CSR
The Seventeenth Century Judeo-Persian Adaptation of the Buddha Biographies
Royce 306Elisha ben Shemuel’s Shahzadeh va-Sufi or The Prince and The Sufi is a seventeenth century Judeo-Persian adaptation of the life of Buddha, known in the west as the story of Barlaam and Josaphat. The plot, that of the prince who abandons a life of privilege and opulence for spiritual enlightenment, has traveled through centuries in...
On the Soul
Royce 306This discussion of the soul departs from the concept of the soul that for thousands of years has occupied the attention of philosophers and theologians and pervaded religious discourse. Morris is concerned with what William James referred to as ‘the popular soul,’ the soul as it is invoked by expressions such as ‘an expansive soul,’...
Between Bible and Qur’an
Royce Hall, Rm 314The Qur’an draws on three major earlier traditions, those of Judaism, Christianity tradition, and pre-Islamic paganism, and while the Qur’an presents itself as a continuation and confirmation of the Torah and the Gospel, its style deviates significantly from that found in Biblical texts. Western scholarship has focused on Biblical influence in terms of the characters...
Trialogue: Beyond the Boundary Conceptual Models of the (Religious) Stranger in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Royce 306This panel discussion is open to members of the UCLA and Los Angeles communities who are interested in exploring a key issue of concern in contemporary religious and cultural studies. The forum also is the culmination of the upper-division seminar course Religion 120. The course is designed to introduce students from a broad spectrum of...
2019-20 Calendar of Events
Click here for 2019-20 Calendar of Events
Symposium: “On the Matter of Blackness in Europe: Transnational Perspectives”
Charles E. Young Research Library and Royce HallOrganized by the UCLA Department of African American Studies Co-Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion A Symposium featuring Keynote Speaker Gloria Wekker, Professor Emerita at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and a renowned scholar of Black feminism, Dutch anticolonialism, and diaspora. Key Symposium questions will include: How do marginalized experiences of Blackness within...
Fall 2019 Welcome Reception
Royce Hall, Rm 306You are cordially invited to attend the Center for the Study of Religion Fall 2019 Welcome Reception. We look forward to seeing you there! Event Flyer RSVP Below:
Secular Rituals: How Nonreligious People Make Religion Less Religious
Royce 306As more Americans become nonreligious, life-cycle rituals and other ceremonies that religious experts once performed are increasingly the responsibility of everyday people and ritual experts for hire. Very secular people avoid rituals or work hard to minimize their resemblance to religion. Secular people who have left strict religious groups often rebel by inverting the rituals...
The Báb, Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi (1819 – 1850): His Life, Writings, and Religion
UCLA Faculty CenterSchedule: 8am-9am: Light breakfast 9am-12:30pm: Morning Session: The Movement of the Báb Welcome by Dr. Simon Joseph (UCLA) Moderated by Dr. Nahid Pirnazar (UCLA) Performance by Dr. Manouchehr Sadeghi Introduced by Dr. Latifeh Hagigi (UCLA) Presentations by Dr. Sholeh Quinn (UC Merced), Dr. Abbas Amanat (Yale University), and Dr. Janet Afary (UC Santa Barbara) 12:30pm-2pm:...
Book Talk: Blackbird Blues
Kaplan 365CHICAGO, Illinois – The height of the Civil Rights era merges with the hauntingly beautiful swinging sounds of Chicago jazz in award-winning reporter and psychologist Jean K. Carney’s debut novel, “Blackbird Blues” (Oct. 1, 2019, Bedazzled Ink Publishing). Following the death of her teacher and mentor Sister Michaeline, aspiring jazz singer Mary Kaye meets Lucius,...