College of Arts and Sciences

Recently, Dr. Sarma wrote an article for The Blog of the American Philosophical Association (APA), “Epistemic Doubt: A dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago”, reflecting on their long-standing passion for teaching Introduction to Indian Philosophy, which they have taught every year since 2004. Within the article, Dr. Sarma relays the personal journey and philosophical skepticism that led to their particular style in teaching the course which blends traditional methods with immersive experiences at the Cleveland Museum of Art, challenges epistemic foundations, and encourages students to question their deepest assumptions.

Read more

From Sept. 2nd to 13th, 2024, Pope Francis will travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and Singapore. The longest apostolic journey since the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis will engage with not only some of the richest and poorest countries of today’s world, but also with the most religiously diverse society (Singapore) and the most Catholic nation of the 21th century (Timor Leste) as well as with the country with the world’s largest Muslim population (Indonesia). In this online roundtable, panelists will analyze most important aspects of this papal visit and their relevance for local governments, ecclesial communities, national development, and cross-regional connections.

Dr. Jonathan Tan will provide his expertise on Singapore as a panelist on the Online Roundtable discussion.

Online Roundtable
Tuesday, 3 September 2024
8:00 AM Eastern Time
8:00 PM Singapore Time

Read more

In an unusual custody case in Steubenville, Ohio, two priests seek custody of a 2-year-old child, having helped a young couple with his care since they moved to town in June 2022. Dr. Clites offers his expertise in Roman Catholic tradition to shed some light on the situation.

Read the full article

Read more

Art / Sci Magazine has published their lasted issue, highlighting Religious Studies faculty members in the feature “A Thriving Culture.”

Dr. Michele Berger, director of the Baker-Nord Center for the humanities, is leading efforts to expand the reach of the annual Cleveland Humanities Festival. This year’s festival centered on the multifaceted concept of awe across cultures and time. Read more about “Awe” here.

This spring, Dr. Timothy Beal and Dr. Michael Hemenway, a research fellow, created and co-taught a new course tackling the current AI phenomenon titled, “Responsible AI: Cultivating a Just and Sustainable Socio-technical Future through Data Citizenship”.

The Cleveland Humanities Collaborative (CHC), co-directed by Dr. Brian Clites and Dr. Kurt Koenigsberger, associate professor of English, provides local community college students who are seeking a degree in the humanities with opportunities to join the CWRU community. Read more about CHC here.

And

Dr. Jue Liang, Religious Studies newest faculty member, was recently awarded a “flash grant” to create a course for the Fall 2024 semester, “Ghosts, Zombies, and Monsters: What We Fear and Loathe in Religions.”

(Featured Photo by Matt Shiffler)

Read more

Following her keynote lecture at Oxford University, “It Feels So Good to Be Alive”, Dr. Joy Bostic spoke with Beshara Magazine about the importance of Africana spirituality and its expression in popular music and dance, not just for the black community, but for all of us in the contemporary world.

Read the full interview here

Read more

Wednesday, May 1st 2024

12pm – 1:30pm

UPDATE: Dively Room 213

This lecture by Dr. Alanna Cooper analyzes the cultural work born out of the trauma experienced by Israel’s citizens on October 7. Research explores the existential patterns Israelis seek to make sense of their wounds, as well as the ways in which they assemble a set of hopes and fears for how they might be healed.

Free to attend and open to all members of the Case Western Reserve University community.
Refreshments are to follow.

Read more

USA Today’s latest article, “Share of US Catholics backing legal abortion rises as adherents remain at odds with church” (USA Today, April 20, 2024) on the changing demographics of the US Catholic Church, features insight from Dr. Jonathan Tan

Read the full article here

Read more

Read more

During a recent visit to Israel, Dr. Cooper had the privilege to meet Rabbi Anat Sharbat, whose spiritual work in Hostage Square inspired her to write the article, “Hostages Square in Tel Aviv is one of the most religiously diverse synagogues.” Amid war, grief, fear and pain, Rabbi Sharbat and others have found creative and uplifting ways to connect to each other and find some solace.

Read more