President's Welcome

Welcome to the Mysterium Magnum Blog! Yes, the venerable and perpetually reincarnating student society of Studies in Religion at the University of Sydney finally enters the digital age. In so doing, this blog seeks to go beyond advertisements for pub nights, free food, and general student debauchery (all necessary, of course) and act as a gateway for students (and staff) to explore the experience of doing religious studies at University.

Blogs are great places for people with shared interests to gather online. They can act as information gateways as well as taking part in the processes of community building. I hope that this blog will prove to be a source of useful, interesting, and inspiring reading for new and prospective students of Studies in Religion. Of course, there’s a good chance that some readers may find the posts here nothing more than the pseudo-intellectual ramblings of a bunch of no-good-get-out-of-bed-at-noon-sponge-off-the-government students with too much time on their hands. They wouldn’t be too far wrong. Nonetheless, one of the aims of this blog is to bring our experience to you, the reader, through exploring how and why we do religious studies, and the types of projects we undertake. And let’s not forget that this blog will also function as the advertising space for our many forays into Sydney’s inner west in the name of doctoral procrastination and general debauchery. So if that’s more your bag then you should stick around too.

One of the main goals of Mysterium Magnum is to enhance the student experience of those interested in the study of things religious at the University of Sydney. I hope that this blog can play a part in that project as well as bring the work of the excellent faculty, postgraduates, and undergraduates of the department to a larger audience. So bookmark us, subscribe (via the link on the right), visit often, and tell your friends. If you don’t, may the Space Brothers ignore you when they finally arrive.

Alex Norman
Mysterium Magnum President