Religion Expert to Speak at UA as Part of Aaron Aronov Lecture Series

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Tomoko Masuzawa, professor of comparative literature and history at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, will give The University of Alabama department of religious studies’ 2006-2007 Aaron Aronov Lecture.

Her lecture, “Return of the What? – or Why We Should Care About the (Mere) Concept of Religion,” will be Wednesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. in Gorgas Library room 205 and is open to the public.

One of the leading theorists of the field today, Masuzawa’s research covers a broad and timely area, moving between critical and discourse theory as well as the history and effects of European colonialism. Most recently, she has examined in detail the political context of the study of religion’s own 19th century history.

She is the author of “In Search of Dreamtime: The Quest for the Origin of Religion” and “The Invention of World Religions: Or, How European Universalism Was Preserved in the Language of Pluralism and Diversity.” She is also the president of the North American Association for the Study of Religion.

The Aaron Aronov Lecture Series, established in 2002, is named after the late Aaron Aronov, after whom the department’s endowed Chair in Judaic Studies is also named. Its aim is to introduce to The University of Alabama community a nationally recognized scholar of religion who is capable of reflecting on issues of wide relevance to scholars from across the humanities and social sciences. This year’s Aronov Lecture is cosponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information, visit the Department of Religious Studies, or contact Dr. Steven Ramey at sramey@as.ua.edu or 205/348-4218.

The UA department of religious studies is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest public liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the “USA Today” Academic All American Team.