I saw the above tweet yesterday, which prompted me to mull over why we generally think that the role of religion is such a complicated thing to study. It occurred to me that it is complicated (i) if you fail to recognize that there’s been trained scholars of religion out there for well over 100 years who have lots to say on these matters but also (ii) if we buy local accounts of it being some ethereal thing that mysteriously […]
I was at one of the field’s doctoral schools a while back, to give a talk, and heard from a couple sources — both grad students repeating what they’d been told as well as from a faculty member — that the primary purpose for students to be enrolled in graduate school (or perhaps at that particular one) was “to write a field-changing dissertation.” Sure, being professionalized as a grad student, such as accumulated publications of your own and gaining teaching […]
What better way to mark fifty years of studying religion at the University of Alabama than to institute our first graduate degree — something that’s been in planning for several years now? […]
I’ve often used Borges’s wonderful little piece, “Borges and I” in classes, as a quick way into the debate on the death of the author. If you’ve not read it, it’s worth taking a moment to look it over. Tackle Foucault’s essay, or Barthes’s for that matter, on much the same topic too, if you’re ambitious. It’s worth your while, I think. […]
Read More from Hold Your Fire, Coz the Author is Already Dead
Seeing cheering crowds in Miami, first thing this morning as I checked my phone for overnight news, celebrating Fidel Castro’s death, made me think a little about our disdain when there were rumors of people cheering after the twin towers collapsed (Trump routinely cited this early in his campaign); when is death — or better, whose death — worth cheering, I wondered? But as the morning wore on and more news came out, my attention shifted to an issue that […]
Those who have been here for the past few years might know that REL instituted its own undergraduate research symposium — an annual event that’s now going into its fourth year. (This is quite apart from UA’s campus-wide event — a venue where REL students have also excelled, by the way.) This year it will be organized, once again, by Prof. Bagger, and will take place on March 29, going from about 9:30 am until 12:30 pm, in Gorgas 205. […]
Read More from Coming Attractions: REL’s Undergrad Research Symposium 2017
Did you watch the town hall meeting the other night, the second of this season’s Presidential debates? Because scholars of religion are trained in the study of how rhetorics of privacy are used by social actors, I think we might have more to say about what’s going on than we at first realize. […]
The series of commentaries begun by a recent Religious Studies Podcast has continued (one of which was my own), with this most recent one being added to the mix. […]
What do you do when approaching an intersection and you see this sign? Well…, do you read Japanese? […]
In a few weeks we’ll be hosting Prof. Jason Bivins for the fourth annual Day Lecture on Religion and Popular Culture. In preparation, you might enjoy this interview, form last year, concerning his latest book. #Day2016 […]
Read More from Coming Attractions: The Fourth Annual Day Lecture