USC Dornsife News

In this article from The Conversation, Jessica Marglin of religion and history at USC Dornsife provides insight into an oft misunderstood aspect of Muslim culture. [4¼ min read]

The inventors of the Games in 776 B.C. would likely view the current, ghostly version of their Olympic festival as absurd. [6½ min read]

Graduating senior Kimberly Melgoza has been studying how mind-altering substances, like psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca, have been used in rituals across Latin America. She’ll bring this research to Yale Divinity School as a master’s student this fall. [4½ min read]

The tradition of Christian dance did not happen overnight. For the first five centuries of Christianity, the church opposed dancing. But as time went on dance continued to be integrated into Christianity. [5¾ min read]

The new head of USC Dornsife’s Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies discusses the institute’s future, L.A. and the gruesome fate of the last Welsh Jesuit priest. [4½ min read]

Religion professor Jessica Zu discusses recent developments in Buddhism, some of the problems with the “mindfulness” movement and how Amish food is the best cure for homesickness. [3¾ min read]

USC Dornsife’s Sabina Zonno and Lynn Dodd receive a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to develop an immersive experience around a Renaissance-era manuscript. [4¾ min read]

The BLM movement is not only seeking radical political reform, but is a spiritual movement aiming to heal and empower while inspiring other religious allies to seek inclusivity.