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We had a very full house for our October 28 convocation gathering to celebrate the achievements of doctoral, master’s and bachelor's graduates, as well as several awards at the undergraduate and graduate level. With proud family and friends in attendance, along with DSR academic supervisors, faculty, and staff, it was a sizeable yet wonderfully intimate affair.
The Class of Fall 2024
The party took place just a couple of hours before the advanced degree graduands would be crossing the stage at Convocation Hall and it was a truly joyful occasion, with much laughter and celebration. Pamela Klassen, the DSR’s Chair and Graduate Chair, opened the proceedings, with congratulations to all on their accomplishments and noting in particular the profoundly challenging nature of research work and of the craft of writing.
Our Director of Graduate Studies, J. Barton Scott, presented the graduating class of MAs and PhDs: each member present was introduced by their academic supervisor, who spoke with great admiration for the talent, hard work and originality of those with whom they had worked with so closely over the past several years. Each graduate responded, sharing their appreciation for the opportunities and support they’d received during their studies, and for the pivotal role of the supervisor over their academic journey.
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| Dr. Filip Andjelkovic responds to remarks from Professor Marsha Hewitt (Photo: Ken Derry) |
Professor Simon Coleman presents Dr. Saliha Chattoo (Photo: Harjit Bains) |
During her response, graduating PhD Saliha Chattoo also spoke movingly of her friendship with fellow student and much-loved DSR community member Helen Mo, who passed away in April 2017: “I’m so grateful for my years at the DSR,” she said. “I’ve met my best friends here. I’m missing Helen, who I would like to dedicate all of this day to.” Helen’s husband, Terrence, was also in attendance as one of Saliha’s guests for this special occasion. The Helen Mo Memorial Scholarship was established in the DSR in Helen’s memory and has been awarded annually since 2019, based on academic merit, to a PhD candidate in the fieldwork or writing stages of their dissertation.
The DSR’s longstanding graduate administrator, Fereshteh Hashemi, notes that while each of these graduation gatherings is unique, they share the quality of being universally uplifting. “Supporting these students over many years is so rewarding – seeing them develop academically and personally over the course of their studies. And being involved in the life events that accompany their time here is a privilege. It’s absolutely bittersweet to see them mark their amazing achievements. I’m so proud of them and I am simultaneously sorry to see them moving on – it’s wonderful hearing from them later on, seeing where they go and what they do.” (See “Our Community”in the latest DSR Newsletter for a roundup of our latest alumni and friends news.)
PhD and MA
PhD
- Filip Andjelkovic — "Data Dreams: Algorithmic Realism at the End of the Future" (Supervisor: Marsha Hewitt)
- Danielle Baillargeon — " From Pietas and Pity to Purification: The Transformation of the Meaning of Mourning in Late Antiquity" (Supervisor: John Kloppenborg)
- Saliha Chattoo — " Theatres of Commitment: Youth, Performance and the Making of Publics in an American Pentecostal Megachurch" (Supervisor: Simon Coleman)
- Anna Cwikla — "Placeholders, Lessons, and Emasculators: The Literary Function of Women in Early Christian Texts" (Supervisor: John Kloppenborg)
- Nick Field — "Halfway between Peking and Western Europe”: Imperial Knowledge Creation and the Geography of Buddhism in Sir Aurel Stein’s Last Major Maps of China" (Supervisor: Frances Garrett)
- Barbara Hazelton — "Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche’s Defeating the Lord of Death in Ü: Analysis, Context, and History" (Supervisor: Frances Garrett)
- Nabeel Jafri — "Orating Knowledge: Urdu Shiʿi Khiṭābat in Contemporary Karachi" (Supervisor: Karen Ruffle)
- Liwen Liu — "Justifying Violence: Ritual and Doctrine of Sacrificial Killing in Medieval Hindu Traditions" (Supervisor: Srilata Raman)
- Amber Moore — " Maṇiśailamahāvadāna: The Legend of Ugratārā Vajrayoginī on Jewel Stone Mountain" (Supervisor: Christoph Emmrich)
- Emily Pascoe — "The Anonymous God: Critical Psychoanalytic Inquiries into Social Domination" (Supervisor: Marsha Hewitt)
