Russell McCutcheon

It’s Alive

March 3, 2014

Throughout times, also Christianity has manifested itself and has been manifested and lived out materially through objects, symbols, the body, and the environment… So opens the call for papers for an upcoming conference in Finland — making pretty evident, I think, how current, seemingly cutting edge, scholarship on so-called embodied religion or material religion is just a repackaged version of (as I described it earlier this morning on a Facebook post, and as I’ve discussed here before and before that) […]

The Liberal Arts and the Job Market

February 28, 2014

Have you seen the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ report, “How Liberal Arts and Science Majors Fare in Employment“? Released near the end of January 2014, it’s conclusion states: […]

A Big Thumb’s Up

February 27, 2014

How confident are we that the students and grad presenting today at our inaugural undergraduate research symposium will all do a great job?That’s how confident. See you at 3:30 at the University Club (upstairs). And dress up a bit. Chuck Norris would. […]

Getting Our Hands on an Ungraspable Totality

February 26, 2014

Have you read Craig Martin‘s new interview with Talal Asad, just published in the Bulletin for the Study of Religion? […]

It’s Not Always About Credentials

February 25, 2014

One of our faculty posted this article the other day — “Why Google doesn’t care about hiring top college graduates” — and I thought it worth re-posting here. In the article, Google’s head of people operations, Laszlo Bock, discussed the qualities that the company seeks in people they hire: “And increasingly, it’s not about credentials.” […]

Looks Like We Need a White Banner This Year

February 24, 2014

The recipients for the Department’s Silverstein Scholarship have been announced — letters were sent and, so far as we know, they’ve all been received by now. So we’d like to announced that this year the awards go to: […]

“They Engage in … Clarification”

February 23, 2014

Thanks to Amanda Anderson, in 15 minutes or less you can think a little more clearly about challenges to the Humanities in the modern university — and come up with a few possible answers to those challenges. They help one to develop and integrate a fundamental practice into one’s life. If the dinner table question was not “But what will you do with an English major?”… but rather “What kind of life do you find meaningful or valuable and what […]

“Let Us Pray…?”

February 16, 2014

Bill Would Require Reading of Congressional Prayers in Alabama Schools read the headline a few days ago in The Anniston Star. As the story opened: MONTGOMERY — Teachers in Alabama classrooms would be required to read a Congressional prayer every day under a bill filed in the state Legislature. […]

Power/Knowledge in Real Time

February 11, 2014

Have you been following the controversy over Wendy Doniger’s recent book, The Hindus: An Alternative History, published by Penguin? It is now being reported that the publisher has agreed to withdraw and pulp the book, in the near future, due to a 2011 court case in India, arguing it was insulting to Hinduism. […]

What’s Good for the Goose…?

February 10, 2014

Have you seen this article, from Canada’s National Post…? It opens as follows: A London, Ont., university is defending its decision to restrict access to a course that teaches Muslims how to proselytize. The Huron College course — The Muslim Voice: Islamic Preaching, Public Speaking and Worship — was, according to the syllabus, “open to Muslim men and women who offer religious leadership and/or speak publicly about Islam on behalf of their communities.” While I have no doubt that there’s […]

Studying Religion in Culture

Ongoing Discussions at the University of Alabama

Author: Russell McCutcheon

Posts by Russell McCutcheon