50th Anniversary

News from the Religious Studies Chair May 2016

2016 President's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning, Publications, Conference Papers and Invited Talks, Graduate Student Publications and Presentations, Alumni News

May 31, 2016

The major event in May was the culmination of our year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of our graduate program. Over one hundred people--alumni, graduate students, faculty members and staff--turned out to celebrate with us. Events kicked off on Friday night at the Phoenix where everyone made the most of an informal opportunity to catch up over a barbecue and a few drinks. The weather even cooperated sufficiently to allow guests to mingle outside.

Convocation Hall was beautifully decorated for the luncheon on Saturday. The President, Patrick Deane, and the Dean of Social Sciences, Jerry Hurley gave laudatory speeches that recounted the long history and many achievements of our graduate program. There was also an opportunity to introduce the latest addition to our numbers--Dr. Matthew Thiessen, who will join the department officially on July 1. The afternoon activities proved to be a major attraction. UH 122 and the foyer of University Hall were both packed with guests eager to examine everything on display. There were over 100 books written by faculty and alumni on the book display, and the memorabilia proved especially memorable to one couple! Alumni had an opportunity to connect with current graduate student research at the poster session. Congratulations to Crystal Beaudoin (MA student, Asian) who won the prize for best poster. The academic roundtable on the Past, Present and Future of the Graduate Study of Religion in Canada was well attended and the discussion was lively and informative.

The weekend drew to a close with a dinner on Saturday evening. Guests at the reception were entertained by our house band, the ever-popular Ian Koiter Trio. There was much mingling and warm conversation. After dinner, guests were able to enjoy desserts and coffee in the beautiful Great Hall of the University Club. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend of celebration and connection.

My thanks to all who worked so hard to make this weekend such a huge success. Sheryl Dick in particular has been working on this event for well over a year. Her meticulous planning and attention to detail certainly paid off. Staff and graduate student volunteers also gave many hours of devoted service to the weekend. We couldn't have done it without you. I hope the selection of photos above, taken by Adel Hashemi (PhD candidate, Western), gives you some sense of the weekend. You can find more on our Facebook page.

We have already raised over $10,000 for the 50th anniversary graduate scholarship and donations are still being accepted.

2016 President's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning

Philippa Carter was selected as a 2016 recipient of this award. The award consists of a citation of excellence and certificate that will be presented at Convocation on Wednesday June 15. Also, Philippa's name will be inscribed on a permanent plaque in Gilmour Hall. Congratulations Philippa on this much-deserved award! All of us know first-hand just how much Philippa does for her students every day. It is truly wonderful to see her dedication to Teaching and Learning marked by the University in this way

Publications

James Benn, Review of Buddhism in China: Collected Papers of Erik Zürcher, edited, with an Introduction, by Jonathan A. Silk, Sinica Leidensia, vol. 112, Leiden: Brill, 2013, Journal of the American Oriental Society 136.1 (2016), 154-156.

Conference Papers and Invited Talks

James Benn, "Creating a Tea Aesthetic in Tang Dynasty Poetry," Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
"Buddhism and the Arts of Tea in Tang times," Symposium on Tang Cosmopolitianism, Art Gallery of New South Wales.
"Tea, Wellness, and Beverage Culture in Song Dynasty China—Perspectives from the City and the Monastery," Australian National University, Canberra.

Liyakat Takim, “Shi‘ism and the Law in the Diaspora” Conference on Shi‘i studies, Islamic College for Advanced Studies, London.

Graduate Student Publications and Presentations

Graham Baker (PhD candidate, Western), presented “Slow Down, Pay Attention: Putting Ivan Illich’s Energy Ethics in Theological Perspective,” at the annual meeting of the Canadian Theological Society.

Miriam DeCock (PhD candidate, Biblical) presented a paper on "The Reception History of the Account of the Man Born Blind in the Greek Patristic Tradition" at the North American Patristics Society's annual meeting in Chicago and another paper on "The Preeminence of the Gospel of John in the Greek Patristic Tradition" at the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies at the University of Calgary.

Michael Gabizon (PhD student, Biblical) spoke on “The Development of the Matrilineal Principle in Ezra-Nehemiah, Jubilees and Acts” at the Enoch Graduate Seminar in Austin, TX.

Michael Johnson (PhD candidate, Biblical) spoke on "Testing Stegemann’s Placement of Fragment 10 in the Reconstruction of 1QHodayot^a: Two Digital Approaches," at the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting.

Vinay Khetia (PhD candidate, Western) gave a talk on "Dua Kumayl and the Study of Shi'i Devotional Literature" at the Conference on Shi‘i Studies, Islamic College for Advanced Studies, London.

Andrew Knight-Messenger (PhD candidate, Biblical) gave a paper on "Daniel, a ‘Renaissance Man’?: Daniel and His Different Literary Roles within Their Historical" at the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies.
Matthew Pawlak (MA student, Biblical) spoke on "Longing to Serve: The Eroticism of Aseneth's Desire for Slavery in Light of Comparable Expressions in Ancient Greek Novels" at the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies.

Alumni News

Richard Last (MA McMaster; PhD Toronto) is now a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at York University. We writes to bring us up to date with some of his publications from this year:
The Pauline Church and the Corinthian Ekklēsia: Greco-Roman Associations in Comparative Context. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 164. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
“The Neighborhood (vicus) of the Corinthian Ekklēsia: Beyond Family-Based Descriptions of the First Urban Christ-Believers.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 38.4 (2016): 399-425.
“The Other Synagogues.” Journal for the Study of Judaism 47.2 (2016): 1-34.
“House. Greco-Roman Antiquity.” In Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. Volume 12. Edited by Christine Helmer et al. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 480-3.

And Finally...

Thanks for reading May's News from the Chair. This will be my last "News" as my five-year term as Chair ends on June 30. Please welcome Daniel Machiela as your new Chair.

James A. Benn

Outgoing Chair