News
On Friday, April 17, the Department of Comparative Studies hosted its annual Undergraduate Research Colloquium. Nine undergraduate students presented their original research to an audience of…
At this evening's annual awards ceremony -- in conjunction with the Humanities Institute's end-of-year celebration -- the following awards were presented:
Marge Lynd Award for best teaching by…
Please join us in congratulating Comparative Studies Chair Dr. Hugh Urban, who was recently elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences!
Founded in 1780, the American Academy of…
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Isaac Weiner, who was among this year's recipients for the Ronald and Deborah Ratner Distinguished Teaching Award.
The Ratner Distinguished Teachings…
How do students come to question their relationship with technology? In this interview, Ryan reflects on his path from a STEM-focused background to…
How do students experience Science and Technology Studies (STS) in action? In this interview, Kass shares her journey from taking an introductory STS course to conducting an…
How can we better understand artificial intelligence through the lens of Science and Technology Studies (STS)? In this interview, Professors Liliana Gil…
On Thursday, February 19, OSU alum Chef Avishar Barua of Joya's and Agni visited Dr. Mark Anthony Arceño's classes, COMPSTD 4420 and COMPSTD 2420.
In COMPSTD 4420 Cultural Food Systems and…
In November 2025, 100 undergraduate students enrolled in the "Introduction to Comparative Religions" course had the opportunity to visit four religious organizations throughout Central Ohio. The…
The 2026 Don and Barbara Davis Colloquium on Christianity was held on on Friday, October 24 in the OSU Thompson Library. This year’s topic, "Christianity and Healing," explored the relationship…
On September 29, 2025, Patrick Dunn, PhD Student in comparative studies and recipient of the 2025 LLES Award for the Study of Myth, presented his research on how the modern UFO phenomenon has been…
The Department of Comparative Studies at the Ohio State University invites applications for a position in Digital Cultures and Ethnography at the rank of tenure-track assistant professor. The field…
Dr. Liliana Gil has organized a series of book talks -- centering around science, medicine, and technology -- as part of the graduate seminar in Technology and Culture (COMPSTD 8843). These talks…
The Department of Comparative Studies invites its undergraduate majors and minors to present and discuss their work with peers and faculty members in a colloquium, which will be held on
Please join us in congratulating Dr. fabian romero, who along with their colleagues of the Black, Indigenous, & Trans of Color Histories Lab was recently awarded a Mellon…
As the Olympic Games continue in Paris this summer, we're off to a strong start behind the scenes in our preparations for the upcoming autumn term. Most notably, Philip Armstrong officially passed…
Please join us in congratulating Comparative Studies alumnus Dr. Brian Michael Murphy (2014), whose book We the Dead: Preserving Data at the End of the World (UNC Press) won the…
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Isaac Weiner, whose 2023 essay, "Responding to the Dobbs Decision: American Jews & Religious Freedom," received a 2024 Rockower Award from the…
Last week's Comparative Studies departmental awards ceremony and reception once again provided a communal space for celebrating our students, staff, and faculty as we wrapped up the spring 2024…
Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth joined Wayne Schlingman from the Department of Astronomy to discuss the upcoming total solar eclipse on episode 20 of "Now at Ohio State." Check out the episode, which was…
Mark Anthony Arceño was named one of six recipients of the Arts & Sciences Staff Advisory Council's Outstanding Staff Award!
On October 27, 2023, the Department of Comparative Studies was pleased to host a day-long colloquium on the theme of Christianity and Economy. Over fifty attendees gathered in the Ohio Union to…
In Fall 2024, Eleanor Paynter will join the University of Oregon as Assistant Professor of Italian. The position is in Italian and Global Media, and Eleanor will teach in her home department of…
Now three weeks into the spring semester, have you had the chance to meet our newest faculty members, who joined us in August?
SAMPADA ARANKE
Sam is an Associate…
Please join us in congratulating Comparative Studies alum Dr. Seth Gaiters (2021)!
We've recently learned that Seth is among 14 individuals to have been awarded a 2023 Ford Foundation…
As the autumn 2023 term was coming into focus, summer 2023 here in the Department wrapped up with the successful defense of and congratulations bestowed upon our newest graduate, Dr. Parisa Ahmadi…
At a recent faculty meeting, Dr. Ashley Pérez was greeted by senior University leaders as a recipient of a 2023 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching. As shared by the Office of Academic Affairs…
Please join us in congratulating Dr. John Low on having recently received OSU Newark's Scholarly Accomplishment Award! Each year, the award recognizes two leading scholars from…
Please join us in congratulating Parisa Ahmadi for having been awarded the 2022-2023 Outstanding Graduate Associate Teaching Award (OGATA) from the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council!
