Not sure where to look?
Here's what you'll find within our pages:

ACADEMIC:

research initiatives
recent conferences
academic programs, centers, and institutes
course syllabi
other resources

BIBLIOGRAPHIES:

poverty in ancient Greece, Rome, and late antiquity
patristics & social ethics
Medieval and Reformation resources
reflective meditations
modern religious responses to poverty today

COMMUNITY RESOURCES:

food banks
relief organizations
faith-based resources
other agencies on peace, justice, and human rights

NEWS:

what's new on the site
new books
stuff noted in passing
links to favorite sites and other curiosities

CONTACT:

reach us by mail

basic site map
detailed site map

red-blue circle image at top: detail from a 12th-century illustration for an ancient Greek sermon on poverty

site last updated
8 November 2008

Welcome to the newly-designed site of PovertyStudies, a nonprofit website resource that exists to encourage communication between the academic study of religion and those active in global issues of poverty and hunger. This redesigned site is possible thanks to a a generous 2007-2008 Christian Faith and Life Grant from The Louisville Institute. The PovertyStudies website is intended to serve as a scholarly database of select resources useful in research, teaching, and fieldwork related to poverty issues and religion, particularly (but not exclusively) as these issues relate to Christianity in the history of the Western world.

What you will find on this site: Click on the links above to learn more:

• "Academic"-- A selection of academic resources, such as organizations, university departments, centers, seminars, colloquia, syllabi and other resources related to academic discussion of social issues related to poverty, relief, hunger, empowerment and dignity issues, especially (but not always) as they relate to religious studies; These include syllabi of related courses from professors willing to share them here.
• "Bibliographies"--select research bibliographies divided into (1) history, (2) devotional, and (3) modern. There is a very extensive bibliography on the religious roots of social welfare in the ancient Greek and Roman world as it relates to early Christianity (click here) and a short but thoughtful bibliography of recommended readings on poverty in modern America (click here). It is our goal to expand these lists to include more on pastoral and ministry resources (such as study guides) and history in the medieval period.
• "Community Resources"--How to find relief and justice agencies and community action of interest to "Western" viewers in the English-speaking world; how to find a food pantry in your area; how to find international relief organizations related to a wide range of religious perspectives; and more. The site cannot list every church food bank and opportunity for learning; the goal is to help viewers get started.
• "News"--Announcements, human interest news, and fresh material worth special note. Includes select online texts. New books are only listed here for a few months, but are added permanently to the "Bibliographies" section.
• "Contact" -- how to reach us.

If you are involved in projects or aware of relevant resources that might be listed here, please tell us! Your comments and suggestions are especially welcome in the following areas:

• Academic programs and academic research activities relevant to social action and poverty relief as it relates to religious studies; this would include academic conferences, colloquia and seminars open to the public;
• National and international organizations actively involved in the problem of global poverty;
• Short-term fieldwork experience or volunteer opportunities that may be open to those interested in religion and social welfare;
• Bibliographies of modern and historical approaches to the problem of poverty;
• Travel scholarships for students who seek volunteer opportunities in social action, nationally or internationally;
• Speakers' database suggestions;
• Other relevant academic networking ideas.