Afghan war rugs are produced for the market,” he wrote.

    The Divine Comedy’s ‘universal message’
    Woman pages through book. Many other books lie propped open on the table in front of her

    Romance languages professor Eva Del Soldato pages through a volume illustrated by 19th-century French artist Gustave Doré, whose vivid illustrations popularized Dante for a new generation.

    The Divine Comedy’s ‘universal message’

    Seven centuries years after Dante Alighieri's death on Sept. 14, 1321, his “Divine Comedy,” a poem in which an autobiographical protagonist journeys through hell, purgatory, and paradise, is still widely influential.

    Kristina García

    Archiving empire with religious studies’ Megan Robb
    Three people stand in front of Cohen Hall

    Professor Megan Robb (center) worked with a team of students including Michael Goerlitz (left) and Juliana Lu (right) to create a digital archive centered on Elizabeth Sharaf-un-Nisa, an 18th-century Mughal woman who cohabited with a European man working for the East India Company, bearing children, marrying him, and ultimately living out the remainder of her life in England. 

    Archiving empire with religious studies’ Megan Robb

    A long-unseen archive centered on an 18th-century Mughal woman will soon be publicly accessible, thanks to the work of religious studies professor Megan Robb of the School of Arts & Sciences and a team of Penn students.

    Kristina García

    Gina Stewart becomes first woman elected to lead US Black Baptist organization
    The Washington Post

    Gina Stewart becomes first woman elected to lead US Black Baptist organization

    Anthea Butler of the School of Arts & Sciences commented on Gina Stewart’s selection as president of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Society. “I think it is significant, important, and past time for a woman to be in leadership in Black Baptist circles, missions or otherwise,” said Butler. “Women are the fundraisers and foundation of the church.”