This semester, the Department of Comparative Studies launched a newly designed course -- with support from the OSU Sustainability Institute's Sustainability Education Grant -- COMPSTD 4420: …
Especially if you haven't heard/read these lately, we invite you to check out the following links to Assistant Professor Ashley Pérez's recent interview with and short essay for NPR. These were…
The Department of Comparative Studies is excited to welcome three members to the department in new roles:
Spencer Dew steps into a new role within Comparative Studies, as…
Following up on last academic year's virtual ceremony, the Department celebrated this year's Department awards recipients in hybrid form, with many in-person attendees present. The rescheduled…
On Wednesday, June 15th, the Department of Comparative Studies sponsored an online discussion of Canadian-British artist and filmmaker Zev Robinson's documentary The Scottish Breed.…
Please join us in congratulating our newest successful Ph.D. candidate, Dr. Sarah Craycraft, who defended her dissertation yesterday!
As noted by her advisor, Katherine Borland, Sarah's…
In a recent Ohio State News article by Franny Lazarus, Comparative Studies alum and Ohio State Fulbright Scholar Dr. Jasmine Stork recounts her involvement with humanitarian efforts in…
On Tuesday, March 29th, the Department of Comparative Studies and the Ohio State Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies co-hosted a webinar panel discussion of Canadian-British…
Comparative Studies graduate, Eleanor Paynter, has been selected as a 2022 fellow for the American Council of Learned Societies fellowship program. Dr. Paynter was selected out of over 1,000…
Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate and GAHDT Fellow Sarah Craycraft, who's article "Young in the Village: The Residency Project as Experimental Form of Village Revitalization," has been published…
It is with great enthusiasm that the Department of Comparative Studies welcomes Dr. Nicholas C. Kawa as our newest faculty affiliate! Nick joins us from the Department of Anthropology, where he is…
We are pleased to share that John Low has been elected to the Chicago History Museum (CHM) Board of Trustees for a four-year term. John is the first American Indian to have been invited to serve…
On December 16, 2021, Dr. Amy Gregg of the Department of Comparative Studies at Ohio State (Newark) was named one of 21 Affordable Learning Exchange (ALX) grant recipients. The program is designed…
On December 10, 2021, a project by Ohio State’s very own Isaac Weiner was featured on CBC radio.
Dr. Weiner, an associate professor of Religious and Comparative studies at OSU,…
On Friday, November 5th, Dr. Eric Williams successfully defended his dissertation, “Daddy, What Did You Do in the Great War? Deconstructing British Visual Media Propaganda in World War I”, at…
Last month, Dr. Jolyon Thomas of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania kicked off our Department’s Autumn 2021 Comparative Studies “Comparison” Workshops. The…
Dr. Jasmine Stork recently began her Fulbright year in Poland with an orientation meeting in Warsaw at Central Technology Hub. Jasmine is one of 30 American Fulbrighters in this year's cohort, all…
The following workshops are part of the CS 6100 “Critical Foundations: Comparative Analysis” seminar with Kwaku Korang and open to anyone interested in joining by Zoom.
…
On a warm August 27th evening, members of the Department of Comparative Studies gathered on the rooftop of The Crest to welcome in the new academic year. Two cohorts of graduate students who had…
On Monday, August 9th, Dr. Ryann Patrus successfully defended her dissertation, "Illegible Injury: Technological Abuse and the Disabled Bodymind." As she writes in her abstract:…
The Department is excited to share that Dr. Gregorio Gonzales will be joining us this upcoming autumn term as a 2-year Post Doctoral Scholar in Indigenous Knowledges! He will be teaching COMPSTD…
"Voices of Excellence" is a podcast published by the Ohio State College of Arts and Sciences, which highlights faculty and staff research. This week, Dr. John Low joins David Staley to discuss the…
Please join us in congratulating the newly-minted Dr. Seth Gaiters, who successfully defended his dissertation on Wednesday, June 30th. As his committee chair and advisor, Isaac…
We invite you to check out The Atlas Obscura Podcast, where Dr. John Low recently joined in on a conversation on the Newark Earthworks! The episode, which was published on June 3rd, may…
Professor Maurice Stevens’s collaborative project with the STEAM Factory, Campus Compact, and Ohio Campus Compact called “Addressing Structural Racism in the Academy through…
Enrico Zammarchi was born in Cesena, a city in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region that is famous for its exceptional cuisine. He studied foreign languages and literature at the University of Bologna,…
On Thursday, April 29th, the Department held its annual award ceremony via CarmenZoom. Please join us in congratulating all of this year's award recipients!
