How “Woke” Is Your Textbook?: Introducing Religious Studies in the 2020s

FromThe Religious Studies Project

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How “Woke” Is Your Textbook?: Introducing Religious Studies in the 2020s

FromThe Religious Studies Project

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Length:

37 minutes

Released:

Apr 4, 2022

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

RSP co-founder Chris Cotter and Paul Hedges discuss the construction of introductory textbooks in the contemporary world, including issues of positionality, criticality, and decolonization.

Released:

Apr 4, 2022

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Podcasts and Resources on the Contemporary Social-Scientific Study of Religion

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21st Century Irish Paganism: in this interview, we discuss Jenny Butler's work on Paganism in Ireland, the impact of that particular context upon the Paganism/s she has researched - particularly in terms of language, mythology, and the natural landscape - and also some of the issu... by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Religion and Planetary Ethics: Speaking of religions as “eco-social constructions across multiple species, over multiple generations, and over multiple histories,” in this interview Whitney Bauman puts forward an ethics of understanding ourselves and others as planetary creatures, by The Religious Studies Project
39 min listen
‘Religious’ and ‘Spiritual’ Struggles: Now in ‘Nonreligious’ and ‘Nonspiritual’ flavors!: In this interview, Dr. Julie Exline discusses what led to her interest in Struggles and some of the background behind the development of the Religious and Spiritual Struggle Scale. She goes on to talk about why the scale includes struggles relevant to ... by The Religious Studies Project
39 min listen
Religious Demography in the US: In this week's podcast we focus on religious demography and identification, survey tools used for religious demography in America, differences between religious identities and identifications, Americans’ shifting religious identifications, by The Religious Studies Project
42 min listen
Christian Reconstruction: Rousas John Rushdoony might be one of the most important Christian theologians you've never heard of. In this interview, Professor Michael McVicar discusses Rushdoony and Christian Reconstruction. McVicar gained unprecedented access to Rushdoony's pers... by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Christmas Special 2015 – Fourteen to One!: Fourteen contestants. One tetchy quizmaster. Three microphones. Numerous cases of wine. One glamorous assistant. Many bruised egos. A boisterous studio audience. A splash of irreverence. Dozens of questions. Four years of podcasts! by The Religious Studies Project
49 min listen
The Invention of the Secular Academy: The Religious Studies Project, as an academic endeavour studying religion, is of course devoutly secular. In fact, we tend to take the connection between secularity and the academy completely for granted. But was this always the case? If not, by The Religious Studies Project
37 min listen
Popular Culture Studies and Bruce Springsteen: Escaping and Embracing Religion: "There's always the risk in popular culture studies - first of all, it's so fluid, you know, things change so fast - that the minute you've said something, it's obsolete. And there's always the risk that the material can't bear the weight of analysis, by The Religious Studies Project
38 min listen
Video Games and Religious Studies: The project of legitimating new cultural commodities into the canon of interpretative objects can be lengthy process. In this interview with University of North Carolina at Greensboro Associate Professor Greg Grieve, by The Religious Studies Project
36 min listen
Lived Religion: Part 2: In Part 2 of this week's interview, Meredith McGuire continues to speak to Martin about the multiple issues of power, normativity and embodiment of religious life that can be observed through her concept of Lived Religion. by The Religious Studies Project
31 min listen
Indian Rationalism, and a Relational Approach to Nonreligion: It is unfortunate fact that in popular ‘Western’ imagination, the land of India is frequently orientalised, and naively conceptualized as ‘the quintessential land of religion, spirituality, and miracles.’ Although we would certainly not want to complet... by The Religious Studies Project
36 min listen
The Supernatural and the New Comparativism: Jeffrey Kripal argues that we need to make room for the paranormal in the study of religion, and that consciousness should be at the forefront of our study. by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Religion, Spirituality, and Addiction Recovery: What is the relationship between 'religion', 'spirituality', 'addiction' and 'addiction recovery'? What are we meaning by 'addiction'? Is it socially constructed? Why are we even talking about a relationship between these concepts? by The Religious Studies Project
30 min listen
