There’s an interesting article, from July 2006, making the rounds on social media. Published in the bilingual, peer-reviewed quarterly, Bulletin of Sociological Methodology/Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique, it’s entitled: “Editing a Normal Science Journal in Social Science.” It’s abstract reads as follows: Using Thomas Kuhn‘s once well-known notion of normal science (a collective endeavor inasmuch as researchers share the same paradigm), the author, Linton Freeman, argues that work carried out in the sociological sub-field of social networks is more closely aligned […]
Month: September 2016
The Devil’s in the Details
My early book was cited near the start of Chris Kavanagh‘s recent online essay, as an example of a work in the study of religion that — despite him agreeing that there is “much that is valid in such critiques” — seems to constitute “academic minutiae” that we should put behind us, so we can just get on with our work. If you’ve not read the piece, you should. Here’s the closing two paragraphs. I’d like to focus on what […]
Have You Met Dr. Ikeuchi?
If you’ve been keeping up with the Department’s blog, then you’ll know that we recently hired Dr. Suma Ikeuchi as a new Assistant Professor. In keeping with tradition, the REL film crew sat down for an interview with her. Check it out to learn more about Dr. Ikeuchi and her research, and if you see her around Manly Hall be sure to give her a warm welcome! An Interview with Dr. Ikeuchi from UA Religious Studies. […]
Cant Live With It, Can’t Live Without It
The other day on Facebook, over at the Religious Studies Project‘s page, two posts went up, within a few hours of each other, that made for an interesting (if unintended) juxtaposition. The first is pictured above (click it to read the article), and the second is pictured below. […]
Backstory: Prof. Nathan Loewen
“Backstory” is a series that asks the REL Faculty to tell us a little bit about themselves, to explore how they became interested in the academic study of religion and their own specialty, elaborating on their current work both within and outside the University. […]
Fantasy Fiction
I recently saw a job ad online for a tenure-track position in science fiction or fantasy studies. Simple question: would a scholar of religion be relevant for this position? Buried somewhere in your answer is a theory of religion — what is it? […]
Stereotyping Gender: I’m 100% Masculine
By Andie Alexander Andie Alexander earned her B.A. in Religious Studies and History in 2012. She is completing her M.A. in Religious Studies at CU Boulder. Andie also works as the online Curator for the Culture on the Edge blog. Some weeks back, I saw several of my friends posting their results of this Gender Role Test on Facebook. I usually tend to keep scrolling, but after seeing several of these results, I just couldn’t resist what I knew would make […]
Anything Goes?
Do you recall the January 2015 shootings in France, at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and how, in response, people worldwide rallied to the cause of free speech, and its defining place in what many of us call Western culture, and thus the right of the French cartoonists to lampoon pretty much anything? Including the Prophet Mohammad — whether others liked it or not? […]
Skillz
For sometime I’ve been concerned that the American Academy of Religion would venture into the waters of learning outcomes and assessment. But now one of its committees is working on this and its the topic of a leadership workshop, offered by the Academic Religions committee, at the upcoming annual meeting. […]
REL 360 Presents: Citizenfour
The second meeting of REL 360–our one credit hour course–will be viewing Citizenfour. This 2014 documentary follows director Laura Poitras during her investigation into the rise of government-run monitoring programs in the U.S. after the September 11th bombings. During her research, she begins to receive emails from a stranger known only as Citizenfour, who leaks classified information concerning illegal wiretapping practices conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA). Poitras and two other investigative journalists fly to Hong Kong to meet with Citizenfour, who soon agrees […]