The AAR and Student Members

From undergraduates to those completing doctoral dissertations, students comprise nearly a third of the AAR’s membership. Student members are a significant constituency in the life of the Academy and are the future of the Academy itself. The AAR has made great strides to address the particular concerns and issues of students by providing opportunities for students to be fully engaged through governance, programming, and scholarship.

The AAR is NOT a meeting. It is a professional organization. That means that the AAR exists to serve its members, including student members, throughout the year. While it is the case that ultimately all aspects of the AAR affect student livelihood, there are structures in place that provide reference points for student development and connection to the guild.

Resources for Student Members
Student Liaisons (SLs) are the single most significant student voice in the AAR. The Student Liaison Group is comprised of these Liaisons, who represent institutions granting the PhD in Religion and Theology throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Student Liaisons serve as the primary link between the AAR and student members “on the ground.” They report to the Student Director.

A Student Director (SD) is elected by the membership every two years. The Student Director’s job is basically to serve as a liaison between students, Student Liaisons, the Graduate Student Committee, the AAR staff, and the Board of Directors. On this last point, the SD is a voting member of the Board of Directors for the duration of her/his tenure.

The Graduate Student Committee (GSC) is a standing committee of the AAR Board of Directors charged with addressing the needs and concerns of graduate students and promoting their professional development and participation in the American Academy of Religion and the academy as a whole. The GSC oversees the "Especially for Students" programming for the Annual Meeting as well as numerous other programs and services for students.

"From the Student Desk" is a regular feature of Religious Studies News (RSN), AAR’s newspaper of record. AAR student members are invited to submit articles on issues and topics especially for students. The Student Director appoints the "From the Student Desk" editor who serves a two year term. Don’t forget to look for these articles when you receive your RSN.

Some Issues Facing Student Members
Job Placement and Preparation: Anxieties about getting a job are high among student members of the AAR, and with good reason. The depressing academic job market in religion and theology generally, along with the increased reliance on contingent faculty and the high material cost of graduate education, makes the prospects look daunting for those who desire to have a traditional academic career. However, a career in traditional university, college, and/or seminary and divinity school settings is not desirable for some student members. How to cultivate meaningful vocational discernment, as well as come to terms with and connect with the very real option of a career in religion outside of traditional academic arrangements, is a topic of ongoing conversation among those who serve student members of the AAR. All student members are invited to join this discussion with various parties in the AAR.

Preparing Scholars for the 21st Century: The job market is only one aspect of a larger, broader issue directly involving student members: how scholars of religion are educated at this particular historical moment, in this particular cultural context. What problems, prospects, and possibilities surround the preparation of the scholars who are future leaders in the Academy, no matter their career trajectory? What does the shape of the study of religion look like for the future? How can we best address emergent needs? We invite student members to contribute to this conversation as well.

What Are Your Issues and Concerns as an AAR Student Member?

What is the AAR?

It would be fascinating — and the subject of a book, not a blog post — to trace the ways in which this professional organization has been regarded through its long history by the members of the guild … as well as by its members-in-training. But for most students in 2007, the question: “What is the AAR?” sooner or later means: “How can the AAR help my career?” Eventually, you get the hang of the circus they call the Annual Meeting; and you get used to the large quantities of (recycled) paper and (recycled?) electrons sent your way from the mysterious AAR headquarters; and the way you think about the AAR starts to run along a couple of standard tracks.

1. Present papers: get exposure.
2. Meet people: build your network.
3. Look and apply for jobs: stop being a student.
4. For the highly committed (or crazy) among us, deepen your involvement: chair a session, join a task force, write a newsletter column.

All of these are important ways in which the AAR fulfills its purpose; indeed, the AAR offers opportunities of many other kinds to get professional exposure, establish a professional network, find professional information, and render professional service. That’s why it’s worth knowing more about how the AAR is organized: how the board works, who’s on the staff, what the committees do, and which region you’re in.

In addition to all this, the AAR does something perhaps less tangible but arguably as important. Insofar as it fosters excellence in the academic study of religion, it raises the public profile of the field and contributes to the public recognition of its relevance. So we can see the AAR not just in terms of the “internal” advantages and services characteristic of a full-fledged professional organization, but also in terms of its “external” role as a key public mediator of critical — critical in several senses! — reflection on religion. And that, too, is a way that the AAR can help our careers.

