Faculty Profile

Jodie Vann

Assistant Professor of Religion (2018)

Contact Information

vannj@dickinson.edu

East College Room 217
717-245-1053

Education

  • B.A., University of Oregon, 2007
  • M.A., Florida State University, 2011
  • Ph.D., Arizona State University, 2018

2023-2024 Academic Year

Fall 2023

RELG 108 God in America
The course chronicles the relationship between religious ideas and cultural context from the founding of the first colonies through the rise of the Religious Right and New Age movements. Our journey will be guided by several key metaphors that have characterized the religious ethos of America: America as "The Promised Land"; America as the "land of opportunity", as the "melting pot." We will use primary sources, including fiction, poetry, and film.

RELG 211 Religion Fantasy & ScI Fiction
An exploration of the religious and mythological dimensions of traditional and modern fantasy literature. Our explorations will be guided by three interdependent themes: the nature of the divine, the nature of the human, and the nature of the moral life.

RELG 318 Spiritual Not Religious
(e.g., Religion and Science; Encounters with Death; Liberation Theologies) Prerequisite dependent upon topic.

RELG 500 Independent Study

Spring 2024

RELG 116 Religion, Nature & Enviro
This course explores how various religious and spiritual traditions have understood, conceptualized, and interacted with the natural world. Incorporating from both conventional religions (such as Catholicism, Judaism, and Buddhism) as well as newer spiritual forms (like Contemporary Paganism), the course provides a comparative survey of the relationships between religiosity and nature. Themes under examination include notions of human dominion, stewardship, panentheism, and naturalism. Students will consider how religious ideologies have shaped conceptions of nature, and how changing understandings of the natural world have challenged religious ideas.

RELG 318 Cults and Communes
While the religious history of the U.S. is largely understood through a Christian lens, numerous experimental religious communities have also shaped our cultural landscape. In this course, we’ll examine a broad selection of these communities, paying particular attention to the complex reasons for their emergence, their unique ideological characteristics, and in many cases, the factors and results of their ends. Students should expect to encounter somewhat familiar (that is, infamous) “cults” like Jonestown, but also less well-known groups such as the Unarians. We’ll explore such questions as: What contributes to a group or community being labeled as “cult”? What influences people to join and remain within fringe religious groups? Students may be surprised to learn the religious connections of some familiar cultural elements. Did you know, for example, that corn flakes cereal was invented to curb sexual urges? Or that the Lincolns held séances in the White House? Explore the weirder side of American religious history and gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between religion, culture, and American identity.

RELG 500 Independent Study

RELG 550 Independent Research