Writing Awards…
It is with great pride that we invite you to join us in congratulating Dr. Maurice Stevens for receiving a 2021 President and Provost's Award for Distinguished Faculty Service!
On Monday,…
PhD candidate Sarah Craycraft has been awarded a Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme Graduate Team Fellowship for the year 2021-2022, with the theme of extinction/imagination. Sarah will be…
Drs. Stephanie Aubry and Katherine Borland have received a Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme Field School Grant for the year 2021-2022, for a four day exploration of Ohio’s border politics,…
Last week, Parisa Ahmadi was selected for an honorable mention in the award for Outstanding Writing Instruction by the Writing Across the Curriculum team. In their announcement of the award, the…
The department is happy to announce that Rob Barry has won a Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme Graduate Team Fellowship for the coming year. Next year, he will be joining the other…
Congratulations to Jasmine Stork who has received a Fulbright to Poland for the coming year!
(Chicago, ILLINOIS, March 22, 2021) --This April, a new exhibit will open at the Field Museum that explores the artistry, tradition and the importance of basketmaking among the Pokagon band of the…
The Department is delighted to share the news that Professor Dorothy Noyes has been awarded a University Distinguished Scholar Award! The award is given to senior professors for their exceptional…
Academic Program Coordinator Mark Anthony Arceño led a virtual cooking demonstration on Thursday, March 4th, via Zoom with graduate students Emma Cobb, Sarah Craycraft, Rhiar Kanouse, Nicole…
Congratulations to Kati Fitzgerald, who has been awarded a postdoctoral position at the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University. Kati defended her dissertation last year titled “No Pure Lands…
Some exciting and fun news, Department of Comparative Studies Academic Program Coordinator Mark Anthony Arceño was selected among 384 applicants to be one of Ohio Wines' VIP Ambassadors. Learn…
Recently, Comparative Studies Professor Dan DiPiero created a playlist as part of the Wexner Art exhibit titled Climate Changing. Although he started the playlist back in February of 2020…
The Department is excited to announce that John Low is a co-PI on Stepping Out & Stepping Up: Toward Truth & Reconciliation with Dispossessed Native American Tribes, which has…
Dear Undergraduate Majors,
On behalf of all the faculty and staff in Comparative Studies, we would like to welcome you back to the new academic year.
In a recent episode of the "Voices of Sounds from Arts and Science" podcast Professor Perez is a guest! On the episode she talks about the ethical significance of reading and how fiction shapes a…
Congratulations associate faculty member Spencer Dew whose book, The Aliites: Race and Law in the Religions of Noble Drew Ali, was awarded the 2020 Albert J. Raboteau Prize for Best Book…
This past Tuesday Leighla Khansari defended her dissertation, "Constancy, Race, and Religious Virtue: The Representation of Muslim Women in English Early Modern Drama." Her committee consisted of…
Congratulations to Dr. Joe Campbell, Dr. Cassie Rosita Patterson, and Dr. Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth, all members of the OSU Advisory Committee for the Ohio Field…
Congratulations to Dr. Isaac Weiner, whose American Religious Sounds Project received funding from the Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Themes.
What does Religion Sound Like…
Congratulations to Dr. Katherine Borland and Dr. Rachel Hopkin, who received a $25,000 grant from the Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme for Covid Conversations: Life…
Kati Fitzgerald received funding through the prestigious Fulbright-Hayes Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship. The Fellowship allowed her to do extensive research in China for her…
This week the WOSU had a story that talked about how the pandemic has changed worship and the process of religious institutions reopening. In the article the American Religious Sounds Project is…
Each year the Presidential Fellowship is awarded to outstanding graduate students who are in the final stages of of their research. The Fellowship provides financial support so the fellow is able…
Please extend warmest congratulations to Afsane Rezaei, who will be headed to Utah State University’s Department of English this fall as Assistant Professor of Folklore!
Utah State has…
With aplomb, this morning Afsane Rezaei defended her dissertation: “Agency Between Narratives: Women, Faith, and Sociability in Irangeles.” Her committee consisted of Katey Borland, Morgan Liu,…
Congratulations to:
RaShelle Peck (graduated 2014), who accepted a tenure-track Assistant Professor position at Borough of Manhattan Community College in…
This year professors in the comparative studies department put together a heartfelt video to wish the graduates good luck and congratulations.
