Religious Studies Beyond the Discipline

A Manifesto on Earning and Awarding a Ph.D.

Authors

  • Andrew Ali Aghapour
  • Shannon Trosper Schorey
  • Thomas J Whitley
  • Vaia Touna
  • Russell T McCutcheon

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/bsor.26013

Keywords:

tenure-track, phd, doctoral education, religious studies, academia, alt-ac

Abstract

Relying on the collaborative input from doctoral graduates in the study of religion who have gone on to successful careers outside of academia, this essay offers a critique of the field for not adapting far quicker to the changing economic conditions of higher education over recent decades but also provides a variety of practical suggestions for how programs in our field can make tactical and substantive changes to better prepare graduate students for a far wider variety of professional futures, inasmuch as we all know that few, at least for the foreseeable future, will ever be hired as tenure-track faculty members.

References

Bassett, Molly. 2019. Interview by David McConeghy. “Applied Religious Studies at Georgia State University.” December 16, 2019. In The Religious Studies Project. Podcast, MP3 audio, 37:50. https://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/applied-religious-studies-at-georgia-state-university/

Dick, Danielle [@DrDanielleDick]. 2022. “My feed is full of people leaving academia for industry. I’m not saying academia is perfect, but I love being a professor and think academia can be a wonderful career option. A thread on why.” Twitter, March 11, 2022, 8:22 a.m. https://twitter.com/DrDanielleDick/status/1502288826479398912

Hughes, Aaron. 2021. “Crisis? What Crisis? The Study of Religion is Always in Crisis.” Plenary address presented virtually at the North American Association for the Study of Religion, Nov 12–14, 2021.

Jackson, Victoria and Matt Saenz. 2021. States Can Choose Better Path for Higher Education Funding in COVID-19 Recession. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/states-can-choose-better-path-for-higher-education-funding-in-covid

McCutcheon, Russell T. 1998. “‘We’re All in this Together’: Some Resources for Thinking about Academic Labor.” Bulletin of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion 27.3: 70–73.

Published

2023-07-18

Issue

Section

The Experiment

Categories

How to Cite

Aghapour, A. A., Schorey, S. T., Whitley, T. J., Touna, V., & McCutcheon, R. T. (2023). Religious Studies Beyond the Discipline: A Manifesto on Earning and Awarding a Ph.D. Bulletin for the Study of Religion, 51(3-4), 83-92. https://doi.org/10.1558/bsor.26013