Recent News:

Vasudha Narayanan's number--
is (352)-273-2928. Please update your phonebooks to the new number. November 10th

Spring 2009 schedule--
is available now on the courses page. Note that there will be frequent updates to the course listings throughout the semester. October 15th

Students Create First Undergraduate Religions Society--
Undergraduate students from the department and Dr. Kessler recently started the first ever Undergraduate Religious Studies group, The Society of Academic Religions or S.O.A.R.S. The society was created to foster academic religious studies here at UF and act as a resource for its students, and those interested in the broad topics within religion.

The Society of Academic Religious Studies meets bi-weekly on Thursdays at 7 PM in Anderson 117. Come check it out and get involved! October 14th

Roman Loimeier gave the key note lecture--
in a conference organized by the 'Nordic Network Islam in Africa' in Bergen, on Friday, 19 September, on the theme "What is reform: The dynamics of Islamic reform in Africa."

In addition to that, he recently published a new article:
La religion a Zanzibar: de la polyphonie a la contestation du cosmopolitisme religieux, in: N. Bernardie-Tahir (ed.). L'autre Zanzibar. Geographie d'une contre-insularite. Paris, Karthala, 319-337, 2008. October 14th

Latin American Religions is available for purcahse on sites like Amazon.

A. Peterson and M. Vasquez have a new book out--
Anna Peterson and Manuel Vásquez have recently published a new book, Latin American Religions: Histories and Documents in Context (New York University Press). The book provides an introduction through documents to the historical development and contemporary expressions of religious life in South and Central America, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. A central feature of this text is its inclusion of both primary and secondary materials, including letters, sermons, journal entries, ritual manuals, and ancient sacred texts. These documents provide readers with direct access to the voices of adherents, enabling them to act as academic investigators, experiencing and interpreting the same texts on which historians draw. The documents are framed by substantive introductions which provide both historical context and theoretical insights for the study of these religions traditions and the ways in which they have developed over time. From the religious traditions of the Mayas and Aztecs and of the African diaspora, to official and popular Catholicism, to liberation theology, the rise of Pentecostalism, and emerging trends and new religious movements in Latin America, this new work offers a concise overview of this fascinating field. September 16th

UF's first Sanskrit Club--
Religions of Asia Ph.D. student Phillip Green has initiated and organized UF's first Sanskrit Club. The club meets weekly from 3:00-4:00 p.m. in Anderson 117. Take a look at the new website for additional information and great resources! September 10th