Student Recognition Day

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The Department of Religious Studies Annual Student Recognition Day was held on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at the Indiana Memorial Union University Club Faculty Room.

Program

Opening Comments from the Chair
David Brakke

Graduate Recognition
Director of Graduate Studies
Sylvester Johnson

Undergraduate Recognition
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Constance Furey

Some of our Graduate Student Achievements

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships

The Department of Religious Studies is pleased to announce that two of our outstanding graduate students, Sarah Dees and Ashlee Andrews, have been selected to receive a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship for the 2011-2012 academic year. This award reflects honorably on their commitment to excellence in research and is a significant vote of confidence in their promising work. Congratulations Sarah and Ashlee!

College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Year Fellowship

The Department of Religious Studies is pleased to announce that Jessica Carr has been selected to receive the College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Year Fellowship for 2011-2012. This is a tremendous honor that positively reflects Jessica's demonstration of academic excellence and quality research. Congratulations, Jessica!

Graduate Student of the Month

The Department of Religious Studies is pleased to recognize that Nicole Willock has been selected by The Indiana University Graduate School as the Graduate Student of the Month for April 2011.

Graduate Student Conference

The IU Religious Studies Graduate Symposium, held February 24 - 25, was a great success. The topic this year was "Religion and Power." Philip Goff, Sylvester Johnson, and Rachel Wheeler presented the Keynote address entitled "The Power of the Meta-Narrative: Co-Authoring a Textbook on Religious History." Within the department Faraz Sheikh, Jessica Carr and Bharat Ranganathan presented thought-provoking papers. Students traveled from University of Illinois, Notre Dame, and Southern Methodist University to contribute. The conference also benefitted from the participation of many members of the faculty, including commentators Shaul Magid, Brandon Bayne, Constance Furey, and Richard Miller. Dana Logan and Kate Netzler organized the event.

Announcement of Graduate Essay Competition Winner

Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger, “The Apophatic Image and the Pearl of Greatest Price.”

Each year, the Department of Religious Studies selects the top graduate research essay submitted by our students. The author of this year's winning essay produced a meticulous, erudite analysis of a Middle-English poem entitled the Pearl. This student situates Pearl as part of the larger corpus of Christian mystical writings that attempt, as she writes, "to move the reader/contemplative from an understanding of God grounded in similarity or referentiality ("God is like a rock," or even, "God is father") to an understanding of God that moves beyond any human categories." In the words of one reviewer: "This close reading of the Middle English poem Pearl examines its intense decorative and material themes and connects them to its 'economy' of excess. The original thesis rediscovers the poem's engagement with late fourteen-century anxieties surrounding labor, value and payment, which challenges, and even derails, the traditional readings." In light of her exemplary demonstration of careful scholarship, theoretical acuity, and creative proferring of an original thesis, the department is pleased to recognize Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger as the winner of the 2011 Graduate Essay Contest!

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Some of our Undergraduate Student Achievements

Phi Beta Kappa

Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1776, at the College of William and Mary. Since then, Phi Beta Kappa has evolved to become the nation's leading advocate for the liberal arts and sciences education at the undergraduate level. Phi Beta Kappa elects over 15,000 new members a year from 262 chapters across the United States, and IU supports a strong chapter here on campus.

The following students were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa this academic year:

Fall 2010:
Stephanie Jolly
Benjamin Linder
Sarah Wilensky

Spring 2011:
Robert Bensinger
Aaron Ethridge

Theta Alpha Kappa
Theta Alpha Kappa is the international academic honor society for Religious Studies and/or theology, founded in 1976. TAK produces a literary journal twice a year and encourages student submissions.

Spring 2011 inductees into the Theta Alpha Kappa, Alpha Delta Eta Chapter at Indiana University:

Andrew Cala
Tyler Chernesky
Andrea Clark
Bridget Flynn
Benjamin Gurin
Jacob Hunnicutt
Simon Krishnan
Eric Leveque
Kimberly Marshall
Bryan Medema
Rachel Peterson
Kristin Riebsomer
Laura Robinson
Steven Sajkich
Xavier Santos
Sarah Wilensky

Senior Honors Thesis
This year 4 students received the 2011 Senior Honors Thesis Research Grant of $100 each for their prospectuses:
Lynette Anigbo
Hannah Cohen
Gina Eastwood
Michael Ewing
Simon Krishnan

Abel Scholarship
Tyler Chernesky was selected to receive the Abel Scholarship from the College of Arts and Sciences for the 2011-2012 academic year through the Senior Scholarship Competition. The College received more than 70 applications for our scholarships this year and the selection was very competitive.

