Life and meaning: Carolyn Medine

Terrific Focus on the Faculty profile of Dr. Carolyn Medine, joint-appointed professor in the department of religion and the Institute for African American Studies:

I have always loved the arts and been obsessed with the “BQs” — the big questions, as one of my teachers at UNC called them — the eternal questions about life and meaning. My area is arts, literature and religion, and I get to work on cultural production of all kinds. I think that artists have their fingers on the pulse of the times in which they live. They see more than the ordinary person, so they face the big questions before all of us. And, in general, this is a timely moment to be studying religion. It asks the BQs: Who am I? What is the purpose of my life? How should I treat the “other”? And religion plays a gigantic role in everything that is happening in the world; it always has, actually. So, I feel like I am at the heart of what people do: they experience and express, either for good or ill. 

A wonderful author and teacher, truly one of our best. Medine was also recognized with the 2013 Excellence in Teaching Award from the American Academy of Religion. An inspirational faculty member with a passion for teaching and learning.