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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 6.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 4000 items) |
Abstract | The Department of Religious Studies was founded as the Department of Religion in 1947. Arnold Nash was appointed its first chair and remained the sole member of the department until 1950, when Bernard H. Boyd was hired as the James Gray Professor of Biblical Literature. The department established a master of arts program in 1978. In 1984, the name of the department was changed to Department of Religious Studies, and, in 1985, a doctoral program was established. In 2000, the Department of Religious Studies assumed responsibility for the John Calvin McNair lectures, which focused on science and human values. In the 1970s, the department began to develop its curriculum in Judaic studies, and, in 2003, was instrumental in the creation of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. Records of the Department of Religious Studies consist of materials related to the administration and operation of the department and to its programs, curricula, and faculty. Included are meeting minutes; departmental newsletters; annual reports; correspondence; budgets and financial materials; course proposals; and curricula vitae, profiles, and other materials related to activities of the faculty. Also included are materials related to lectures, conferences, and colloquia hosted or sponsored by the department. The bulk of these materials pertains to the John Calvin McNair lectures. There are also materials related to the creation of a program in Judaic studies within the department and other items concerning the creation of the Carolina Center for Judaic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003. The Addition of October 2013 consists of files of Ruel W. Tyson chiefly related to his activities as a faculty member in the department's religion and culture concentration but also including reports, correspondence, and other materials related to the administration of the department. The Addition of June 2016 consists of annual reports, meeting minutes, newsletters and correspondence relating to the administration of the department. |
Creator | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Department of Religious Studies. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Martin Gengenbach, October 2010; Jennifer Coggins, June 2016
Encoded by: Martin Gengenbach, October 2010; Gergana Abernathy, June 2016
Finding aid updated in October 2013 by Amanda Loeb because of addition.
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
In June 1946, the university's Board of Trustees authorized establishment of a chair of religion, which they stated might lead to a department. That fall, James A. Gray, chair of the board of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, committed $250,000 to endow "religious instruction" at the university. In June 1947, Arnold Nash was appointed chair of the Department of Religion. He was the sole member of the department until 1950, when Bernard H. Boyd was hired as the James Gray Professor of Biblical Literature. For more on the founding and early years of the department and on the philosophies of the men involved, see David L. Weaver-Zercher's article "Visions in Conflict: The Department of Religion at the University of North Carolina, 1947-1960" in The North Carolina Historical Review, October 2007.
The department was part of the College of Arts and Sciences and was under the shared authority of the college's Division of Humanities and Division of Social Sciences. Initially, it offered courses in Biblical history, literature, and languages to upper-level undergraduates. As the department grew, course offerings expanded to include studies of Buddhism, Hinduism, African religions, medieval Christian studies, philosophy and psychology of religion, and the ancient Near East. In 1978, the Department of Religion established a master of arts program, which it had sought to do since its founding. In 1984, the Department of Religion formally changed its name to the Department of Religious Studies, in part to recognize the expanding range of courses and studies offered and in part anticipating the addition of a doctoral program in religious studies in 1985. The department hosted a major symposium in 1998 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding. Titled "Religion and Culture in the 21st Century," the symposium featured a plenary address by American religious historian Martin Marty.
In 2000, the Department of Religious Studies assumed responsibility for the John Calvin McNair lectures, which had been one of the responsibilities of the faculty Established Lectures Committee. Inaugurated in 1906, the lecture series focused on the relationship between science and theology. It attracted negative attention in the early 1980s when an examination of the language in the bequest seemed to indicate that only men were to be considered as speakers. The McNair lectures were discontinued in 2004, after McNair family members objected to the selection of that year's speaker. The remaining lecture funds were transferred to the Presbyterian Church.
The Department of Religious Studies was a member of the Committee for Judaic Studies, a cooperative venture with Duke University that was formalized in December 1972. Following a generous contribution from the Blumenthal Foundation, the original committee was discontinued in 1987 and, over the next few years, reorganized around an undergraduate minor in Jewish studies. Faculty of the Department of Religious Studies also played a significant role in the creation of the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies in 2003.
