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Senior Spotlight: a series on our graduating students

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I am never uninterested in any aspect of religion, I have found throughout my undergraduate work that these courses have taught me what I really need to know about the world in order to understand people, place, culture, and history, and it has made me recognize that I will always keep learning.

– amelia coates

Why did you major in Religion?

I came to the University of Vermont looking for a passion. I have always been drawn to the humanities and to furthering my education more broadly (AKA I am a total nerd), and I found that passion for religious studies. During my freshman year I took Comparing Religions with Professor Andrus, and from there I took as many religion courses as I could before eventually transferring into the Religion department as a major. I am never uninterested in any aspect of religion, I have found throughout my undergraduate work that these courses have taught me what I really need to know about the world in order to understand people, place, culture, and history, and it has made me recognize that I will always keep learning.

Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?

In ten years I’m sure I’ll have more degrees (the number remains yet to be seen), but in all sincerity I hope that in 10 years I am able to study what I love with other people who share my passion. If I were to set goals right this second I see myself as the head curator at the British Museum, dismantling the structures that allow for its proliferation of colonialism, or working with migrant and indigenous populations in the United States to understand land rights, reparations, politics, and community healing. I always like to set lofty goals. 

Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?

I would say that Mysticism, Shamanism and Possession with Professor Brennan was one of my all-time favorite religion courses and should not be missed by any students. I also would recommend Islam and Race with Professor Morgenstein Fuerst, I have taken many D1 courses and it was hands-down the best one.    

If you could write any book, what would it be?

My answer to this question changes every day, but right now if I could write any book I would write something about the framework through which we understand systemic oppression, the necropolitics surrounding marginalized bodies and experiences, and how religious practice informs community mourning and change. 

Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?

I will always cherish every moment at 481 Main. I loved advising office hours with Professor Brennan every semester, I loved every class in the seminar room, and I will never forget my reception of the Religion department mug, which I happily use every morning.  

You’re finishing up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tell us something about that experience—bonus points for including religion or the Religion Department as a way to think about it!

I think that the Covid semesters have taught me about patience, especially patience with myself and my peers. I also have had the privilege of taking Religion, Health, and Healing with Professor Brennan during this Covid semester and I found the connections between the course materials and our collective life right now to be extremely interesting and inspiring in terms of how we learn to heal from this kind of experience that is so nuanced with history and politics. I have learned that care is about upholding individual experience, and not bogging ourselves down with collective exhaustion. 

Senior Spotlight: a series on our graduating students

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In ten years I imagine myself as a middle or high school teacher teaching social studies. There are so many things I wish I was taught in middle/high school that I didn’t learn about until college. We can’t dismantle corrupt systems until we know about them and how they function – so it’s better to start that work as early as possible. 

– lexie drew ’21
Lexie Drew ’21

Why did you major in Religion?

My freshman year first semester class schedule was done for me by someone in CAS. I was randomly placed in Professor Morgenstein Fuerst’s “Comparing Religions” class and absolutely loved it. I remember leaving every class feeling like my brain was exploding and growing! I just kept thinking about the discussions, information, and questions that were brought up in each class. I was learning so much and having a lot of fun and so I just kept sneakily signing up for REL classes each semester.  Because I didn’t want to go without one, I eventually added it as my minor. Last semester, Professor Borchert and I realized I was only 8 credits away from a major and I decided to go for it. I am so happy I did and feel so proud to be a Religion major. 

Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?

In ten years I imagine myself as a middle or high school teacher teaching social studies. There are so many things I wish I was taught in middle/high school that I didn’t learn about until college. We can’t dismantle corrupt systems until we know about them and how they function – so it’s better to start that work as early as possible. 

Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?

Oh my, what a tough question. I think all Religion classes are amazing (like actually I am not kidding), so any and all! But these were my favorite: 

  • Islam & Modernity: I loved constantly trying to answer the question of “what is modernity?” and we read some really great books such as “Pious Fashion.” 
  • Religion and Ways of Knowing Loved the books we read and it really expanded my knowledge in terms of the embodiment of religion and how religious meaning is created and found. 
  • Seeing the Sacred: Love the focus of visuality and the senses. Studying Religion by focusing on the body has taught me so much about how it functions.
  • Religious Literacy: I just feel like this is a really great class to take to understand how important it is to know about religion as it is literally everywhere. 

If you could write any book, what would it be?