The seniors also wrote amazing theses on a…
This year the Comparative Studies 2020 Annual Awards Ceremony was held virtually over Zoom! The awards and their recipients are the following:
Teaching Awards—Margaret Lynd Award…
The Center for Ethnic Studies is pleased to announce Theresa Delgadillo, Professor of Comparative Studies and former director of the Center, as the recipient of its 2019-2020 Award for…
Please join the Department of Comparative Studies in congratulating Seth Gaiters, who this past week was awarded not one, but TWO different graduate fellowships for the 2020-21 academic year! He…
The Department of Comparative Studies mourns the death of one of its Ph.D. graduates, Ken Walibora Waliaula (1964-2020) in Nairobi, Kenya, at age 56. Tragically, Ken was struck by a matatu, a 52…
Ashley Clark graduated in 2019 with BA in Comparative Studies and a minor in South Asia Studies. Below is a reflection of her time in Taiwan:
A year ago, I only knew Taiwan as a…
The College of Arts and Sciences Student Council selected Dr. Isaac Weiner as a finalist for the 2019 – 2020 Outstanding Teaching Award. This award is particularly notable because it is the only…
Please extend your congratulations to Kati Fitzgerald, who just successfully defended her brilliant dissertation, "No Pure Lands: The Contemporary Buddhism of Tibetan Lay Women."
The…
In Memoriam
Lindsay Jones (1954-2020)
Professor Emeritus Lindsay Jones passed away on March 28, 2020, after an extended struggle with…
Congrats to Eleanor Paynter for accepting the position of Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell University! She will be in the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, collaborating on their…
Congrats are in order for Nic Flores, who has been offered and accepted a position as a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in the Department of Latina…
Professor David Horn has been appointed as the new College of Arts and Sciences Associate Executive Dean of Undergraduate Education!
Professor Horn has been with the Department of…
Graduate students from the departments of Comparative Studies and Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies took part in a teaching cluster funded by the Livable Futures network.
In this combined…
Undergraduate Religious Studies major Jordan Baggs was featured in a recent episode of The Classical Ideas Podcast. The podcast is hosted and produced by Jordan's former high school religious…
We are excited to announce that the Autumn 2019 Graduate Studies Newsletter is now available. In it you can expect to find detailed descriptions and updates from each of our graduate students…
The Department of Comparative Studies is excited to announce that a new online version of CS 1100: Intro to Humanities has been added to Spring 2020 courses. Register today with…
Congratulations to Comparative Studies PhD candidate Eleanor Paynter, whose article recently appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books! Co-written with Nicole Miller, the article, "The White…
Professor David Horn was featured on an episode of Voices of Excellence which aired Aug. 28, on WCBE, 90.5 FM. In the episode, which is available on soundcloud, he…
Congratulations are in order for Moriah Flagler, who has been selected as the 2019 Postdoctoral Scholar Mentor of the Year!
Every year, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs highlights a…
On Wednesday, April 24th, we held our annual departmental awards ceremony celebrating all of the incredible work our faculty, lecturers, and students have done in the past year.
We continue…
The Writing Across the Curriculum graduate consultant…
Professor Barry Shank discusses his latest book, which explores the power of music to…
Join two of our Comparative Studies Graduate students, Seth Gaiters and Caroline Toy, as they present on their research topics.The Showcase will feature “lightning talks” by humanities and arts…
Graduate student Sarah Craycraft has been awarded a Title VI funded Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship for this coming summer. She’ll be studying Bulgarian through Sofia…
Julia Watson, professor emerita in the Department of Comparative Studies, gave a lecture on “Between the Edge and the Abyss: The Serial Performances of Anthony Bourdain” and participated in a…
David Horn has received the President and Provost’s Award for Distinguished Faculty Service, which annually recognizes up to three tenure-track, clinical or research faculty members whose…
Comparative Studies' faculty member, Robert Livingston, is leading a new initiative at Ohio State called Food Futures: Design + Comparative Studies Teaching Cluster.
This initiative is in…
Congrats to former PhD student, Rebecca Adelman, on her recent publication of 'Figuring Violence: Affective Investments in Perpetual War'.
"In the United States, the early years of the war…
We love getting updates from Comparative Studies alumni about what they're up to now!
Congrats to our former PhD student, Amy Gregg, on being chosen as a recipient of the 2019 Lloyd Library…
Comparative Studies PhD student Eleanor Paynter is featured in the College of Arts and Sciences Daily Post today!
Here is the link to the original story discussing Paynter's…
Maurice Stevens was chosen as a lead mentor for UITL!