Names and tenures of department chairs in the period covered by the records are listed below. Dates were taken from curricula vitae and departmental correspondence.
1972-1973 | Tyson, Ruel W. (Acting) |
1975-1980 | Tyson, Ruel W. |
1980-1985 | Van Seters, John |
1985-1986 | Tyson, Ruel W. (Acting) |
1986-1988 | Van Seters, John |
1988-1990 | Sanford, James |
1990-1995 | Sasson, Jack |
1995-2000 | Ernst, Carl |
2000-2006 | Ehrman, Bart |
2006-2008 | Tweed, Thomas A. |
2008-2012 | Maffly-Kipp, Laurie |
2012- | Styers, Randall G. |
Records of the Department of Religious Studies consist of materials related to the administration and operation of the department and to its programs, curricula, and faculty. Included are meeting minutes; departmental newsletters; annual reports; correspondence; budgets and financial materials; course proposals; and curricula vitae, profiles, and other materials related to activities of the faculty. Also included are materials related to lectures, conferences, and colloquia hosted or sponsored by the department. The bulk of these materials pertains to the John Calvin McNair lectures, for which the department assumed responsibility in 2000. There are also materials related to the creation of a program in Judaic studies within the department and other items concerning the creation of the Carolina Center for Judaic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003. The Addition of October 2013 consists of files of Ruel W. Tyson chiefly related to his activities as a faculty member in the department's religion and culture concentration but also including reports, correspondence, and other materials related to the administration of the department. The Addition of June 2016 consists of annual reports, meeting minutes, newsletters and correspondence relating to the administration of the department.
Back to TopArrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Correspondence and other materials related to the administration and operation of the Department of Religious Studies. Included are meeting minutes; correspondence; budgets and financial materials, including information about trust funds, lapsed salary allocations, teaching assistant funding, and instructional costs; and materials related to policy formation and strategic planning. There are also files on the founding of the Bernard Boyd Memorial Prize in Religious Studies and on cooperative ventures involving the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Note that, where possible, original folder titles have been retained.
Box
1
Folder 1 |
Affirmative Action Plan, 1973-1989 |
Box
1
Folder 2 |
Annual Report, 1996-1997 |
Box
1
Folder 3 |
Arts and Sciences Faculty, Letter to the Board of Trustees, 1999 |
Box
1
Folder 4 |
Bernard Boyd Memorial Prize, 1978-1979 |
Box
1
Folder 5-7 Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7 |
Budget: General, 1967-1988, 1993-2007Includes items related to instructional costs, lapsed salary allocations, assignment of teaching assistants, change budget requests, and trust funds. |
Box
1
Folder 8 |
Budget: Fund-raising Priorities, 1998-1999 |
Box
1
Folder 9 |
Budget: Long-Term Capital Needs, 1985 |
Box
1
Folder 10 |
Budget: University of Delaware National Study of Instructional Costs and Productivity, 1999-2000 |
Box
1
Folder 11 |
Carolina Computing Initiative, 1996-2006 |
Box
1
Folder 12 |
Chair's Advisory Board, 2000-2001 |
Box
1
Folder 13 |
Chancellor's Award and Excellence in Management Award, 1998 |
Box
1
Folder 14 |
Committees, Departmental, 1977-1979Contains departmental correspondence and memoranda, especially concerning the Ad Hoc Committee on the Improvement and Evaluation of Teaching. Also included are memoranda regarding the Lectures Committee and the Undergraduate Studies Committees. For other materials relating to departmental committees, see Lectures/Seminars Committee in Subseries 2.3; Graduate Studies Committee in Subseries 3.1; and Undergraduate Studies Committee Minutes in Subseries 3.2. |
Box
1
Folder 15 |
Committee on Institutional Cooperation, 1979-1980Not a departmental committee, but a joint venture with Big Ten Universities and the University of Chicago to develop a unifying program of independent studies at multiple institutions. |
Box
1
Folder 16 |
Committee, Policy, 1978, 1994-1996 |
Box
1
Folder 17 |
Consortium for Muslim Networks, 2001 |