Information on AAR Programs

1. employment services (EIS)
a. Openings: Employment Opportunities for Scholars of Religion
the most comprehensive public record of job listings for credentialed scholars in religion
b. Employment Information Services Center (EISC) at the Annual Meeting
provides employers and candidates with:
1) interview facilities,
2) a message service, and
3) job and resume listings
c. administering surveys tracking employment trends in the field

2. syllabus project
The AAR Syllabus Project was created with the following goals in mind:
a. To offer faculty who are designing new syllabi or revising old ones access to other teachers' course syllabi, allowing them to appreciate how others have organized material, selected reading assignments, and used audio-visual aids;
b. To promote an exchange of ideas about pedagogical practices, such as how course requirements reinforce course goals, how pedagogical techniques enhance the learning process, and how courses develop student interest in the study of religion.

The Syllabus Project includes nearly 500 syllabi in over 60 different course subjects across the scope of religious studies:

1. Religions of Africa (3)
2. Afro-American Religions (4)
3. Religions of America (17)
4. Religions of Ancient Egypt (1)
5. Animals (2)
6. Apocalypticism (5)
7. Religion and the Arts (6)
8. Religions of Asia (16)
9. Religions of Australia (1)
10. Bible (10)
11. Bible - Hebrew Bible/OT (8)
12. Buddhism (11)
13. Caribbean Religions (2)
14. Religions of China (13)
15. Christian Origins (30)
16. Christianity (26)
17. Comparative Study of Religion (14)
18. Contemporary Religious Thought (2)
19. Religion and Culture (6)
20. Death and Dying (8)
21. Religion and Disabilities (4)
22. Religion and Ecology (8) 23. Religion and Ethics (10)
24. Religion and Evil (2)
25. Religion, Film & Visual Culture (10)
26. Food and Religion (2)
27. Greek Religions in Antiquity (4)
28. Health, Illness and Religion (3)
29. Hinduism (2)
30. Holocaust and Genocide Studies (1)
31. Religions of India (6)
32. Interfaith Dialogue (6)
33. Introductory Courses (41)
34. Islam (18)
35. Religions of Japan (3)
36. Judaism (17)
37. Religions of Latin America (2)
38. Religion and Law (2)
39. Religion and Literature (7)
40. Media and Religion (2)
41. Men's Studies in Religion (1)
42. Method and Theory (7)
43. Religion and Music (2)
44. Mysticism (6) 45. Native Traditions in the Americas (8)
46. Near Eastern Religions in Antiquity (4)
47. New Religious Movements (7)
48. Peace and Violence (5)
49. Phenomenology (1)
50. Philosophy of Religion (8)
51. Religion and Politics (1)
52. Religion and Power (1)
53. Psychology and Religion (3)
54. Reformation (2)
55. Ritual Studies (7)
56. Science and Religion (12)
57. Service Learning and Religion (1)
58. Religion and Sexuality (1)
59. Religion and the Social Sciences (10)
60. Theology (Christian) (17)
61. Religions of Tibet and the Himalayas (1)
62. Violence and Religion (1)
63. Women and Religion (20)
64. World Religions (18)

3. department services
a. Departments
The Academic Relations Task Force has prepared a Guide for Reviewing Programs in Religion and Theology. This document provides department chairs with a set of strategic questions and suggested steps for conducting a program review and preparing for an outside evaluation. It contains an introductory statement on the study of religion; a discussion of the preliminary steps in constructing a successful review; a step-by-step description of the review process, and a "how to" on conceptualizing and writing an effective “self-study narrative” that helps to augment program resources.
b. Reviewers
The Program Advisory Service seeks to match experienced consultants with programs undergoing review or planning expansion. This program is still under development but currently maintains a data file of over 200 consultants with information on their institutional location and professional experience.
c. Searchable Guides to the Study of Religion and Theology
1) Guide to the Graduate Study of Religion and Theology
An online finding list of academic doctoral programs of religion and theology at accredited universities, seminaries, and theological schools in North America.
2) Guide to the Undergraduate Study of Religion and Theology
An online finding list of undergraduate departments and programs of religion at accredited colleges and universities in North America.
d. Surveys on Programs in Religion and Theology
1) Graduate Programs
2) Undergraduate Programs

4. grants
a. Research Grants: Individual and Collaborative
b. Annual Meeting Travel Grants [under development]
c. Regional Development Grants (available to AAR Regions)

5. awards
a. Book Awards
1) Best First Book in the History of Religions
2) Awards for Excellence in the Study of Religion:
--analytical-descriptive
--constructive-reflective
--historical studies
b. Journalism Awards: for best in-depth reporting on religion
(3 categories: large outlets, small outlets, and opinion-writing)
c. Ray L. Hart Service Award: for persons whose dedication and service made significant contributions to the AAR's mission of fostering excellence in the field of religion
d. Martin E. Marty Public Understanding of Religion Award: for extraordinary contributions to the public understanding of religion
e. Excellence in Teaching Award

6. workshops (sponsored in connection with the Annual Meeting)

7. religion major/liberal education: a project currently underway investigating:

How might teachers of religion invigorate learning in the field in light of recent global events?