DEATH, Religion, and Terror Management Theory: Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Jong draws on experimental research utilizing terror management theory to discuss the role of religious and other worldviews in assuaging the fear of the inevitable—DEATH. One year before his own death in 1790, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Religion, gender and corporeality: How can religious studies be informed by theories around gender and corporeality? How is gender expressed in today's women's spirituality and in religions that consider femininity to be a way to access power around sexuality and procreation? by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Encounters Between Buddhism and the West: In this story is a continuation of "dissident orientalism", a conflict inherent within the colonial project wherein communities and personal trajectories become embedded within local religious contexts. A distinction made, both in Ireland and Burma, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Is Religion Special? A Critical Look at Religion, Wellbeing and Prosociality: Is religion good for your health and wellbeing? Does religion promote prosociality? While positive stereotypes prevail in these domains, studies also typically answer these questions in the affirmative and as such, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
See you in the next life? Cognitive foundations of reincarnation beliefs: Human reincarnation: Same person, different body, another life. While conceptual scaffolding surrounding the idea of reincarnation can vary widely from culture to culture, in this podcast Claire White draws on some of her recent research pointing out t... by The Religious Studies Project
28 min listen
Of Demons, Saints and Heaven: Andean religious beliefs in Peru: In his interview with Sidney Castillo, Dr. Luis Millones discusses some of the traditions that have formed the basis for his research, particularly in the northern coast, northern highlands and south highlands of Peru. He mentions that, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Gender, queer theory and religion: In this interview, Dr. Mary Jo Neitz continues the conversation about religion and gender by focusing on theories from LGBT studies and queer studies. Using her work as an ethnographer, as well as the work of American philosopher Judith Butler, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Minority Religions and the Law: Surely we have moved past the idea of sinister cults brainwashing innocent victims? When it comes to the law, not so, Susan Palmer tells David G. Robertson.cult" and "sect" uncritically. Nevertheless, outside of academia, by The Religious Studies Project
37 min listen
Getting to Know the North American Association for the Study of Religion: In this interview, Russell McCutcheon and Aaron Hughes discuss the North American Association for the Study of Religion (NAASR), an international organization dedicated to historical, critical, and social scientific approaches to the study of religion.... by The Religious Studies Project
29 min listen
Discursive Approaches and the Crises of Religious Studies: What is a discursive approach to the study of religion? And how can it answer the crises of contemporary RS? Kocku von Stuckrad tells David Robertson in this week's RSP podcast. Discursive analysis of one kind or another is perhaps the most prominent m... by The Religious Studies Project
40 min listen
Yoga in Museums: Yoga, in its modern form, should be of great interest to scholars of religion. While it certainly has roots in Vedic culture, the vast majority of Western practitioners do not see it as "religious", but rather to do with health or "well-being". by The Religious Studies Project
34 min listen
Religious Studies as a Discipline: Aaron Hughes (University of Rochester) has been a vocal critic of some of the theories and methods used by religious studies scholars working on Islam. In this podcast, he discusses his critique of the discipline and practice of religious studies he ha... by The Religious Studies Project
34 min listen
Descriptions of Religion as Explanations of Religion: This week's podcast features Kathryn Lofton and John Modern on the entanglement of description and explanation, the importance of self-reflexivity, and answering the "so what?" question In this week's podcast, by The Religious Studies Project
36 min listen
Nature alive: Amazonian religion in Peru: In this podcast, Dr Jaime Regan Mainville, a leading researcher in the anthropology of religion and linguistics, discusses his ethnographic research among some of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon basin. by The Religious Studies Project
48 min listen
Christmas Special 2016 – The Unverifiable Truth-Claim!: "The Unverifiable Truth-claim", recorded at BASR 2016, hosted by David Robertson, and featuring Christopher Cotter, Katie Aston, Jonathan Tuckett, and Krittika Bhatta... Bhatta... Bhattacharjee! Plus a special appearance by RSP Managing Editor, by The Religious Studies Project
25 min listen
A Critical Introduction to the History, Beliefs, and Practices of Wiccans: In this interview Ethan Doyle White, author of the book Wicca: History, Belief, and Community in Modern Pagan Witchcraft, introduces his systematic overview of the contested history and multifaceted developments of Wicca. by The Religious Studies Project
44 min listen
Music, Marketing and Megachurches: Music is a big part of a new "mediapolois", part of a marketing matrix of people, places and industries. Today, music's meaning is more often part of a branded ecosystem, not limited to entertainment, but part of the experience of everyday life, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen

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Harm, AI, and Religion | Discourse! June 2023: RSP editor Andie Alexander, Craig Martin, and Paul-François Tremlett consider the concept of "harm" & religion in recent legislation, Scotland elections, and AI & Religion. by The Religious Studies Project
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Mediatizing “Evangelicalism”: Authenticity, Identity, and Power: In today's episode, Daniel Jones talks with Travis Warren Cooper about Cooper's recent book, _The Digital Evangelicals_, and they discuss how issues of authenticity, authority, and power are deeply intertwined with US "evangelicalism" and its mediatiza... by The Religious Studies Project
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What’s Sincerity Got to Do With American Secularism?: Join Matt Sheedy and Charles McCrary as they discuss a cultural history of "sincerely held religious beliefs." McCrary explores how SCOTUS has determined who and what gets to count as 'religious' and traces the historical development of American secula... by The Religious Studies Project
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53 min listen
Supreme Court to Coulter: Negotiating Religion in the Public Sphere | Discourse! April 2023: Join Matt Sheedy, Tyler Tully, and host Candace Mixon as they discuss the ramifications of the in-progress Supreme Court case Groff vs. Dejoy, the Catholic Church’s decision to rescind the Doctrine of Discovery, by The Religious Studies Project
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Keep Hope Alive: Preparing for White Christian Nationalism: Tune in this week with Raymond Radford and Bradley Onishi as they discuss white Christian nationalism, evangelicalism, the Jan. 6 insurrection, and much more! by The Religious Studies Project
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Religion under Attack? | Discourse! March 2023: Join host Suzanne Newcombe, Carmen Becker, and Michael Munnik for this month's episode of Discourse! They discuss discrimination in a few European cases, including the SNP, protests at an abortion clinic, and more! by The Religious Studies Project
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The Church of Saint Thomas Paine: Religion without God: Tune in for today's #RSPmonday featuring Leigh Eric Schmidt and Dan Gorman discussing religion without God and the use of Thomas Paine as a symbol of atheism. by The Religious Studies Project
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Religious Literacy and Its Discontents | Discourse! February 2023: Join Benjamin P. Marcus, Paulina Gruffman, and Charles McCrary for this month's #RSPdiscourse as they discuss a recent Pew survey on religious literacy and the so-called Asbury revival. Be sure to tune in! by The Religious Studies Project
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Navigating the Discursive Study of Religion: In today's episode, Teemu Taira and Andie Alexander discuss how social groups negotiate the category 'religion' and the relevance of the discursive methods in the study of religion. by The Religious Studies Project
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Critical Approaches to Studying Religion in Film: Ting Guo chats with Rebekka King and Tenzan Eaghall about their new edited volume, Representing Religion in Film (Bloomsbury 2022), and they explore the “ideological blindspot” of existing studies on religion and film, have a listen! by The Religious Studies Project
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Oversimplified Binaries | Discourse! January 2023: This month's Discourse! features our co-founder Chris Cotter, Lauren Horn Griffin, and Kristi Boone complicating and unpacking oversimplified binaries—be sure to tune in! by The Religious Studies Project
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How “Woke” Is Your Textbook?: Introducing Religious Studies in the 2020s

How “Woke” Is Your Textbook?: Introducing Religious Studies in the 2020s

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from The Religious Studies Project

Related podcast episodes