Box
1
Folder 18 |
Correspondence, General, 1976-2002Includes letters to and from various departments and offices at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including the Division of Business and Finance, the Office of Chancellor, the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Graduate Studies, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the Office of Provost, and others. |
Box
1
Folder 19 |
Duke-UNC Teaching Exchange, 1992-1997 |
Box
1
Folder 20 |
International Studies Membership, 1993, 1998-1999 |
Box
1
Folder 21-22 Folder 21Folder 22 |
Minutes: Departmental Meetings, October 1996-September 2006 |
Box
1
Folder 23 |
Newsletter, 1996 |
Box
1
Folder 24 |
New Testament Language Project, 1997 |
Box
1
Folder 25 |
Saunders Hall Renovations, 1994-2002 |
Box
1
Folder 26 |
Strategic Planning, 1996-1997 |
Box
1
Folder 27 |
Surveys, 1995, 2002 |
Box
1
Folder 28 |
Web Page, 1998 |
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Materials related to lectures, conferences, and colloquia that the Department of Religious Studies hosted, sponsored, or attended. The bulk of the materials relates to the John Calvin McNair lectures, for which the department assumed responsibility in 2000, and to the 1998 symposium "Religion and Culture in the 21st Century," sponsored by the department. Included are meeting minutes, letters, correspondence, and programs of the events. Note that, where possible, original folder titles have been retained.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Files related to the John Calvin McNair lectures, for which the Department of Religious Studies assumed responsibility in 2000. Files include mostly correspondence among members of the department, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Robert J. Powell Jr., who represented the McNair family in most of its dealings with the university. Also included is a manuscript draft of Powell's Pangs of Conscience: The John Calvin McNair Lectures on Science and Theology. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
Box
1
Folder 29 |
Committee on Established Lectures, 1988-1999 |
Box
1
Folder 30 |
Correspondence with Family, 1992-1999 |
Box
1
Folder 31 |
Discontinuation of Lecture Series, 2003-2004 |
Box
1
Folder 32 |
Future Lecturers, 1992-1997 |
Box
1
Folder 33 |
General Information, 1995-1998 |
Box
1
Folder 34 |
History of Lecture, 1982-1998 |
Box
1
Folder 35 |
Pangs of Conscience: The John Calvin McNair Lectures on Science and Theology by Robert J. Powell Jr., 1998 |
Box
1
Folder 36 |
Previous Lectures, 1993-1998 |
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Files related to the planning and organization of the symposium "Religion and Culture in the 21st Century," sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies and held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on 3-4 April 1998. Files include departmental memoranda; budgets; meeting minutes and notes; and correspondence with speakers and presenters, including Martin Marty and other invited special guests. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
Box
1
Folder 37 |
Budget and Planning, 1997-1998 |
Box
1
Folder 38 |
Correspondence: Symposium Speakers, 1997-1998 |
Box
1
Folder 39 |
Fund-raising, 1997-1998 |
Box
1
Folder 40 |
General, 1997-1998 |
Box
1
Folder 41 |
Publicity/Mailing Lists, 1998 |
Box
1
Folder 42 |
Speaker Biographies, 1998 |
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Files related to other lectures and events organized by or involving the Department of Religious Studies, including the "Interpretations of Religion and Culture" symposium, held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on 27-29 March 1980, and the 1997 conference on "Judaism at the Twenty-First Century," sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies, the Program in the Humanities and Human Values, and the Judaic Studies Program at Duke University. Also included are a few items related to graduate student symposia in 1995 and 2000; documents relating to the North Carolina Religious Studies Association conferences, 1994-1997; and items relating to a retreat held at Wildacres Retreat Center in 1999 by faculty of the departments of religious studies at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Emory University. Note that, where possible, original folder titles have been retained.
