Jamie Sarafan

Advisor: Professor Phoebe Young • Jamie Sarafan is a PhD student whose research sits at the intersection of American religious history and environmental history. 

Jamie earned a BA in History (cum laude, with Distinction in History) from Colorado College before completing dual MA degrees in History and Religious Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2021. While at CU, she served as a Lead Graduate Teaching Fellow in the Department of Religious Studies for two years. After graduation, she taught in the Humanities Department at Front Range Community College before serving as a Senior Editor at komoot, an award-winning outdoor navigation and route-planning platform.

Her master's thesis examined the early Pentecostal serpent-handling movement in the first generation of the Church of God, recovering the role women played in legitimizing and defending the practice. This work led to her peer-reviewed article, "The Women and the Word: Serpent Handling, Devotional Writing, and the Women in the Church of God, 1914–1936," which was published in the Journal of Southern Religion and received the journal's Sam Hill Award.

Since returning to CU Boulder in 2026, Jamie's research has focused on the relationships between religion, recreation, and the environment. Her current work examines the history of evangelical camping in the United States, from nineteenth-century Methodist camp meetings and tent revivals, to twentieth-century youth camps, men's retreats and contemporary Christian wellness culture. She is particularly interested in how outdoor religious practices shaped ideas about gender, healing, the body, power, and political belonging in modern America.

Outside of her academic work, she is an avid rock climber, cyclist, and enthusiastic carb consumer who enjoys a post-adventure croissant and/or cookie whenever possible.