Fifteen Arts and Sciences faculty members were chosen as mentors for the University Institute for Teaching and Learning's New Faculty…
Comparative Studies' very own Dorothy Noyes recieved an honorary degree from University of Tartu in Folkloristics in recognition of the major contribution of Noyes to international folkloristics…
Professor Theresa Delgadillo was a speaker at the "Community Conversation on Memory and Death" on October 11, 2018, hosted by the Columbus Museum of Art as part of their month-long schedule of…
Check out the Comparative Studies department's for Fall 2018!
Sheila Bock, an Associate Professor of…
Amy Gutmann Fuentes describes her experience of the working with the Cincinnati non-profit, ArtWorks.
"I became an apprentice for ArtWorks in 2015 and have been working…
Congratulations to Issac Weiner and Amy DeRogatis on being awarded a $750,000 grant in support of the American Religious Sounds Project (ARSP)!
From the College of Arts and Sciences:…
Congratulations to Katherine Fitzgerald on being one of the twenty-seven scholars selected for the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies!
"The Robert H. N. Ho Family…
Amanda Randhawa has been selected as one of two winners of the Graduate School’s Louise B. Vetter Award, which is sponsored by the Ohio State chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi through…
Congradulations to Elizabeth Vu, Comparative Studies' Academic Program Coordinator, on receiving the 2018 Outstanding Staff Award from the College of Arts and Sciences!
This award is given…
In Comparison recently posted their fifth episode where students spoke with Dr. Melissa Curley. Melissa Anne-Marie Curley works on modern Buddhism and Japanese philosophy. She is…
Comparative Studies and Folklore alumna Nicole Musgrave (B.A. 2010) has just received the John D. Minton Award along with her Master of Arts in Folk Studies at Western Kentucky University. The…
Today was the Department of Comparative Studies' end of the year award ceremony! We gathered together to honor the outstanding achievements of all of our Comparative Studies staff, faculty,…
Congratulations to Zeynep on receiving the ASC Graduate Student Award for Teaching Excellence! The award recognizes excellence in teaching by a graduate student in any instructional capacity.
…
Check out epidose 4 of In Comparison! In Comparison is a podcast showcasing the myriad of voices in Ohio State University's Comparative Studies department, brought to you by the…
We are thrilled to share the news that Seth Gaiters has been selected as a 2018-19 Doctoral Fellow by the Forum for Theological Exploration! This $25,000 fellowship will support Seth for a year of…
Epidose 3 of the Comparative Studies Undergraduate Club podcast titled In Comparison is up! Check it out if you are interested in hearing Dr. Horn talk about his history with the…
Check out Episode 2 of In Comparison!
Part One
Part Two
In Comparison is a podcast showcasing the myriad of voices in Ohio State University's Comparative…
Check out the Comparative Studies Undergraduate Student Club's first podcast titled In Comparison! Episode one is all about how four different Comparative Studies majors (Belle Brown,…
The Department of Comparative Studies invites its undergraduate majors and minors to present and discuss their work with peers and faculty members in a colloquium, which will be held on Friday April…
Congrats to Associate Professor Katherine Borland on being awarded the Fulbright Bicentennial Chair in American Studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland for the academic year 2018-19! Read…
The Department of Comparative Studies is currently partnering with Tsukuba University in Japan. Below is a photo from their recent meeting.
Congrats to Kay Clopton on being awarded a highly coveted position as the Mary P. Key Resident for Cultural Diversity Inquiry! Kay will be working in the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum…
Congratulations to Eleanor Paynter! Eleanor Paynter has been awarded a $5000.00 Alumni Grant for Graduate Research and Scholarship. This grant will help fund Eleanor's dissertation fieldwork. This…
Congrats to Comparative Studies Undergraduate Ashley Clark on receiving the "Arts and Humanities Undergraduate Research Small Grant"! It can be used to conduct research or a 'creative activity'…
The Arts and Sciences Honors Committee has awarded Comparative Studies Undergraduate Ella Pigg a $500 Undergraduate Research Scholarship in recognition of her excellent research proposal.
The special issue on Family Folklore of the Journal of American Folklore 130(518), Fall 2017 just arrived. In addition to Katey Borland being the guest editor, she co-wrote with Patricia…
A special section of the journal Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience that Noah Tamarkin co-curated, co-authored the introduction for, and contributed an essay to, is now out.
Direct…
Dr. Maurice Stevens’s is a mentor in the University Institute for Teaching and Learning’s Faculty FIT: Foundation, Impact, Transformation program.
"The Faculty FIT program, within the…