The Program in Jewish Studies invites you to an Open House event. Come have a “nosh” (snack), learn about the program, and create some fun letterpress prints to share for the new year. All are welcome!
Questions? Contact Professor Barbara Mann at bem71@case.edu
Thursday, September 25th at 5pm
in the New Gutenberg Annex/Bellflower 101
Refreshments Provided
Counts as Explore Credit
The New York Times recently reached out to Dr. Deepak Sarma to be quoted in the September 25th article, What Declines in Reading and Math Mean for the U.S. Work Force. Dr. Sarma commented that “My students now, they leave high school and don’t have the capacity to read a lengthy 25-page article. They don’t know what to do with it.” The article was printed on the front page of the Times on Friday, September 26th.
Read the full article for more on this national decline.
What happens when a scholar of religion is confronted with evidence that challenges the boundaries between science, belief, and the unexplained? In this provocative talk, “When the Evidence Changed: A Humanities Professor’s Encounters with Aerospace Insiders – and How They Transformed Her Scholarship and Belief“, Dr. Diana Pasulka, professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, recounts her unexpected journey into the world of aerospace insiders and emergent technologies that blur the line between the natural and the supernatural.
Monday, September 29th
12:45 pm
TVUC Ballroom C
Boxed lunches will be provided at 12:30pm. Registration requested.
On September 4th, 2025, Dr. Deepak Sarma was featured on Ideastream’s Sound of Ideas, “Clinical trials and political will could mark new landscape for psychedelics.” The discussion centers around the landscape of psychedelics and how they’re being used in the medical sphere, clinical trials happening here in Northeast Ohio, and what mental issues are being targeted.
The Office of the Provost at Case Western Reserve University recently announced that Dr. Justine Howe, associate professor and chair in the Department of Religious Studies, has been appointed as the new faculty director of the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women.
A respected scholar and engaged campus leader, Howe brings a thoughtful, collaborative approach to this role, along with a deep commitment to teaching, research and fostering meaningful community connections.
From all of us in the Department of Religious Studies, congratulations Dr. Howe!
To learn more, read the newsroom’s announcement here:
At this year’s Inkubator Writing Conference 2025, Dr. Joy R. Bostic, Associate Professor of Africana Religion and founder of the Minor in Africana Studies will moderate Dr. Eve L. Ewing and Dr. Imani Perry in their Virtual Fiction Panel, Stories We Tell: How History Shapes Us
Monday, September 8th at 7:00pm ET
The Inkubator Writing Conference is Literary Cleveland’s FREE annual festival for writers and readers.
From September 8-10 we will host virtual panel discussions with national authors all leading up to the big two-day in-person conference at the Cleveland Public Library September 11-13. The conference will feature writing workshops, panel discussions, craft talks, a book fair, a party, and a keynote address. See the full schedule at inkubator.litcleveland.org.
Altogether, the Inkubator is a public celebration of writing in Cleveland that advances writers’ individual abilities, furthers artistic dialogue, fosters a more connected literary community, and invites more people to tell their stories.
The Department of Religious Studies welcomes new and returning students to campus with an exciting special event, a psychic and tarot reading with Michelle Falcone! This Explore event takes place on
Wednesday, September 3rd at 5pm
in the Thwing Center’s Bellflower Lounge (290)
Register on Groups to attend
Curious what Grandpa’s been up to on the other side? Want to know if you’re going to pass that first mid-term? Join Michelle Falcone for connection, humor, and healing with tarot card readings and heartfelt messages from loved ones who’ve passed on. Followed by an open discussion with our faculty Can we really connect with the dead or predict the future? How does religion provide pathways to immaterial realms? Is there a connection between performance and religion? Join us for a magical evening!
Dr. Michele Tracy Berger published her co-authored op-ed, Our Graduates’ Successes: What the Data Tells Us About the Value of Cultural and Gender Studies Degrees, for Ms. Magazine on Sunday, July 20th, 2025. The op-ed argues that in contrast to the recent demonization of DEI & “gender ideology,” which have painted our interdisciplinary fields as “useless” or “garbage degrees,” our data-informed perspective, drawing from government and other national data (such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Association of Colleges & Employers), paints a far more positive picture of what graduates accomplish.
Dr. Brian Clites, the Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor in Catholic Studies II, provided insight to the Washington Post on their recent article, A new Pope confronts his church’s abuse scandal amid praise and scrutiny. The allegations “are serious,” he said, “but they’re so common that I cannot imagine many people who would have been elected pope who would not have had similar profiles.”
As the papal conclave concludes with the election of Pope Leo XIV, Professor Jonathan Tan has continued to be a leading voice in media coverage of this historic transition. The Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor of Catholic Studies, Dr. Tan has provided expert analysis across major outlets, offering valuable context on the implications of Pope Leo’s election following the passing of Pope Francis.
Having spent the last few weeks being sought out by the media worldwide, extensively covering Pope Francis’s passing, Dr. Tan prepares for a second marathon of interviews:
Dr. Tan additionally published an op-ed for UCA news titled, “Pope Leo XIV and the Church’s coming of age in the Global South,”(May 13, 2025) in which he discusses the new pope’s decision to identify with Peru and what his dual citizenship could mean for the Catholic Church.
This page will be continually updated, stay tuned!