Martha Reineke
I am a Professor of Religion. Two-thirds of my teaching is Religions of the World, a liberal arts core course for first-year students. In this course, I focus on enhancing religious literacy with attention to popular religion. My favorite students are first semester, first-year students: they are excited to be in college, expect college to be different than high school, and have no basis for comparison when I expect a lot out of them. I am developing a sophomore level course for the major on World Religions on the Web. I teach Religion and Society and Why We Believe (a course in the psychoanalytic study of religion) for junior and senior religion majors. I have developed a summer Capstone course on Monsters, Vampires, and Religion: An Awesome Alliance (with thanks to scholar Timothy Beal). My research, which draws on psychoanalytic theory and existentialist philosophy (broadly conceived), addresses the intersection of violence and religion: I am a scholar of René Girard and Julia Kristeva (with two books on their work). I am very interested in updating my use of technology when doing so serves a purpose. I use Youtube videos in all my classes. I have a website, Pinterest boards on the world religions, and a Facebook account to keep up with alums; however, my cell phone is eight years old, and it is not smart.