Box
2
Folder 43 |
Committee, Lectures/Seminars, 1977-1980 |
Box
2
Folder 44 |
Frank Porter Graham Lecture Series, 1994 |
Box
2
Folder 45 |
God and Suffering, 1998 |
Box
2
Folder 46 |
Graduate Symposium, 1995, 2000The 1995 symposium was titled "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Constructing Life After Death in Antiquity." The title of the 2000 symposium was "Food and Religion." |
Box
2
Folder 47 |
Judaism Conference, 1997 |
Box
2
Folder 48 |
Lectures, 2006-2007 |
Box
2
Folder 49 |
North Carolina Religious Studies Association, 1994-1997 |
Box
2
Folder 50 |
Wildacres Retreat Center, 1998-2000 |
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Meeting minutes, correspondence, and other materials related to curriculum development and teaching in the Department of Religious Studies at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and including the creation of a program in Judaic studies. Note that, where possible, original folder titles have been retained.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Mostly meeting minutes and other materials related to the work of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Religious Studies, including items pertaining to the development of a doctoral program in 1985. Also included are items related to the Council on Graduate Studies in Religion, a national body to which the department applied for membership in 1990; graduate admissions data; and items relating to an external review of the department's graduate program, conducted in 1992-1993. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
Box
2
Folder 51-52 Folder 51Folder 52 |
Committee: Graduate Studies, 1979-1980, 1985, 1987-1988, 1996-2006 |
Box
2
Folder 53 |
Council on Graduate Studies in Religion, 1990-2000 |
Box
2
Folder 54 |
Graduate Program Data, 1982-2002 |
Box
2
Folder 55 |
Graduate Program Review, 1992-1993 |
Box
2
Folder 56 |
Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development, 1996-1997 |
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Files related to the undergraduate curriculum of the Department of Religious Studies. Most relate to course development. Also included are items related to a university-wide program to renumber courses; correspondence with the Division of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, and Office of Honors; a few Undergraduate Studies Committee meeting minutes; and some correspondence relating the department's courses in the Evening College and Summer School. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
Box
2
Folder 57 |
Burch Program, 2001 |
Box
2
Folder 58-59 Folder 58Folder 59 |
Course Development, 1980-2002 |
Box
2
Folder 60 |
Cross-Listed Courses, 2001-2003 |
Box
2
Folder 61 |
Course Renumbering, 2003-2006 |
Box
2
Folder 62 |
Division of Humanities, 1976-1979 |
Box
2
Folder 63 |
Evening College, 1978-1981 |
Box
2
Folder 64 |
First Year Seminars, 1998-2001 |
Box
2
Folder 65 |
Office of Honors, 1983-1985 |
Box
2
Folder 66 |
Program Planning in the College of Arts and Sciences, Spring 1978 |
Box
2
Folder 67 |
Summer School, 1993-2000 |
Box
2
Folder 68 |
Undergraduate Advising, 1984 |
Box
2
Folder 69 |
Undergraduate Majors, 2000-2001 |
Box
2
Folder 70 |
Undergraduate Studies Committee Minutes, 2000-2001 |
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Correspondence, meeting minutes, official reports and miscellaneous documents related to the Committee on Judaic Studies, a joint committee of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Also included are program proposals, meeting minutes, correspondence, and other items related to the creation of the Carolina Center for Judaic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
Box
2
Folder 71-74 Folder 71Folder 72Folder 73Folder 74 |
Judaic Studies Program, 1972-1979 |
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name, then chronological.
