Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies Brent Plate recently made presentations at Ithaca College and at the University of Toronto during the American Academy of Religion (AAR) Eastern International Regional Meeting.

Six Hamilton faculty members were recognized for their research and creative successes with the Dean’s Scholarly Achievement Awards, presented by Dean of Faculty Patrick Reynolds during Class & Charter Day on May 13. The awards recognize individual accomplishment but reflect a richness and depth of scholarship and creative activity across the entire faculty.

When one thinks of religion, it is easy to imagine and conceptualize rituals, texts and principles. However, one might argue that the experience of religion is just as much about tastes, sights, sounds and textures as it is about following guidelines and observing tradition. Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate subscribes to the philosophy that religion is best understood through direct interaction rather than distanced study. He is helping students gain firsthand interactions with religion in Oneida County through his course “Religion in the U.S.”

Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate recently presented invited lectures based on his forthcoming book, A History of Religion in 5 1/2 Objects.

Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate says, “This year's Oscar line-up is once again rife with religious references, and the entertainment industry may be overtaking religious institutions as the prime mythmakers and ritual producers in a society where the 'nones' are on the rise.”

Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate recently received grants from the American Philosophical Society and the Central New York Humanities Corridor from an award by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for two projects.

The national media highlighted Hamilton College in multiple ways throughout 2012 by focusing on faculty research and expertise, featuring opinion pieces, and announcing new endeavors and special student projects. From The Today Show to NPR’s All Things Considered to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the college was visible in the media across the country.

Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate participated in the annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) held Nov. 17-20 in Chicago.

Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate participated in several contexts at the 16th Biennial Conference for the International Society for Religion, Literature and Culture held Oct. 19-21 in Copenhagen. Plate presented a work-in-progress titled “Celebrating the Celluloid, Celestial City: The Presence and Absence of Sacred Space on Film.”

In a Religious Dispatches essay, “‘Cult’ Cinema Comes of Age,” Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies S. Brent Plate examined recent films that focus on cults including The Master, the latest in the group. In the Oct. 7 article, Plate described The Master as “emblematic of a new, more nuanced treatment of cults in the movies,” and “more or less … the story of L. Ron Hubbard and the birth of Scientology.”