What is the role of the concentration in promoting intercultural knowledge and competence among students?

In a context of growing religious violence and radicalism, how can teachers of religion encourage students to engage ethical issues in a way that is both academically rigorous and morally constructive?

How can teachers of religion best create learning environments which encourage students to intelligently and critically engage the moral, religious, and spiritual issues central to humanity while in the major and throughout their lives?

How can the concentration enhance its role in promoting practical skills central to liberal education such as written and oral communication, critical thinking, and problem solving?

How might the promotion of these outcomes within the major be integrated with achieving the personal and social outcomes outlined above?

In light of the growing number of institutions that require undergraduates to take courses in religion, what should be the shape of foundation or core courses in the field?

8. American Lectures in the History of Religion (ALHR) lecture & book series

9. publications (including online archives)
a. Journal of the American Academy of Religion (JAAR)
b. Book Series
1. Academy Series: publishes books that originate as dissertations in the field of religious studies
2. Religion, Culture, and History Series: publishes scholarly work that addresses the relation between religious studies and cultural studies/theory
3. Reflection and Theory in the Study of Religion Series: publishes works addressing theories of religion, the history and nature of religious studies, religious thought, theological investigation, and the philosophy of religion
4. Teaching Religious Studies Series: publishes works at the intersection of pedagogical concerns and the substantive content of religious studies
5. Texts and Translations Series: publishes significant primary texts in translation, important secondary scholarship on religious texts, and reprints of major works in the field
c. Openings: Employment Opportunities for Scholars of Religion
d. Religious Studies News (RSN)
e. Spotlight on Teaching
f. Spotlight on Theological Education
g. In the Field (notices)
h. e-bulletins (recent archives)
i. AAR Career Guide for Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession
1 Introduction
2 Graduate School
3 Job Search
4 Working Toward Tenure
5 Post Tenure
6 Alternative Career Options
7 Dealing with Difficult Issues
8 Are You Considering the Hire
9 Suggested Resources

Coming Soon

More Information on:

1. About AAR (History)
2. Membership (including students)
3. Meetings
4. Programs
5. Public Affairs.

Tell us what else you want to know about the AAR!

Career Alternatives Clusters

Here is the list of Career Alternatives clusters for religion majors:

(1) media (print and electronic);

(2) public-policy institutes and think tanks;

(3) grant-making institutions, nonprofits, and NGOs;

(4) academic administration;

(5) theological librarians;

(6) campus religious life and service-learning/volunteering;

(7) professional ministry (local, regional, national, international);

(8) religious education (public and private secondary, undergraduate, graduate);

(9) sabbatical, retreat, seminar, and enrichment programs (for clergy and laity);

(10) government-sector jobs (policy-making, diplomacy, FBI, prison chaplains, oversight of religious freedom, etc.);

(11) medicine, ethics, and healing; and

(12) “the arts” (visual arts, dance, design, music, etc.).

We'll be focusing on media for the next couple of years, so I'm particularly interested in accumulating contacts in that field, but I'd also like to continue building the database in all the cluster areas. So, if you know anyone working in these areas who was an undergraduate religion major (bachelor's) or did graduate work in religion (master's, or doctorate), please post the contact information so I can follow up.

Thanks, Kim

Signs of Spring

Hi all! These are the only animals I've seen lately around here--well, there were some other birds around, too. Check them out at this hot new link http://kbresler.blogspot.com/ (see, I really am becoming "high-tech")! Kim

Another Question

Does anyone think the title of this blog should be "Graduate Students of the AAR" instead of just "Students of the AAR"?

Test Post

I'm posting with my Gmail account. Here's a photo of an Egret.
I'm eager to know what kind of stuff to publish here as well. I do think it will be useful.

Testing testing

I really want to post interesting stuff to this blog, but I'm not sure how. Can anyone help?