Curricula vitae, profiles, data, and other materials related to the faculty of the Department of Religious Studies. The bulk of the materials relate to the annual faculty profiles submitted by individual faculty members describing their scholarly activities. These reports, collected by the Salary Committee, were used to determine annual raises. Other items include correspondence relating to the establishment of a new position in the Department of Religious Studies in coordination with the First Year Seminar program; letters, proposed courses, and curriculum vitae from Warren Nord, a professor in the Program in the Humanities and Human Values at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, relating to his joint appointment in the department; a survey of university responsibilities and teaching workloads within the department; and items relating to the potential hiring of Mark Taylor for a Kenan Endowed Professorship in 1996-1998. Note that, in most cases, original folder titles have been retained.
Box
2
Folder 75 |
Faculty Curricula Vitae, 1996-1997These reports were compiled annually by faculty and submitted to members of the Salary Committee for the purpose of determining salary increases. |
Box
2
Folder 76 |
Faculty Profiles, 1995-1996 |
Box
2
Folder 77 |
Faculty Profiles, 1996-1997 |
Box
2
Folder 78 |
Faculty Profiles, 1997-1998, A-M |
Box
2
Folder 79 |
Faculty Profiles, 1997-1998, S-WThere are no profiles for names beginning with N-R. |
Box
2
Folder 80 |
Faculty Profiles, 1999-2000 |
Box
3
Folder 81 |
Faculty Profiles, 2000-2001 |
Box
3
Folder 82 |
Faculty Profiles, 2001-2002 |
Box
3
Folder 83 |
Faculty Profiles, 2002-2003 |
Box
3
Folder 84 |
Faculty Profiles, 2003-2004 |
Box
3
Folder 85 |
Faculty Profiles, 2004-2005 |
Box
3
Folder 86 |
Faculty Profiles, 2005-2006 |
Box
3
Folder 87-90 Folder 87Folder 88Folder 89Folder 90 |
Faculty Salary Data, 1985, 1994-2005 |
Box
3
Folder 91 |
Freshman Seminar Position, 1998 |
Box
3
Folder 92 |
Nord, Warren: Correspondence, Curriculum Vitae, and Proposed Courses, 1999-2001 |
Box
3
Folder 93 |
Prospective Faculty: Taylor, Mark, 1996-1998In 1996, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was considering Taylor for a Kenan Endowed Professorship. Taylor did not accept the Kenan professorship, but he did serve as William Neal Reynolds Visiting Professor of Communication Studies for the spring semester in 1999. |
Box
3
Folder 94 |
Teaching Workload, 1997-1998 |
Box
3
Folder 95 |
University and Professional Responsibilities, 1979-1980 |
Annual reports, correspondence, departmental reviews, meeting minutes, course materials, and other items related to the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Files are those of Ruel W. Tyson, a member of the department's faculty since 1967. Tyson served as acting chair of the department, 1972-1973; as chair, 1975-1980; and again as acting chair, 1985-1986. However, materials are related chiefly to his activities as a faculty member in the department's religion and culture concentration.
Arrangement: Departmental.
Annual reports, departmental newsletters, correspondence, faculty meeting minutes, and other items related to the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Box
5
Folder 144-164 Folder 144Folder 145Folder 146Folder 147Folder 148Folder 149Folder 150Folder 151Folder 152Folder 153Folder 154Folder 155Folder 156Folder 157Folder 158Folder 159Folder 160Folder 161Folder 162Folder 163Folder 164 |
Annual Reports, 1964-1990 |
Box
5
Folder 165-180 Folder 165Folder 166Folder 167Folder 168Folder 169Folder 170Folder 171Folder 172Folder 173Folder 174Folder 175Folder 176Folder 177Folder 178Folder 179Folder 180 |
Faculty meeting minutes, 1975-1990 |
Box
5
Folder 181-190 Folder 181Folder 182Folder 183Folder 184Folder 185Folder 186Folder 187Folder 188Folder 189Folder 190 |
Theshold (department newsletter), 1975-1995 |
Box
5
Folder 191 |
Graduate student newsletters Update, 1985-1986, and "The Scapegoat", April 1986 |
Box
5
Folder 192 |
Correspondence regarding annual reports, 1962-1970 |