“How to get the confidence to raise your hand!” Or something about a friendship between a turtle and a dog. Still deciding between the two. 

Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?

Gathering around the table in “Religion and Ways of Knowing.” It was so small and intimate. I felt so free to be speak, question, and wonder in that atmosphere. It’s cool to talk about humans and the human experience while being close to other humans! I think it helps things make more sense. That was one of my last classes before COVID. 

You’re finishing up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tell us something about that experience—bonus points for including religion or the Religion Department as a way to think about it!

Things and people adapt under ever-changing circumstances. Religious communities are made up of people and so it makes sense that these communities change and shift based on particular contexts. Also, despite not being together physically, I still learned a lot virtually and was like seriously always in my pajamas. 

Senior Spotlight: a series on our graduating students

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Every class that I have taken in the department has taught me so much about how people relate to one another across time and space and the social mechanisms tied to colonial projects and white supremacy that permeate every facet of society, including through how we perceive religious people.

– becca turley ’21
Becca Turley ’21

Why did you major in Religion?

I chose to be a Religion major because I took Comparing Religions and absolutely fell in love with the subject and the department. I was drawn to the ways that the major combined so many different academic disciplines like gender studies, sociology, political science, anthropology, etc. through the lens of religion, which itself is a highly misunderstood topic. Every class that I have taken in the department has taught me so much about how people relate to one another across time and space and the social mechanisms tied to colonial projects and white supremacy that permeate every facet of society, including through how we perceive religious people. 

Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years I hope to be engaging in work that contributes the world in a positive matter; a dream job that I would hope to have in 10 years (or more!) is an ambassador to India or some type of political advisor on a foreign region where I can use the invaluable knowledge I have gained from both the Religion and Political Science departments to foster positive change in the world!

Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?

ISLAM AND RACE! This was by far my favorite class in the REL department and at UVM because it taught me so much about the racialization of Islam in the United States and how it relates to the delicate racial and social fabric in the US. The materials we read and the ethnographic accounts we read opened my eyes to the US as a surveillance state and inspired me to educate myself on the racialization and politicization of other minoritized identities. 

If you could write any book, what would it be?

If I could write any book it would be children’s book about the Black Liberation Movement in the 20th century and the role of religion in the fight for Civil Rights in America. 

Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?

I have so many fond memories in the REL department because it was the first place at UVM that felt like a home to me, rather than a temporary dorm or classroom. I would have to say that my funniest (not necessarily favorite) memory of the REL house, aside from receiving my REL mug at the end of REL 100, was getting stuck in the first floor bathroom because the lock got stuck, and I had to wait for someone to kick the door open before returning to class!

You’re finishing up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tell us something about that experience—bonus points for including religion or the Religion Department as a way to think about it!

Graduating college in the midst of a pandemic has been a unique and difficult experience, after getting kicked out of my study abroad trip and returning to a city that looked and acted nothing like how I remembered it was very tricky for me. It has taken me a while to adjust to this new learning format, not only because taking class from home can be difficult to learn, but also because this is admittedly not how I imagined my senior year at all. Nevertheless, I have felt incredibly supported by so many people in my life during this transitionary time, and I owe a million debts of gratitude to the REL department for teaching me so much about myself and the world around me (no matter how quickly and dramatically it changes!).

Senior Spotlight: a series on our graduating students

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Challenging yourself to think differently comes with the territory of being a religion major: regular unlearning, relearning, and the instability of every question having “yes and no” be the answer have prepared me for anything.

– katherine brennan ’21
Katherine Brennan is one of our Outstanding Major Award 2021 winners!

Why did you major in Religion?

I majored in Religion because I found the study of religion to be the most inclusive, well-rounded, and comprehensive academic study at the University of Vermont. A religion class delivers the full package: you get to learn about cultures, societies, laws, imperialism, colonialism, politics, religions, people, and more – and you get to unlearn all the harmful things ingrained by society.  

Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years, I hope to use the knowledge I gained from the religion department and will gain from my upcoming graduate studies to apply religious literacy to the international legal sphere. I want to make a difference for religious minorities at home and abroad through navigating legal systems.  

Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?

My advice to first-year students about REL courses is to take as many as you can. The religion professors are the best of the best, and their one-on-one guidance, expertise, and dedication to both you and their scholarship make the religion program unique. REL courses are meant to force you to unlearn harmful stereotypes, misunderstandings, and false information. You will be challenged: not only academically, but also to be a better person. It’s definitely worth it!