- Andrea Wollein — "Inhabiting the Past, Building the Future: Spatializing History at a Newar Buddhist Monastery" (Supervisor: Christoph Emmrich)
MA
- Ashik Kumar — "The Unnameable: on the Modern Literature of Brahminism" (Supervisor: Srilata Raman)
- Miftahur Rahman — "Anthropomorphic Verses in the Tafsīr Bahr al-Muḥiṭ of Abū Ḥayyān al-Andalūsī (654-745 AH)" (Supervisor: Walid Saleh)
- Uzma Siddiqui — "A Contestation of Power between Barelwi Sufism and the Pakistani State" (Supervisor: Karen Ruffle)
Bachelor's Degrees
- Major in Religion
- Ashvini Giridaran
- Minor in Religion
- Kang Chen
- Alperen Demirci
- Zoe Elise Faber
- Reham Husam Fayyad
- Alina Ovsanna Kouzouian
- Isabel Li
- Menuri Tharanga Mahagamage
- Patrick Michael O'Brien
- Stefania Antonietta Trombacco
- Yi Xing
Celebrating DSR Awards
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| Some of our University of Toronto Excellence Award winners L-R: Annie Metzger-Oke, Bianca Quilliam, Professor Srilata Raman (Associate Chair, Undergraduate), Allison Cybulski (Photo: Harjit Bains) View photo album |
We also celebrated several awards at both the graduate and undergraduate level, which recognize excellence (this year saw a record six recipients of the University of Toronto Excellence Award), contributions to equity and justice in the university, and outstanding academic achievement. Some of our awards come thanks to our generous donors. We consistently look for additional ways in which to recognize and honour our students, and are always open to suggestions for how we can do so. Please be in touch if you would like to discuss your ideas with us.
Graduate Awards
- Jane Trombley Award — Haroon Alvi. Established by Gaye Trombley in memory of her sister Jane who, after a career in the arts and business, entered university to study religion. Awarded to a PhD student enrolled in the DSR on the basis of academic merit, with preference given to students who have studied in the DSR at either the undergraduate or graduate level.
- Molly Spitzer Award — Maor Oz. Created at the bequest of Mrs. Esther Spitzer in memory of her daughter Molly Spitzer and awarded to a graduate student enrolled in the DSR whose principal subject of study is Judaism.
- DSR Graduate Admission Award — Maor Oz. An award created by the Department for the Study of Religion for the recruitment of highly ranked doctoral applicants.
- Arts & Science Doctoral Recruitment Awards — Dustin Barker, Shannon Drew, Maor Oz, Shashank Rao. An award created by the Faculty of Arts & Science for the recruitment of excellent and highly ranked doctoral applicants.
- Jackman Junior Fellowship — Gaurav Shrestha. Thanks to a generous gift from Chancellor Emeritus Hal Jackman, the Jackman Junior Fellowships were established to assist in the recruitment of top doctoral students.
Undergraduate Awards
- McNab Scholarship in Religious Studies — 1. Annie Metzger-Oke, 2. Julia Shokeir. 1. Awarded at the end of the third year to the student who is enrolled in a Major or Specialist program; 2. Awarded at the end of the fourth year to the student who has completed a Major or Specialist program and who has the highest average in at least three religion courses taken in the fourth year.
- DSR Equity & Justice Awards (Community Activity) — Bianca Quilliam, Isabella Starace. Awarded annually to undergraduate students who have contributed to promotion of diversity-, equity-oriented awareness, and social justice in relation to activities in the Department for the Study of Religion or the University more generally.
- University of Toronto Excellence Award — Provides undergraduate students with paid research fellowships with a faculty-led project for 14 full weeks during the summer term.
- Allison Cybulski ("The Prehistorian and the Canadian Institute: Daniel Wilson and his Networks", project supervisor: Pamela Klassen)
- Tristan Gosselin ("The Colonial Structure(s) of Bernard Lonergan’s Philosophy", project supervisor: Reid Locklin)
- Kfir Hilel Harel ("Performing Orthodox Jewish Girlhood", project supervisor: Naomi Seidman)
- Katie Jones ("Servants of the Paraclete", project supervisor: Kevin Lewis O'Neill)
- Bianca Quilliam ("A History of Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre", project supervisor: Pamela Klassen)
- Sylvia L. Wolk ("Performing Orthodox Jewish Girlhood", project supervisor: Naomi Seidman)