Congratulations to Joe Decker, who was awarded this year’s prize in the Religious Studies annual graduate student essay contest! His essay is titled “The Burning Question: What do Burnt Buddhist Bodies Embody? Rethinking the Narration of Tibetan Self-immolation in the Media.” Joe’s deeply humane analysis acknowledges the limits of knowledge, given the political silencing of certain Tibetan voices, and nevertheless helps readers understand how and why the lives and bodies of self-cremating Buddhists matter.
Congratulations to Moriah Reichert who was awarded this year’s Graduate Teaching Excellence Award. Faculty and students alike praise Moriah’s abilities in every aspect of the classroom. After observing her teach about the Bible, one faculty member noted, “Moriah’s style of teaching combines a generosity which encourages student input with a rigor which invites students to look again at the text.”
And finally, congratulations to Ellen Loucks and Moriah Reichert this year’s recipients of the Stein Fellowship in the Study of American Religions. The Stein Fellowship supports graduate work in the Religion in the Americas field. It is awarded to graduate students presenting their research at an academic conference or traveling to an archive or other research site for a clearly defined purpose during the 2024-2025 academic year or following summer.
The College of Arts