Sarah Dees
Pronouns
she/her/hers
Position
- Associate Professor of American Religions
- Editorial Team, Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art, and Belief
Dr. Sarah Dees is scholar of American and Indigenous religious history and culture.
Her research and teaching areas include American and Native American religions; religion and museums; religion, race, and empire; method and theory in the study of religion; religion, medicine, and wellbeing; and religion, law, and politics.
Professor Dees is on research leave (Faculty Professional Development Assignment) for the 2025-26 academic year.
Her research and teaching areas include American and Native American religions; religion and museums; religion, race, and empire; method and theory in the study of religion; religion, medicine, and wellbeing; and religion, law, and politics.
Professor Dees is on research leave (Faculty Professional Development Assignment) for the 2025-26 academic year.
Contact
Email
sdees@iastate.edu
Phone
515-294-0055
443 Catt Hall
2225 Osborn Drive
Ames
,
IA
50011
Social Media and Websites
Education
- BA, Religious Studies and English (Creative Writing), University of Kansas, 2007
- MA, Religious Studies and American Indian and Native Studies, University of Iowa, 2009
- PhD, Religion in the Americas, Indiana University, 2015
- Certificate, Museum Studies, Northwestern University, 2018
Previous Positions
| 2019-25 | Assistant Professor, Iowa State University |
| 2016-19 | Luce Postdoctoral Fellow in Religion, Politics, and Global Affairs, Northwestern University |
| 2014-16 | Lecturer in American and Native American Religions, Department of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee, Knoxville |
| 2009-12 | Associate Instructor, Indiana University, Bloomington |
Awards and Honors
| 2020 | Research Award, Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities, Iowa State University |
| 2020 | Liberal Arts and Sciences Travel Award, Iowa State University |
| 2019 | National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholar, “Museums: Humanities in the Public Sphere” Summer Institute, Georgetown University, June 30 – July 28 |
| 2017-19 | Participant, Young Scholars in American Religion program, Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, IUPUI |
| 2016-19 | Luce Postdoctoral Fellowship in Religion, Politics, and Global Affairs, Northwestern University, Departments of Political Science and Religious Studies |
| 2017 | Digital Humanities Workshop, Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, to develop Indigenous Religions Meta-Archive (IRMA) project |
| 2017 | Undergraduate Research Assistant Program, Northwestern University, to hire research assistant for Indigenous Religions Meta-Archive (IRMA) project |
| 2016 | F. Stanley Lusby and John O. Hodges Teaching Award, Department of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee |