Welcome from Professor Pamela Klassen, Chair & Graduate Chair
The DSR Class of Fall 2024 includes eleven PhD and three MA graduates with a wide range of interests, from women in early Christian texts and the phenomenon of “Hell Houses” in American Pentecostalism to medieval Hindu traditions and the politics of mapping in the study of Buddhism. These graduates have demonstrated originality and creativity, as well as admirable persistence and determination—the work of research and the craft of writing are profoundly challenging. Their supervisors and committee members provided guidance and support along the way. My congratulations go to all of them on their accomplishments – as well as to our Bachelor’s graduates for Fall 2024!
All DSR graduates form a vibrant and talented group, who bring their ability to ask hard questions about how religion is at work in the world, past and present, to a wide range of professions and community contexts. We are proud of you and look forward to hearing from you in the years to come.
We also celebrate several awards at both the graduate and undergraduate level, which recognize excellence (a record six recipients of the University of Toronto Excellence Awards), contributions to equity and justice in the university, and outstanding academic achievement. Some of our awards come thanks to our generous donors. There are undoubtedly more ways we can recognize and honour our students, so please let me know if you have ideas for how to expand our departmental awards.
In late October, we gathered in the department to celebrate all these achievements in person. Taking this time to shine a light on the dedication and hard work of our students reminds us all of the importance of the DSR as a site of learning and community. That we were able to celebrate with family and friends made this occasion even more meaningful. My thanks also go to all the faculty supervisors and to the staff for all they do in making the DSR a welcoming place for all.
(Photos courtesy of Harjit Bains, Saliha Chattoo, Ken Derry, Pamela Klassen, Liwen Liu, Tanya Proulx)
We are so proud to celebrate the DSR's newest graduates and award winners
PhD and MA
PhD
- Filip Andjelkovich — "Data Dreams: Algorithmic Realism at the End of the Future" (Supervisor: Marsha Hewitt)
- Danielle Baillargeon — " From Pietas and Pity to Purification: The Transformation of the Meaning of Mourning in Late Antiquity" (Supervisor: John Kloppenborg)
- Saliha Chattoo — " Theatres of Commitment: Youth, Performance and the Making of Publics in an American Pentecostal Megachurch" (Supervisor: Simon Coleman)
- Anna Cwikla — "Placeholders, Lessons, and Emasculators: The Literary Function of Women in Early Christian Texts" (Supervisor: John Kloppenborg)
- Nick Field — "Halfway between Peking and Western Europe”: Imperial Knowledge Creation and the Geography of Buddhism in Sir Aurel Stein’s Last Major Maps of China" (Supervisor: Frances Garrett)
- Barbara Hazelton — "Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche’s Defeating the Lord of Death in Ü: Analysis, Context, and History" (Supervisor: Frances Garrett)
- Nabeel Jafri — "Orating Knowledge: Urdu Shiʿi Khiṭābat in Contemporary Karachi" (Supervisor: Karen Ruffle)
- Liwen Liu — "Justifying Violence: Ritual and Doctrine of Sacrificial Killing in Medieval Hindu Traditions" (Supervisor: Srilata Raman)
- Amber Moore — " Maṇiśailamahāvadāna: The Legend of Ugratārā Vajrayoginī on Jewel Stone Mountain" (Supervisor: Christoph Emmrich)
- Emily Pascoe — "The Anonymous God: Critical Psychoanalytic Inquiries into Social Domination" (Supervisor: Marsha Hewitt)
- Andrea Wollein — "Inhabiting the Past, Building the Future: Spatializing History at a Newar Buddhist Monastery" (Supervisor: Christoph Emmrich)
MA
- Ashik Kumar — "The Unnameable: on the Modern Literature of Brahminism" (Supervisor: Srilata Raman)
- Miftahur Rahman — "Anthropomorphic Verses in the Tafsīr Bahr al-Muḥiṭ of Abū Ḥayyān al-Andalūsī (654-745 AH)" (Supervisor: Walid Saleh)
- Uzma Siddiqui — "A Contestation of Power between Barelwi Sufism and the Pakistani State" (Supervisor: Karen Ruffle)
Bachelor's Degrees
- Major in Religion
- Ashvini Giridaran
- Minor in Religion
- Kang Chen
- Alperen Demirci
- Zoe Elise Faber
- Reham Husam Fayyad
- Alina Ovsanna Kouzouian
- Isabel Li
- Menuri Tharanga Mahagamage
- Patrick Michael O'Brien
- Stefania Antonietta Trombacco
- Yi Xing
Graduate Awards (→ About)
- Jane Trombley Award — Haroon Alvi
- Molly Spitzer Award — Maor Oz
- DSR Graduate Admission Award — Maor Oz
- Arts & Science Doctoral Recruitment Awards — Dustin Barker, Shannon Drew, Maor Oz, Shashank Rao
- Jackman Junior Fellowship — Gaurav Shrestha
Undergraduate Awards (→ About)
- McNab Scholarship in Religious Studies — Annie Metzger-Oke, Julia Shokeir
- DSR Equity & Justice Awards — Bianca Quilliam, Isabella Starace
- University of Toronto Excellence Awards
- Allison Cybulski ("The Prehistorian and the Canadian Institute: Daniel Wilson and his Networks", project supervisor: Pamela Klassen)
- Tristan Gosselin ("The Colonial Structure(s) of Bernard Lonergan’s Philosophy", project supervisor: Reid Locklin)
- Kfir Hilel Harel ("Performing Orthodox Jewish Girlhood", project supervisor: Naomi Seidman)
- Katie Jones ("Servants of the Paraclete", project supervisor: Kevin Lewis O'Neill)
- Bianca Quilliam ("A History of Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre", project supervisor: Pamela Klassen)
- Sylvia L. Wolk ("Performing Orthodox Jewish Girlhood", project supervisor: Naomi Seidman)