2009 Graduation Ceremony

5:30-7pm IMU Faculty Room in the University Club

Professor David Brakke

The Department of Religious Studies congratulates all of our graduating seniors. Thank you for your outstanding contributions to the department and to Indiana University. We wish you the very best in all your future endeavors!

Graduating Seniors and Achievements

Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1776, at the College of William and Mary. Since then, Phi Beta Kappa has evolved to become the nation's leading advocate for the liberal arts and sciences education at the undergraduate level. Phi Beta Kappa elects over 15,000 new members a year from 262 chapters across the United States, and IU supports a strong chapter here on campus. The following students were inducted into PBK in the 2008 and 2009: Carolyn Homer, Tim Swanger, Cameron Bailey, Swathi Hemachandra, Nathaniela Orbach, and Alexander Sheppe.

Theta Alpha Kappa is the international academic honor society for religious studies and/or theology, founded in 1976. TAK produces a literary journal twice a year and encourages student submissions.  They also run an annual essay contest.  2008/2009 inductees into the Theta Alpha Kappa, Alpha Delta Eta Chapter at Indiana University, * denotes graduating May or August 2009 :

Jamie Gunn*,  Bryan Healy*,   Swathi Hemachandra*, Carolyn Homer* ,
Toby Lawhon*, Astara Light, Nicholas Marshall*,Nathaniela Orbach*,   imothy Swanger*,Rachel Watkins, Grace Wakim, Lauren Johnson*, Blake Vanderbosch*, Julie Singer, David Klein, Landon Peck, Saralyn McKinnon-Crowley, Joanna Lucas, Isabelle Kountz, Torrey Kittle*, Francis Hunt, Patrick Fritz, , Michael Ewing, Gina Eastwood, Sarah Carlton*, Daniel Burnham, Matthew Bortnick*, Anastasia Bennett, Cameron McMullin Bailey*.

Indiana University Ethics Bowl Team Wins National Competition

The Indiana University Ethics Bowl team won the Fifteenth Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Competition March 5, 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The competition, which began in the fall with ten regional bowl competitions, culminated in competition among the 32 top teams on March 5. The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl is one of the programs of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, which has sponsored Ethics Bowl since its inception in 1996.  The winners at the national competition in Cincinnati: Shana Bergen, Devin Carpenter (a junior majoring in Philosophy, Religious Studies and Political Science), Dylan Pittman, Neil Shah, Laura Goins, Rachel Morris, and Richard Miller (Director of the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions and a Professor of Religious Studies.)  Prof Miller is extremely proud of the team for their months of hard work and very impressive accomplishments. Congratulations to all!

Senior Honors Thesis: This year 1 student has completed her thesis in 2008: Jamie Gunn and 8 students worked on senior thesis projects this past spring: Cameron Bailey, Matt Bortnick, Trevor Giddings, Bryan Healy, Lauren Johnson, Nick Marshall, Robert Schoon and Timothy Swanger are in the writing phase, and Landon Peck, Saralyn McKinnon Crowley and Aren Wilson-Wright are researching.

Robert Schoon received the fall 2008 Senior Honors Thesis Research Grant of $100 for his thesis prospectus, “The New Evolution of God: Prospects for Theistic Evolution”

The winners of the 2009 Gallagher Paper Competition

First Place and $500:

Cameron Bailey, a May 2009 graduate, for his essay “ The Buddhalogical Doctrine of Padmasmbhava, the Tantric Nirmanakaya”. With Paul Griffiths as a conversation partner, Cameron’s essay examines the doctrine of Buddhahood in Tibetan and Indian traditions. The committee found the essay to be exceptionally well written and the argument against a well known scholar of Buddhism, extremely thorough.

Second Place and $300:

Sarah Wilensky, a sophomore, for her essay “Reform and Renewal Theologies of Commandedness.”  Sarah’s eloquently written essay examines the relationship between divine commandment theology and the emergence of ritual observance in Jewish communities of Reform and Renewal.  She wrote the paper for R345- Modern American Jewish Thought, and revised it this semester with the help of Professor Magid.

Third Place and $200:

Robert Schoon, a May 2009 graduate, for his essay entitled “Blessed are the Meek: Kierkegaard’s Irony as Weak, Open and Closer to Faith than the Ethical.” Differentiating various forms of the Aesthetic stage, Robert’s paper makes a creative and convincing case that Kierkegaard’s Ethical stage is not necessarily higher than a particular form of the Aesthetic.

