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It is with great sadness that the Department of Religion marks the loss of Professor Robert A.F. Thurman, who died on June 16, at home, in Woodstock, New York. A world-renowned scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, dedicated teacher, and public intellectual, Bob was the inaugural Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia, a chair he held from 1988 until his retirement in 2019. The author of numerous books, and stalwart champion of the translation of the Tibetan Tengyur, Bob inspired generations of Columbia and Barnard students in and beyond the classroom.

Congratulations to Professor Vasko on the publication of Making all the World America: Native Information and the Doctrine of Discovery with the University of Pennsylvania Press. 

A provocative new account of the ideological framework undergirding early modern imperial expansion: the Doctrine of Discovery

The Departments of Religion at Columbia and Barnard are now welcoming submissions for the ninth annual Peter Awn Undergraduate Prize. This prize of $500 will be given to the best paper written by an undergraduate for any course or seminar in Religion in 2025.

This prize honors our colleague Peter Awn’s inspired teaching and his dedication to promoting and celebrating creative inquiry.

Submissions will be accepted until Friday, March 6 at 5 p.m. The Prize will be announced in mid-April.

Eligible papers will be: