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| Department of Religious Studies (Duke University) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Department of Religious Studies |
| Parent institution | Duke University |
| Location | Durham, North Carolina |
| Established | 1926 |
| Head | Chair |
| Website | Duke University |
Department of Religious Studies (Duke University) The Department of Religious Studies at Duke University is an academic unit within Duke University situated on the Duke University West Campus in Durham, North Carolina, offering undergraduate and graduate programs that intersect with departments such as Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Divinity School (Duke University), Pratt School of Engineering, Sanford School of Public Policy, and engaging with institutions like Duke University Libraries and the John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies. The department traces intellectual links to figures and movements associated with William Preston Few, James B. Duke, Methodism, Protestantism, and broader conversations involving Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, and international centers such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Chicago, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The department's formation in the early twentieth century connects to the expansion of liberal arts at Duke University and to administrators like Edgar Odell Lovett and philanthropists such as Benjamin N. Duke, with curricular developments influenced by scholars trained at Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Union Theological Seminary. Over decades faculty appointments reflected scholarly currents tied to Comparative Religion, interactions with traditions including Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and engagements with intellectuals associated with Mircea Eliade, Paul Tillich, Wilhelm Dilthey, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, Clifford Geertz, and Jonathan Z. Smith. The department evolved alongside campus initiatives such as the establishment of the Duke Divinity School, collaborations with the Center for Documentary Studies, exchanges with the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and participation in networks including the American Academy of Religion, Society for Biblical Literature, International Association for Mission Studies, and the Association for Asian Studies.
The department offers Bachelor of Arts and supports Doctor of Philosophy programs coordinated with Graduate School (Duke University), cross-listing with units like Program in Literature, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, African and African American Studies, Classical Studies, and professional programs at the School of Law (Duke University), Fuqua School of Business, and the School of Medicine (Duke University). Coursework spans historical and theoretical study of texts including the Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, Diamond Sutra, Talmud, and modern writings by authors like Simone de Beauvoir, Hannah Arendt, Karl Barth, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and engages methods connected to Historical Jesus research, Biblical criticism, Islamic studies, Sanskrit philology, and New Testament studies. The curriculum permits joint degrees and certificates integrated with programs such as the Duke Global Health Institute, Nicholas School of the Environment, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
Faculty research covers areas including religious history, ethics, ritual studies, textual criticism, and religion and politics, with scholars publishing in venues associated with Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Harvard University Press, Princeton University Press, and participating in professional societies like the American Historical Association, Modern Language Association, Association for the Study of Religion, Economics and Culture, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Faculty projects have engaged field sites and archives related to Varanasi, Jerusalem, Mecca, Lhasa, Addis Ababa, Rome, Athens, Istanbul, and collaborations with research centers such as the Center for the Study of Religion (Princeton) and the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Visiting scholars and past faculty have included those connected to institutions like Yale Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School, McGill University, Stanford University, and recipients of awards such as the MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities grants, and fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies.
The department partners with centers and initiatives on campus including the Duke Initiative for Science and Religion, the Kenan Institute for Ethics, the Forum for Scholars and Publics, the Center for Documentary Studies, and the Duke Office of Durham and Regional Affairs to host public lectures, conferences, and workshops featuring speakers from The New Yorker circles, leaders from Pew Research Center, and representatives of organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. It convenes symposia that bring together scholars linked to Harvard Kennedy School, Columbia SIPA, Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, and cultural partners including the Durham Performing Arts Center and the Nasher Museum of Art.
Students engage with campus groups such as the Student Government (Duke University), the Duke Interfaith Coalition, the Duke Christian Fellowship, the Muslim Student Association, the Hillel at Duke University, the Buddhist Students Association, and regional networks including Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion and participate in internships with institutions like Duke University Health System, Trinity Park Ministries, and nonprofit partners such as Habitat for Humanity and United Way of the Greater Triangle.
The department is housed in buildings on West Campus near facilities such as the Perkins Library, Duke Chapel, the Divinity School Building, and the Nicholas School of the Environment complex, with research support from the Duke University Libraries, the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and digital initiatives including collaborations with Digital Humanities centers and archives connected to collections from The British Library, Library of Congress, and museum partners like the Smithsonian Institution.
Alumni and affiliates have gone on to roles at institutions such as Duke Divinity School, Princeton Theological Seminary, Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Chicago, Oxford University, and to public service at organizations including United Nations, World Bank, U.S. Department of State, as well as leadership in nonprofits like Catholic Relief Services and cultural institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; their scholarship and public work engage topics linked to figures like Desmond Tutu, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Rachel Carson, Cornel West, and Edward Said.