2009 Honors Thesis Paper Competition

Honors Thesis paper competition, in a rare occurrence the undergraduate affairs committee voted to give the recognition of best honors thesis to two students: Nick Marshall and Rob Schoon.

Nick’s thesis is titled “More a Butcher than a Priest: The Pagan Critique of Julian the Apostate. “ Nick’s thesis was supervised by David Brakke. In his essay, Nick attempts to show the pagan criticisms of Julian the Apostate by reconstructing and exploring plausible disagreements between the emperor and his fellow "Hellenists" in the spheres of philosophy, religion, and the liberal arts, religious and philosophical, between the emperor and his fellow Hellenists.

Rob’s thesis, which was supervised by Lisa Sideris, is titled “The New God of Evolution: Prospects for Theistic Evolution.”  Rob thoroughly exams a set of candidate thinkers and ideas, in search of a workable and convincing form of theistic evolution. Rob evaluates a variety of forms of theistic evolution according to clearly defined criteria.  The thesis is very well written and reasoned.

Our Graduates

Cameron McMullin Bailey is graduating May 2009 with majors in Religious Studies and English.  In 2009 he was named a Founders Scholar by IU Bloomington (in recognition of sustained academic excellence," for having a 3.8 or higher cumulative GPA.) He was also elected to Theta Alpha Kappa (the national Religious Studies honor society) and Phi Beta Kappa.  He is working with Prof. Richard Nance on completing an honors thesis. The title of his honors thesis is "Himalayan Mediums: The Shamanic Elements of Tibetan Buddhism."  His paper “ The Buddhalogical Doctrine of  Padmasambhava, the Tantric Nirmanakay “won Gallagher Paper competition. He will be attending graduate school at Florida State University in the fall studying Tibetan and Himalayan Religious traditions.
Matthew Bortnick will graduate in August 2009 with majors in Jewish and Religious Studies. During his time at IU, Matt was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity, served as president of the Jews in Greek Life organization, and in 2009 was inducted into TAK. In December 2006 he was one of eleven Americans chosen to participate in Hillel’s International Peoplehood and Pluralism conference in Jerusalem that consisted of 40 students from over 15 countries. From the summer of 2007 through the spring of 2008, Matt studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he participated in the honors program in Jewish Law. Upon returning to IU he began work on an honors thesis in Religious Studies with Prof. Shaul Magid, entitled, “When Your Wellsprings Spread Forth: Science, Technology, and Media in the Thought of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.”  Matt will be studying at Yeshivat Hamivtar in Israel next year and will begin rabbinical studies at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in the fall of 2010. Brandon Bourke is graduating May 2009 with majors in Religious Studies and History. He studied in Prague in fall 2008. He loves Kierkegaard.
Christina Boyer will graduate May 2009 with majors in Psychology and Religious Studies with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies.
Sarah Carleton will graduate May 2009 with majors in Fine Arts History and Religious Studies.
Amy Chandler will graduate in May 2009 with two degrees a BS with a major in psychology and a BA with a major in Religious Studies. After graduation she will be will be working in a psych lab at IU doing drug and alcohol research.
Trevor Giddings will graduate in August 2009 with majors in Religious Studies and Philosophy.
Margaret Graber will graduate May 2009 with majors in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and Religious Studies. She has volunteered at I.U.'s student-run radio station WIUX for 2 years, interned for the literary publication Indiana Review. The Indiana Review is a national literary journal that publishes innovative poetry and fiction. The interns gain experience in the publication of the magazine, including manuscript selection, the handling of subscriptions, local and national publicity, coordinating with contributing writers, and other aspects of publishing. She traveled to Ireland for three weeks in the summer of 2008. After graduation, she plans to move home initially but eventually plans to do something with AmeriCorps, teaching English abroad, or going to grad school to get her M.F.A. in Poetry. She will miss the way Bloomington smells at the beginning of spring.
Jamie Gunn will graduate in May 2009 with majors in Religious Studies and French. She has completed Honors in Religious Studies with Prof Lisa Sideris.  The title of her Religious Studies Senior Honors Thesis was "Christianity and the Maintenance of Nonhuman Communities."  She went to Aix-en-Provence for the entire 2006-7 Academic Year.  She took a graduate level courses; in fall 2008  FRIT-F635: Studies in 18th Century French Lit, and spring 2009 Frit-F825: Rousseau:Philosophie de la vie.  Bryan Healy will graduate in 2009 with majors in Religious Studies and Speech and Hearing Sciences. He was a group leader for the Freshman Interest Group. He is working on an honors thesis with Prof. Brown.