Hutton Honors College Award
Laura Walter was awarded the Hutton Honors College Burnett/Masters Junior Scholars Award. This merit award is given for outstanding academic achievement as well as exceptional leadership and contributions to many fields of study at IU.

Undergraduate Religious Studies Association
URSA is concluding a dynamic year. Things kicked off with Lynette Anigbo creating a great new game -- "Tell Me About Yourself" -- for the Welcome Back Party. Getting down to business, the group organized a regular series of faculty brown bag lunches and movie nights. Gina Eastwood inspired us to screen "The Exorcist" right before Halloween. James Wilson was crucial in getting Prof. Blair to screen "Fight Club," an event that revealed just how much fun Buddhist monastic rituals can be. Shifting from fights to fashion, Simon Krishnan led the long and careful efforts to come up with the new URSA logo (to be found on a T-Shirt near you)! And from these collective endeavors emerged the group's motto: Getting Geeky About Sects. The local Buddhist monk Arjia Rinpoche gave a public lecture in March, to which we owe Kyle Earl a great deal of thanks. Finally, lest you think URSA meetings are planning sessions only, ask Kristin Riebsomer about rainbow themed games.

Announcement of Undergraduate Essay Competition Winners:

HONORS ESSAY WINNERS

The Honors Essay Award this year was a two way tie. Each winner will receive a $100 prize.

Our first winner is Michael Ewing, a double major in Religious Studies and Linguistics for his essay, "The Image of God in Two Church Fathers." The selection committee praised this as a careful, clear, and nuanced comparison of Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo, two theological giants of the East and West, respectively. The thesis demonstrates conclusively that the seemingly simple Christian claim that humans are created in the image of God is not simple at all. While Athanasius concentrates on differentiating human and divine, and then bridging the gap through Christ, Augustine takes the same claim as an invitation to explore the structure of the mind and soul or what we would now call psychology. Michael takes us deep into the minds of two extraordinarily influential Christian and brings us back out again with a much clearer understanding of how theological and anthropological assumptions are intertwined.

Our second winner is Simon Krishnan, for his essay, "Be Like Others: Western Media Representations of Transsexuality in Iran." Simon, who majors in Religious Studies and NELC (with Arabic concentration); and minors in Spanish, Computer Science, and Gender Studies was cited by the committee for the sophistication of his gender analysis of a culture too easily understood as simply repressive. By analyzing the ways in which Western media sources portray the phenomenon of transsexuality in Iran, this study exposes the blind spots in contemporary western ideas about sexual identity and liberatory politics. As Simon himself puts it, the western medias valorization of certain normative queer subjectivities operates to foreclose others. This is an important and subtle study that turns the gaze on Muslim Iran back on ourselves to reveal our own, often repressive, desire for clear and fixed identities.

GALLAGHER ESSAY WINNERS

Third prize of $200 goes to Ashley Dillon, a sophomore majoring in English (with Creative Writing concentration) and minoring in Spanish for an essay she wrote for Professor Johnson's Religion and Sex in America Class. Ashley's passionate essay lays out an important argument about, as her title puts it, "Christianity's Influence on Current Attitudes on Homosexuality in the United States", with some good research on Bible translations and exegesis, and an impressive capacity to use quotes from key leaders to lay out the issues involved in condemning and defending homosexuality through exegesis.

Second prize of $300 goes to Hannah Cohen, a senior majoring in Religious Studies and Jewish Studies and minoring in Spanish. Hannah's essay, "Transformative Theatrics: The Oberammergau Passion Play as a Subliminal Spiritual Exercise" offers an original and persuasive argument about the spiritual effect of theatrical pain. The committee was especially impressed by the extensive research involved in constructing this essay, which weaves together biblical exegesis with early and current accounts of the passion play, first performed over 375 years ago, and reenacted annually still today.

First prize of $500 goes to Religious Studies and Philosophy major Jessica Merritt for an essay she wrote in the inaugural version of R389, "Spiritual Exercises and Self-Cultivation" taught by Professor Aaron Stalnaker. Jessica, a senior who is also majoring in India Studies, wrote remarkable essay, "An Exploration of Aghori Spiritual Practices" described by the selection committee as conceptually ambitious, and impressive in using Pierre Hadot's work Philosophy as a Way of Life, to analyze spiritual practices far afield from the ancient philosophers Hadot analyzed. It's amazing how she found a way to make sense of seemingly bizarre spiritual practices through the lens of sedate Hadot.

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Undergraduate Notes

Lynette Anigbo received a 2011 Senior Honors Thesis Research Grant of $100 for her paper which explores the legacy of missionary history in Africa with a focus on the West.