If you could write any book, what would it be?

If I could write any book, I would write a book about (no surprise?!) the ways in which French laws, culture, and politics impact religious minorities in France.  

Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?

My first year, every time I passed 481 Main, I commented on how beautiful the building was. At the time, I had no idea that it housed the religion department- but it was by far my favorite building on campus. When I first went to Professor Morgenstein Fuerst’s office hours at 481 Main to discuss changing my major to Religion, it felt like it was simply meant to be. Since I changed my major four years ago, I’ve spent as much time at 481 Main as possible. The building quickly became more than just outwardly beautiful, because it also became the location of some of the most academically and personally challenging and rewarding moments of my undergraduate career. I will miss 481 Main, and everyone in it!

You’re finishing up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tell us something about that experience—bonus points for including religion or the Religion Department as a way to think about it!

Finishing college in the midst of a pandemic is not exactly how I pictured everything playing out. However, if there is anything I’ve learned from religious studies it’s that people, cultures, and societies adapt. Religions are constantly changing because people are constantly changing, and part of my work as a scholar of religion has particularly prepared me for change and adaptation. Religion is what people do, and people are as unpredictable as a sudden global pandemic. Challenging yourself to think differently comes with the territory of being a religion major: regular unlearning, relearning, and the instability of every question having “yes and no” be the answer have prepared me for anything. Not to mention, adapting to thinking burdened by the loss of in-person instruction, loss of social activities, and being unable to do the things I’d like to do is reminiscent of the adaptability required of religious minorities burdened by imperialism, for example. With my privilege I do this work, despite the circumstances, and hopefully one day I can make positive change in the world.

Senior Spotlight: a series about our graduating students

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Through my classes in religion at UVM I have become more aware of how religion is related to understanding society and social justice issues like: racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia, etc.

NINA CARR ’21

Why did you major in Religion?

I was in Professor Sugarman’s religion classes in the Integrated Humanities Program my freshman year. During one of my IHP classes Professor Clark came in to do a guest lecture on women in medieval Christianity, specifically Hildegard of Bingham. I found it incredibly interesting, and I found the material to be very different from that of the other classes that I had taken so far; much more about story telling. After class I asked Professor Clark about joining one of her upper level classes “Seeing the Sacred,” which she encouraged me to do.

After taking that class I completely fell in love with the study of religion, and have loved every religion class that I have taken since. I think it is really revealing and important to study how people think about the world and how people conceive of reality from a religious point of view. Through my classes in religion at UVM I have become more aware of how religion is related to understanding society and social justice issues like: racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia, etc. People stereotype and have prejudices against certain religions and against certain people because of their religious beliefs. It is really interesting to think about power dynamics through the lens of religious studies. 

Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?

In ten years I imagine myself in grad school, after having traveled the world for many years, and after having had many “real world” experiences. I imagine myself doing some grad program that will help me to better be involved in addressing social justice issues. I imagine myself running consistently, and perhaps training for marathons, or just 5K road races. I imagine myself doing what I can to help those around me, being healthy, spending time outdoors, and maybe starting a family. 

Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?

There are too many to choose from. They are all amazing and you can’t go wrong. One that sticks out to me and that I particularly enjoyed was “African Gods, and Western Museums” with Professor Brennan. It was a fantastic combination of religious studies, colonial studies, anthropology, art history, the list goes on. It was very intersectional in nature. The readings that we did were dense but super interesting. I thought it was really powerful that we applied what we had been learning to something tangible, like the Fleming Museum.

If you could write any book, what would it be?

WOW, big question! I would write a book about people, and about different life experiences, somehow. My book would be about unifying different experiences while showing the differences between peoples’ lives. I think that there is something really important to be said about the fact that we are all living different lives, with different amounts of privilege, different focuses, and aspects, but that we are all fundamentally the same and have similar needs and desires (so many people have written books about this already… Humanity I guess?!

Any fond memories of 481 Main Street you want to share?

I loved the time spent in the seminar room. I have so many fond memories of walking over there for class and having such intellectually stimulating discussions every day. I love the cozy feeling of the room, and the wooden chairs and table. It was such a great atmosphere to learn in. Sometimes there wasn’t quite enough space but everyone was always friendly and happy to be there no matter how crowded. I also loved sharing snacks, and particularly during finals week when the teachers would put out treats for us to eat while we studied. Thank you so much for that!