This year, the Department of Religious Studies was thrilled to send two of our graduate students to attend the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion. Eli Shuford (pictured left with Dr. Monique Moultrie) served on a panel titled "Pathways to Professions: Chaplaincy," along with Dr. Molly Bassett. Willie Cartwright (pictured right) presented a paper along with Dr. David Bell titled, "Black 'Nones': Reframing Quantitative Measures of Secularism Through the Lenses of Black Identity and the Black Church," as part of a panel on Measuring Nonreligion: Innovative Methodologies and Critical Perspectives. Great work, Eli and Willie! Click here to read more graduate student news.
Regina Davis-Sowers returned to teaching this semester. She decided to come out of retirement, and was rehired as a part-time instructor in the Sociology department at Georgia Highlands College. She will continue to work towards her Master's degree in Religious Studies.
Ashley Forgey presented at the Implicit Religion conference on May 31st of this year. The presentation was called 'This is Autism on Music: Exploring: An Exploration of Autism, Music, and its Religious Implications.’ She also presented at the Georgia State University Graduate Research Conference on October 6 of this year. The presentation was titled 'From Isolation to Inclusion: Understanding the Role of Inclusivity and Intervention on the Mental Health of Autistic People.’ She will be presenting at the University of South Carolina Women and Gender Studies Conference on January 20th, 2024.
Asmae Hadidi will present the review of the 'Racial Muslim' book in the '2023 Graduate Student Book Review Colloquium on Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies' held by George Mason University, in December. She will also present an independent lecture at the University of South Carolina Women's and Gender Studies conference. The title of my presentation is: 'How are women's bodies ignored under hijab laws/policies?' in January.