News

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Invites Proposals for New Research Initiatives

Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has invited its faculty to submit proposals for the creation of new research initiatives on campus.Following the successful launches of the SPACE Initiative and the Society-Centered AI Initiative, the Trinity Research Initiative will support new directions for interdisciplinary research through seed funding for nascent research collaborations, community-building, and complementary educational and outreach activities.Open to all areas of research and… read more »

Books for When There’s a Chill in the Air

Colder weather means it’s time to curl up with a book. New readings from Duke authors include everything from a mystery and a middle-grade novel to books on privacy, hip-hop and fast fashion.  Below is a roundup of some of the most recent and upcoming published titles. Many of the books, including new editions of previous titles, can be found on the “Duke Authors” display shelves near the circulation desk in Perkins Library. Some are available as e-books for quick download. Most can also be purchased through the… read more »

Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor of Judaic Studies honored with Upstander Award

On Tuesday, October 28, the Stan Greenspon Holocaust Education Center and Queens University of Charlotte hosted an interfaith event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, and presented the Greenspon Upstander award to Professor Marc Zvi Brettler, Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor of Judaic Studies.Each year the Greenspon Center presents the Upstander Award to an individual who has taken great risks and exhibits great courage in responding to hate.   Professor Brettler has… read more »

Spooky Season 101: Courses to Get You in the Mood for Halloween

As Halloween creeps closer, Duke students have more than just costumes and candy to look forward to — Trinity has a cauldron of classes brewed for spooky‑season scholars. If you’re ready to trade your pumpkin spice latte for something a little more spooky, gather your study group coven and prepare to summon your inner ghoul, because these classes prove that learning at Duke can be delightfully haunting. read more »

Jennifer Knust on The New Testament Apparatus as a War Machine

Jennifer Knust says she studies the history of Christianity through its material remains. A Professor of Religious Studies at Duke University, she works closely with early Christian manuscripts—objects that, as she explained, “carry with them and bear the traces of all those engagements” from the people who handled, copied, or preserved them. For Knust, these manuscripts are not only sources of text but records of human practice. “The media that carry the texts that come to us as ancient religious texts are usually… read more »

Teaching in the Age of AI: A New Faculty Learning Community Takes Root at Duke

On September 26, a group of Duke faculty representing several disciplines gathered in person for the first meeting of the new “Teaching in the Age of AI” Faculty Learning Community (FLC), led by Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Associate Professor of the Practice in the Thompson Writing Program, and supported by CARADITE. Attendees exchanged introductions and reflected on their attitudes toward generative AI — a mix of excitement and caution — and their motivations for joining this new venture.  read more »

The Groundwork and Impact of Environmental Humanities

If the environmental crisis is often described in terms of rising temperatures, collapsing ecosystems, technological innovation, and the steady fall out of the latter, a different conversation is taking shape at Duke — one that approaches climate not as a singular  “problem to be solved”, but as a dense site of historical, cultural, political, and societal entanglement.Instead of being a set field of study, environmental humanities feel like a shift in how we see land and recall the past, while recognizing which… read more »

The Fourth Synoptic Gospel: An Interview with Duke Religious Studies Professor Mark Goodacre

I’m here this week with a special guest—Mark Goodacre, whose new book is entitled, The Fourth Synoptic Gospel: John’s Knowledge of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Eerdmans, 2025). He is professor of religious studies at Duke University. Among his areas of expertise are Christian origins, the Gospels, and the historical Jesus.  read more »

Raffaella Taylor-Seymour Unpacks Complex Religious Identities

When Raffaella Taylor-Seymour first visited Zimbabwe in 2012 as an undergraduate, she didn’t know it was the start of a lifelong commitment. Taylor-Seymour, assistant professor of Religious Studies, has returned to Zimbabwe almost every year since. “It felt like the natural place for my work,” she said. “Over the last 13 years, it really has become a commitment. I view my research as a conversation and collaboration with my partners in Zimbabwe, and the work I do is as much for them and with them as it is for academic… read more »

Neena Mahadev Examines Karma, Grace and What Connects Us

Career pathways often don’t follow a straight line. When Neena Mahadev, assistant professor of Religious Studies, first traveled to Sri Lanka as an undergraduate on a study abroad program, she wasn't thinking about religion. She was interested in studying ethnicity and labor in relation to the economy and politics. Mahadev specializes in the anthropology of religion with a particular focus on South Asia. She is the author of “Karma and Grace: Religious Difference in Millennial Sri Lanka,” for which she was awarded… read more »

Daniel Herskowitz: New Perspectives on Jewish Thought

“It’s almost impossible to be an informed citizen without understanding the importance of religion across various cultures,” said Daniel Herskowitz, Smart Family Associate Professor in Judaic Studies. “You won’t be able to really understand anything in the news.” Herskowitz joined the Department of Religious Studies in January 2025. A scholar of intellectual history and philosophy with a focus on Jewish thought in the twentieth century, he doesn’t shy away from some of the most controversial figures and events of our… read more »

Four Duke Scholars Honored With Langford Lectureship Award

Four Duke professors from three schools have received the 2025-26 Thomas Langford Lectureship Award.Provost Alec Gallimore, in consultation with the Committee on Appointments, Promotion and Tenure, selected the recipients of this annual award from among all recently promoted or hired faculty members.This distinguished lecture series honors Tommy Langford, who served Duke for 41 years as Divinity School professor, dean and provost. He embodied the highest university values of scholarship, teaching, collegiality and the… read more »

Faculty Perspectives on Coaching

Nearly 400 Duke faculty members from all schools have invested time in working with a professional coach in the Office for Faculty Advancement.Coaching is a series of confidential, structured conversations that help people reflect on complex situations, navigate challenges, enhance self-awareness, set goals and exercise accountability for meeting those goals. Maria LaMonaca Wisdom, assistant vice provost for faculty advancement and adjunct associate professor of the practice in the Program in Education, is a professional… read more »