Swathi Hemachandra will graduate in May 2009 with a BS degree in Psychology and a BA in Religious Studies with a minor in Sociology. She was inducted into PBK and named a Founders Scholar in 2009.  She is completing an honors thesis in Psychology. The title of her honors thesis in Psychology is “The Psychosocial Implications of Adolescent Depression: Conduct Disorder Symptoms as a Moderator.”  After graduation, she plans to work for a year as a research associate, case manager, or volunteer in a mental health related setting while applying for PhD programs in Clinical Psychology in the fall.
Carrie Homer will graduate in May with majors in Religious Studies and Political Science. She was inducted into PBK and TAK in 2008.  Her older sister majored in Political Science and Religious Studies. The sister was her role model and always made the majors seem so interesting and exciting. When Carrie was offered a Wells Scholarship, she decided immediately to attend IU because of the high quality of its Religious Studies and Political Science departments. Over her four years, she acquired a Liberal Arts and Management Program certificate, and minors in Spanish and History. (As a side note, she also discovered her senior year that she had an interest Informatics. She work part-time as a teaching assistant for a business computer class, and has taken a couple Excel/statistics classes as electives. She says about herself:  “I'm such a nerd!”) Figuring out interesting ways that all of those interests intersect is one of her favorite pursuits. After her sophomore year, she interned in London for Sadiq Khan, one of the first Muslim Members of Parliament. The next spring, she interned in DC for Senator Richard Lugar and was involved with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. After her internship in order to improve her Spanish, she spent last summer in Granada, Spain, where she thoroughly enjoyed studying directly beneath the great Muslim fortress, the Alhambra. Next year she’ll continue her education by attending George Washington University Law School in DC, where she hopes to focus on some aspect of international law.
John Huff is a May 2009 graduate. His academic career within the Religious Studies Department at Indiana University has been many things, mostly good.   Discussions with students and professors, in and outside of class, have made him define his opinion or understanding on many religious topics. The classes and professors have equipped him with the tools to study religion objectively.  The knowledge and skills that he has developed within his time here at IU will be a part of the rest of his life not just as a minister but, more importantly, as a human being.  During his time at Indiana University he has been a member of the collegiate ministry of the Navigators, a member of the Marching Hundred, and Big Red Basketball Band.  Following graduation, he will be attending Methodist Theological School in Ohio, working towards a Master of Divinity degree with the hope of being ordained as a minister of the United Methodist Church.
Lauren Johnson is an August 2009 graduate with a Sociology and Religious Studies double major. Lauren is graduating with honors recognition from the Department of Religious Studies. Her honors thesis with Prof. Furey, entitled “Our Talk is Our Prayer: Family, Embodied Sacramentalism, and Feminist Liberation”, addresses the resources Christian sacramentalism provides for feminist theologians, serving as a cultural linguistic bridge between material and spiritual, local and universal. She plans to remain in the Bloomington area, working as a direct support professional with Stone Belt, a non-profit that provides care for individuals with developmental disabilities. Torrey Kittle is a May 2009 graduate with majors in Political Science and Religious Studies with a Kelly School Business Certificate. He came to IU unsure where his college career would go. He took all the business pre-requisites to keep his options opened, but realized rather than trying to pursue something he was not passionate about, he would be more successful doing something he enjoyed. Torrey decided to major in PoliticalScience, a discipline he became very interested in during his senior year of high school. He finished that major in the spring of his junior year. He took Intro to Buddhism with Professor Nance and received a letter from the RS department inviting him to look into adding a major or minor in Religious Studies. Torrey had taken a few RS course, all of which he enjoyed and it was an easy decision to make his senior year a little more serious by adding a RS major. He enjoys the discipline, plus every RS professor he had prior to adding the major was not onlyknowledgeablebut extremely engaging. Torrey has been accepted to a few law schools and he noticed RS helped him on the LSAT. Many RS classes introduced him to argumentation and logic. A lot of the arguments and material on LSAT became much easier after dealing with abstract concepts and the logic involved in many RS course. The plan is to go to law school. The greatest advice he can offer fellow students is to find a passion, follow it, and make sure you challenge yourself. He wishes he would have realized what he truly enjoyed earlier so he could have picked up a Philosophy major as well. His experience has been if you take these four years seriously and push yourself, you can literally do anything afterwards as long as you don't close any doors.
