Stories from JDP Alumni
We take pride in the considerable contributions our alumni have made across their respective workplaces, careers, professional organizations, and society at large. Their endeavors have yielded positive and constructive impacts, thereby enhancing society since their graduation from the Joint Doctoral Program. The program's interdisciplinary approach facilitates their pursuit of diverse career paths aligned with their interests, expertise, and passions.听听
They are pleased to share their accounts with us, as demonstrated below.
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Elizabeth Rae Coody, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa, USA)
Elizabeth's teaching and research concentrate on the intersections between religion, sacred texts, cultural studies, and popular culture, with a particular interest in comic books. She serves as the co-chair of the Bible and Popular Culture unit of the Society of Biblical Literature. In that role, she has encouraged work that engages in clear methodology and across a diverse set of interlocutors. She is co-editor of听Monstrous Women in Comics听with Samantha Langsdale (2020), which engages gender studies in monster theory.听 She led the editing of the second edition of听Understanding Religion and Popular Culture听(Routledge, 2023) with Dan W. Clanton and Terry Ray Clark. She is now serving as a section editor for the forthcoming Springer Encyclopedia of Religion and Popular Culture.听
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The interdisciplinary nature of the JDP was everything to my formation as a scholar and teacher. My open-minded advisors encouraged my work in popular culture, gave me a broad knowledge of religious studies that's critical to being a "one-stop shop" at a small liberal arts college, and helped me gain the pedagogical skills and instincts that serve me today. My faculty and my fellow students were nurturing and supportive; we were and are all on the same team. Even ten years out, we still take joy in each other's successes and support each other in tough times. My graduate program gave me a solid foundation in my field, an invaluable network of scholars, and the daring to do the work of educating people about religion in any circumstance where I'm needed.
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