Religious Studies Faculty Member Honored With Named Professorship

Eight faculty in Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences have been honored with named professorships, effective July 1.These endowed positions recognize leadership and commitment to excellence in scholarship and research. Their recipients are outstanding teachers, mentors and researchers whose contributions are invaluable to the College of Arts & Sciences, as well as their students and colleagues.“Trinity is defined by the strength of its faculty, and we are extraordinarily fortunate to count these… read more »

What 'White Lotus' Got Right with Richard Jaffe

For the past several weeks, fans of The White Lotus on Max (formerly HBO) relished sitting in judgment over the idle rich. Even as the characters took various wellness treatments at the Thailand branch of the fictional White Lotus luxury resort, most found that they had brought their problems from back home with them and, in some cases, made them worse. This season was many things, particularly soapy (incest! extortion!) and fun (Parker Posey’s southern accent! the memes!). But it was also spiritual,… read more »

Are Evangelical Clergy Outliers on Science? Duke Researcher Says Yes and No

For years, studies have suggested that many white evangelical Christians reject the scientific consensus that human actions are driving climate change. A just-published study of clergy in America confirms it. According to the National Survey of Religious Leaders, 78% of white evangelical clergy reject the assertion that human actions are the cause of climate change. By contrast, only 27% of Black Protestant clergy and 21% of liberal or mainline Protestant clergy reject it. The study of 1,600 U.S. congregational leaders… read more »

Job Postings: Department of Religious Studies

The Department of Religious Studies at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, invites applications for two tenure-track positions at the rank of Assistant Professor to begin July 1, 2025. The search committee welcomes applicants in religious studies with clear evidence of engagement with another field in the humanities or social or natural sciences (e.g., cosmology, neuroscience, history of science, or history of medicine and healing). Areas of specialization are open. The committee seeks applicants with strong commitment… read more »

Maya Ghanem Knows Collaboration is Critical

Maya Ghanem is a graduating senior majoring in International Comparative Studies and minoring in Religious Studies, with a concentration in the Middle East. A leader of the queer Muslim student group, Jummah 4 All, Ghanem’s research is grounded in queer Muslim studies and sexual ethics among Muslim authorities. Their honors thesis on queer Muslims and environmental futurisms focused on the interconnected struggles of queer Muslims and nonhuman creation against Orientalist binaries. Ghanem’s writing on analyzing Arab media… read more »

Combining the Holistic and Academic: A Student’s Look at Alternative Medicine in Traditional Settings

As a pre-health student majoring in Religious Studies with minors in Biology and Chemistry, Christina Lewis (T, ‘24) wanted her honors project to tie together her academic interests and explore ways in which she, a future clinician, might best serve her patients. Lewis’ thesis focuses on alternative healing practices and how they are applied in Western medical settings. She’s investigating why certain practices with religious or spiritual elements are embraced by integrative medical clinics affiliated with reputable… read more »

Liz Clark Turned Early Christianity History Into an Entirely Different Field

Elizabeth A. Clark joined Duke University in 1982. Over the course of her nearly forty-year tenure at our beloved institution, she built the Department of Religious Studies into a renowned center for the study of late ancient religions, histories and cultures. Founder of the Center for Late Ancient Studies, which now bears her name, Clark gathered, organized and coordinated an interdisciplinary group of researchers for lively conversations and in-depth inquiry into the histories, historiographies and theoretical stakes of… read more »

Duke Scholar Explores A Potent Brew of Religion, Ritual and Psychedelic Drugs

“To me, religion is just brain activity,” said Larissa Carneiro, Ph.D., a religious studies instructor at Duke whose work is at the intersection of religion, neuroscience, and psychedelics. Despite her skepticism about the existence of God and reincarnation, though, Carneiro says she has lived many lives. “I'm 57 years old, and I have had five different lives without dying and being born again,” Carneiro said. Carneiro was born in São Sebastião do Paraíso, Brazil, and started her first life (or two) after moving to Belo… read more »

New Faculty Positions Open in the Department of Religious Studies

The Department of Religious Studies at Duke University invites applications for a position at the rank of associate professor with tenure. The appointment will be in the Department of Religious Studies but is pursued in collaboration with Duke’s distinguished Center for Jewish Studies. The search committee welcomes applicants working in any field involving the study of Jewish religious culture, experience, history or thought in the modern era. The committee seeks applicants with strong evidence of commitment to scholarship… read more »

In Defense of Neutral Space

In defense of neutral space guest column By Marc Brettler December 11, 2023 | 12:00am EST On December 5, I had the honor of convening “A Talking Circle on the War in Israel and Gaza: Sharing Our Pain” alongside Professors Abdullah Antepli and Peter Casarella. This event was sponsored by The Duke University Chapel, Duke Divinity School Center for Reconciliation, Fons Vitae and Student Affairs. Over 40 people — undergraduates, graduate and professional school students, staff and faculty — attended this two-hour event,… read more »

Duke Professors Awarded for Research on a Zen Influencer and a New Approach to Color Theory

Two Duke faculty in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences have been appointed National Humanities Center (NHC) fellows for the 2023-2024 academic year. Richard Jaffe, professor of Religious Studies, will lovingly craft 15-plus years of research into a comprehensive biography honoring a name many are familiar with: Suzuki.  “This isn’t Suzuki the motorcycle inventor or the music method Suzuki,” Jaffe cautions. “This is Daisetsu Teitaro (D.T.) Suzuki, who introduced Zen Buddhism to the United States and Great… read more »