Patrick Jacob Kotter will graduate in May 2009 with majors in Political Science and Religious Studies and West European Studies minor.
Toby Lawhon is an August 2009 graduate with majors in Religious Studies and Jewish Studies. He studied in Jerusalem from summer 2007 through spring 2008.  
Nicholas Marshall is graduating in May 2009. He was awarded the Inaugural Hoosier Presidential Scholar (2005), Palmer Brandon Award (2008), Pratt Traveling Fellow (2009) and Dean's List every year. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa (2008), Theta Alpha Kappa (2008), and Eta Sigma Phi (2009). He finished an honors thesis with Prof. Brakke in Religious Studies with the title:" More a Butcher than a Priest: The Pagan Critique of Julian the Apostate" He is  co-winner for the 2009 Honors Thesis Contest.  After graduation he plans on taking a three week trip to Greece to see the sites. Upon returning he will be the best man at his best friend’s wedding. He hopes to find and keep a job for a couple of years, polish his thesis, work on some personal projects and improve his modern and ancient languages. In the future, he expects to go to graduate school for Late Antiquity, Philosophy, or Comparative Religion (he still hasn't decided which, yet), obtain a professorship at a research university, obtain tenure, and write, read, and teach until he dies or is cryonically frozen.
Luke Meeker will graduate August 2009 with a major in Religious Studies. Luke transferred to IUB in his senior year. After graduating Luke plans to pursue music through composing, performing, and studying music on his own.  If he ever gets tired of only being able to afford peanut butter sandwiches then he might return to school to get a masters degree in music therapy, clinical psychology, or critical psychology.
Elizabeth Messana is a May 2009 graduate with a major in Religious Studies and minor in Criminal Justice.
Nathaniela Ruth Orbach is a May 2009 graduate. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa spring 2009 and the Theta Alpha Kappa, the religious studies national honorary society in 2008.  She traveled to Belize summer 2008 to participate in an archaeological dig with a scholarship won from the Hutton Honors College International Experiences Program. She studied fall 2007 and spring 2008 at Hebrew University in Israel. She will take a year off before entering graduate school for Near Eastern Archaeology.
Kevin Pettigrew is a May 2009 graduate with major in Religious Studies and minor in Fine Arts –Studio Art with minors in Recreational Sport Management and Recreation & Park Administration.
Robert Schoon is a May 2009 graduate with a double major in Religious Studies and Philosophy and minor in Sociology.  He is finishing an honors thesis with Prof. Sideris with the title, “The New Evolution of God:  Prospects for Theistic Evolution.” He won the Religious Studies Prospectus competition December 2008 and he was the third place winner of the Gallagher essay contest. He was co recipient of the best honors thesis contest 2009.  He is proud that last year he was part of SPEA's Washington Leadership Program, followed by a semester in Denmark studying Kierkegaard at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Theology. He plans on a so called "gap year" in Bloomington followed by grad school - either journalism or public policy. 
Travis Stoffel is a May 2009 graduate with majors in Biology and Religious Studies. He will also receive a Political Science minor.
Tim Swanger will be graduating in May 2009 with a double major in Religious Studies and Chinese. He was inducted into PBK and TAK in 2008. He spent the spring and summer of 2008 studying at Beijing Foreign Studies University. He is working with Prof. Stalnaker on an honors thesis. His honors thesis is called “History and Power in Han China.” It traces the political and religious uses of history in China from the Zhou period through the Warring States and the Han. He has been accepted to ASU's PhD program in Religious Studies, and offered a package of $19,000 for four years.
Blake Alan Vanderbosch is an August 2009 graduate. He has been elected to the national religious studies honors program, Theta Alpha Kappa. He is a member of the Navigators, a Christian organization that meets on campus every Friday evening.  He also participates in a weekly Bible study.  He has been accepted into the fall 2009 IUPUI Public Health Graduate program.