Religion in the Premodern Atlantic
Rackham Interdisciplinary Workshop
University of Michigan
This group began as a Rackham Interdisciplinary Workshop on Religion in Medieval and Early Modern Europe and America. In 2018, we adopted the title “Religion in the Premodern Atlantic” to broaden the scope of our inquiry to highlight connections across Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Our interests are in religion, broadly construed, and the ways in which religious histories (particularly pre-modern ones) can deepen our understanding of present entanglements. We aim to be a working group that draws together scholars working across various programs and departments at the University of Michigan whose work somehow grapples with “religion.”
To facilitate such connections, we regularly host workshops showcasing the recent work (or works-in-progress) of faculty and graduate students at the University of Michigan. Our diverse programming also includes reading groups, professionalization seminars, grant application workshops, and exhibition tours. Finally, we frequently organize and sponsor panels on religion for other Michigan institutions like the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies and the Early Modern Colloquium.
Our coordinators this year are Hayley Bowman (History, hrbow@umich.edu), Benjamin Hollenbach (Anthropology, bhollenb@umich.edu), and Erin Johnson (History, erinjoh@umich.edu). Our faculty advisors are professors Valerie Kivelson (History) and Kenneth Mills (History).
To learn more about Rackham Interdisciplinary Workshops at the University of Michigan, please click here.
Religion in the Premodern Atlantic 