Sarah Brindle will begin her senior year this fall, studying Religious Studies and Political Science. She has been the recipient of the IU Recognition Scholarship and JG and AB Wells Scholarship. After graduation, she plans to earn a Master of Public Affairs through SPEA with a concentration on sustainability and sustainable development.

Tyler Chernesky, class of 2012, is majoring in History, Religious Studies, and English with a concentration in Public and Professional Writing. A self-proclaimed romantic at heart, Tyler keeps a daily journal, likes receiving handwritten letters, and enjoys road trips with good friends. A Wells Scholar and student in the Hutton Honors College, Tyler has served as an Associate Justice on the Student Body Supreme Court.

Hannah Cohen received a 2011 Senior Honors Thesis Research Grant.

Gina Eastwood received a 2011 Senior Honors Thesis Research Grant for her topic, "Campus Crusade, Christian Missions, and the Legacy of Colonialism."

Michael Ewing is a senior with a Linguistics and Religious Studies majors. His fantasy is to combine the two by translating the early Church Fathers into local African languages for the Orthodox Church in Tanzania. Short of that goal, he plans on living a simple life in the country, possibly just outside Bowling Green Kentucky.

Bridget Flynn will be graduating this December with an Individualized Major in Environmental Ethics as well as a major in Religious Studies and minor in Sociology. She has studied a variety of her interests at IU from environmental policy, globalization, and food issues to Buddhism, deviance, and the family. She recently ran her second half-marathon and writes for Indy Vegans. This summer she will be interning with the IU Office of Sustainability and plans to run another half-marathon, all the while considering what to do after graduation.

Hannah Garvey is a freshman planning to major in Religious Studies with a minor Spanish. She is thrilled to be part of the department and has enjoyed all of the classes she has participated in thus far. For the moment, her particular area of interest is American religions, although she is excited to explore any and all other areas of study. Her ideas about the future are ever-changing but she looks forward to three more fascinating and productive years at IU.

Jamie Johnston received a FLAS Academic Year Award for the Study of Arabic.

Simon Krishnan received a 2011 Senior Honors Thesis Research Grant of $100 for his thesis which focuses on analyzing the ways in which Western media sources portray the phenomenon of transsexuality in Iran. More broadly, it is a critique of Western Orientalist and nationalist arguments whose valorization of certain normative queer subjectivities operates to foreclose others.

Eric Leveque is junior with a Religious Studies major and minors in German, History, and Medieval Studies. He's mostly interested in the development of Christianity after legalization by Constantine I. He's also interested in all things relating to the Byzantine Empire. Currently he's working on a paper dealing with memory in St. Augustine's Confessions and De Trinitate and a paper on a mosaic in Hagia Sophia in modern-day Istanbul. At this point in the game the plan is to go either to grad school or law school.

Jessica Merritt is a junior in Religious Studies and Philosophy. In her spare time she is a gardener and musician, spending every summer working on an organic farm in Southern Indiana. On the Deans List since the fall of 2009, she is a Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society Member. Her best experience as an undergrad so far has been the Permaculture Design course last summer through the Religious Studies Department. After graduating from IU, she hopes to spend time in India studying Sanskrit and other languages before returning to the U.S. for graduate studies in Religious Studies or Philosophy.

Laura Robinson is a graduating senior who is a double major in English and Religious Studies and also has a minor in history. She is particularly interested in the study of Christianity and in writing fiction. She is a Cox Research Scholar and has worked as a research assistant for Professor Constance Furey, and she also interns for the IU Writer's Conference and for the IU Office of Scholarships. In the fall she will be studying Biblical Exegesis at Wheaton College near Chicago. Laura is extremely grateful to the wonderful IU Religious Studies department and Professor Furey in particular for a fantastic four years at IU.

Steven Sajkich will graduate in May with a double major in History and Religious Studies. Through these past four years, Steven was able to take many fun and interesting classes in both History and Religious Studies including a class on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X with Professor Johnson as well as several with Professor Furey. In addition, he has worked with the Office of Admissions as a Student Ambassador and Student Director of the Chat Team and served as an Orientation and Team Leader for the Office of First Year Experience Programs. In the fall, Steven will continue his education and pursue graduate school in Higher Education and Student Affairs.

Andrew Sweet is president of the new Religious Exploration and Education Club, a student organization that aims to give Indiana University students the opportunity to experience the wide spectrum of religious faiths located in and around Bloomington. The club seeks to educate members through interactions with various religious institutions through observing and (on occasion) participating in holiday ceremonies, weekly religious observances, and discussions with clergy and lay people.

Sarah Wilensky is a senior graduating in May. At IU she has worked with STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition and written an opinion column in the Indiana Daily Student. She will be deferring for one year from Columbia Law School to spend time working in Washington DC as a member of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar's staff.

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