Often in the study of religion you’ll hear people saying things like “I don’t do theory” (yes, there’s often an emphasis on the verb, akin to saying “I don’t do [insert something with which you disagree or dislike]) or maybe you’ll come across a conversation on when to introduce theory to undergraduate students — right […]
continue readingA Moving Target
Long ago, at the start of a Fall semester, I was speaking with someone newer to our Department about whether it was likely that we would have a tenure-track search that year; we had recently had a faculty member depart for another university, leaving our then small Department with no one covering Asia. We hoped […]
continue readingCourse Prep and Summer Projects
It was indeed an odd summer, for everyone. That we all know. What you might not know is that the REL faculty, despite being home since mid-March — minimizing trips out of the house, shopping carefully, and, in some cases, spending lots of their time either homeschooling children or packing up and moving houses (whether […]
continue readingGetting the Party Started on Syllabus Day
The first day of class can be a bit nerve-racking, even for profs. One might think that profs have it easy at the start of the semester, but we all know the importance of first impressions. And for myself, there can be a lot of anxiety around those initial activities. How much of the syllabus […]
continue readingThe Limits of the Field
Only recently did it come to my attention that one of the journals in our field now seems to understand itself in a curiously narrow way.
continue readingThe “Tyranny of Theory” is to Blame
The other day I came across this video, from a publisher advertising a recent textbook on world religions.
continue reading“An Intense Experience”
Readers in the US may have already seen the commercials for Reza Aslan‘s upcoming series, Believer. It starts Sunday March 5 on CNN at 10 pm (eastern time).
continue readingWhat It Gives With One Hand….
I found this over at the Huffington Post this morning — an announcement for a new HarvardX (part of edX) course on religious literacy. The course is described as follows:
continue readingA Response to “Responsible Research Practices,” Part 4: Research on Human Subjects
This is an installment in an ongoing series on the American Academy of Religion’s recently released draft statement on research responsibilities. An index of the complete series (updated as each article is posted) can be found here. The previous post ended by citing the fourth of Bruce Lincoln’s “Theses on Method” — specifically, his call […]
continue readingWorking, Not Wonking
There’s an interesting moment near the end of a new online interview with the Duke University’s David Morgan, Chair of his Department, when he reveals far more than he might imagine.
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