2022 Day of Giving

For the past several years, the faculty of the Department of Religious Studies has dedicated its gift funds to support student research opportunities. We have thus provided support for a number of students to attend conferences to present their research. Any gifts for the department will enable us to continue supporting our students in this manner.

One of our majors, Sasha Eros, and Prof. Sarita Tamayo-Moraga, who will attend and present at the American Academy of Religions Western Regional Conference in March 2022, with the support of the department's gift fundWithout this small grant, Religious Studies major Sasha Eros could not attend the annual conference of the American Academy of Religion Western Region, March 18-20, 2022, in order to co-present—along with Dr. Tamayo-Moraga—an academic paper that investigates the relationship between learning in class and experiencing that which is being taught. This paper focuses on the effectiveness of a course design that requires students to experience the content of a Religious Studies course, for example through personal practice or live observation of contemplative practices. The topic of this year’s AARWR 2022 conference is "Grace, Mercy, and Atonement: Exploring Artistic, Ritual, and Social Action through Forgiveness."

"Sasha is a double major in Religious Studies and Psychology, so working on and presenting this paper to other scholars from across the West provides him with a unique opportunity to explore the intersectionality of Religious Studies and psychological transformation with an audience of other academics from across the different disciplines within Religious Studies. In addition, such an experience positions him well for applications to professional and graduate schools."

– Sarita Tamayo-Moraga, Religious Studies faculty

 “Presenting at this conference is important to me because I believe the subject we’re presenting matters to people and because it will give me experience discussing religion in an academic setting outside of the classroom.”

- Sasha Eros, Religious Studies major