News

Join us for Henna Night (11/18)

You are invited to join the Henna & Culture Celebration organized by the Department of Religious Studies' Arabic Program, in collaboration with the UCSB Arab Group and the UCSB MSA.

Elizabeth Pérez Finalist for Literary Prizes

We're happy to announce the exciting news that Elizabeth Pérez was named a finalist in two different literary competitions last week. Her fiction story, 

Department's Former PhD Student Authors NYT Op-Ed

The department's former Ph.D. student, Steven Barrie-Anthony (Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2016), contributed an Op-Ed, "I’m a Psychoanalyst. This Is What Technology Is Doing to Us" to the New York Times. His editorial can be read on the New York Times webpage. We congratulate Dr. Barrie-Anthony for this important contribution to public-facing scholarship.

Public Lecture (10/24): Katharine Gerbner

Please join us for Associate Professor Katharine Gerbner's public lecture "Constructing Religion and Defining Crime: Obeah, Rebellion, and the Criminalization of Africana Religions" on Friday, October 24th from 1:00-2:30 PM in HSSB 1174.

Capps Lecture (10/20): Catherine Conybeare

Augustine the African: On Writing Revisionist Biography

Catherine Conybeare

Clark Professor in the Humanities, Bryn Mawr College

October 20, 2025

5:00 PM

McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020)

UC Santa Barbara

Elizabeth Pérez featured in LA Times article

UCSB Religious Studies Professor Elizabeth Pérez is prominently featured in this recent LA Times article, "Inside the History of Lucumí: Afro-Caribbean Spirituality as Survival."

Feature image from the above referenced LA Times article (Elana Marie / For De Los)

$1.5 million grant positions UCSB Religious Studies at the forefront of spirituality research

As religious affiliation declines in the United States, a UC Santa Barbara religious studies professor has been awarded a major grant to explore a pressing question: What are people turning towards?

Dwight Reynolds' Book wins 2025 Mediterranean Seminar Prize for Best Translation

Big Congrats to Professor Dwight Reynolds!
His book Medieval Arab Music and Musicians has just won the 2025 Mediterranean Seminar Prize for Best Translation!