Category Archives: conferences

We Are All Joss Whedon Now: Scholarship & Pop Culture #whedony

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I thought I would play along with a couple of bloggers’ meme today with a “We Are All [fill in the blank]” today. It does seem appropriate given the popularity and success of Joss Whedon‘s Cabin In The Woods as well as Marvel’s The Avengers (or known by those across the pond as Avengers Assemble!).

I have been meaning to do a post on why scholars should engage pop culture, and yesterday, friend and commenter Seth on The Twitter sent me an interesting article, Pop Culture Studies: Why Do Academics Study Buffy The Vampire Slayer More than The Wire, The Matrix, Alien, and the Simpsons? [linked here].

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer by a mile. More than twice as many papers, essays, and books have been devoted to the vampire drama than any of our other choices—so many that we stopped counting when we hit 200. Buffy even has its own journal: Slayage, a publication of the Whedon Studies Association (named for the show’s creator, Joss Whedon), which features titles like “Real Vampires Don’t Wear Shorts: The Aesthetics of Fashion in Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Killing us Softly? A Feminist Search for the ‘Real’ Buffy.” “

 

English: The entertitle of Buffy made on Paint.

 

 

Well, they forgot to mention my forthcoming chapter on Buffy, Theology, and Critical Race Theory in the Joss Whedon And Religion work by McFarland that’s also forthcoming.

Whether it’s New Testament scholar James McGrath and his current works on Religion and Science fiction: a book I would recommend for starters, or Celucien Joseph’s and others new focus on Black theology and The Harlem Renaissance, I think it is very important for academics to work with popular culture. Now, there are many roads a scholar can take. It can be science fiction, comic books (I prefer both), others choose music, and even sports. The importance of connecting scholarly work with pop culture is to break down abstract theories we get from the Ivory Tower and make them concrete and relevant so that everyday people (meaning, not interested or not involved in the Academy) can know what’s going on and even put these ideas into practice.

Today, Amanda Mac asked What Would the Church Look Like If More Pastors Had PhDs?, and I think that if there were more PhDs in the pulpit, or even in Congress, engaging pop culture would be a way to be both relevant and practical.

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RodtRDH

Rod the Rogue Demon Hunter, Preacher of Hope | Black Scholar of Patristics | Writer for Nonviolent Politics. Destroyer of Trolls. It must be that angry puppy.

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Some Tips For Joining Professional Association for Religious Scholars

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There are some of you out there wondering probably, this religious studies stuff sounds cool. How does Rod get to present so many papers at conferences?

Well, there first time I presented a paper it was at the 2008 Joint Annual Meeting of the Wesleyan Theological Society and Society for Pentecostal Scholars. All because I wanted to meet Jurgen Moltmann, whose theology changed my life, oh, yeah, and it was on Duke’s campus, so I was hoping (and did so) to run into Stanley Hauerwas.  All of that happened because I saw a poster for the event, a call for papers, wrote and emailed a paper proposal, and it was accepted.

So, here are a couple of tips.

1. I would start by finding a scholarly professional yada yada organization that deals with religious studies. Pretty simple. There is: The American Academy of Religion, the Society of Biblical Literature, the Evangelical Theological Society, and American Schools of Oriental Research for archaeology. Check out their membership requirements, you will have to pay to be a member, student member, etc. etc.

2. Second, look for Calls for Papers online or at your school. Calls for papers inform you what kind of paper conferences are looking for, where the conference is being held. Why go to conferences? Why present? To network with other scholars, to be a public intellectual, to share your research work with others in your field. A good place to start is RELIGION CFP.

Some organizations will let you propose a panel, as 2 friends and I did for the regional AAR. Depends entirely on the CFP. I went as an Independent Scholar because I do not have an official relationship with an educational institution, either by employment or going to school there. At conferences, you represent what school you go to. Independent Scholars who present are rare, but they are there.

Paper presentations and/or panels can become book ideas, collections of essays, etc., so it’s important to do your best work. I myself over-prepare when I present, and I usually aim to write more than I need to, and then cut down the pages, saving the other work for a potential article. For the panel presentation on Harlem Renaissance and Black Religion(s), I had about 28 pages of work on 2 writers, and I decided to go with just one, but use my other work in the future. Over-preparing and over-reading helps me immensely with Question and Answer sessions. I have always done this.

In terms of practice, speaking comes naturally, and I practiced my presentation once, and it was during work, and I timed myself at what, 35 minutes, and that was with a ton of distractions. On Saturday, the presentation with me albeit talking a little fast, was at 28 minutes. My plans for me to go to the next level is to have a script ready for me, but still use the script less and less, and make my presentations more conversational with dialogue. How will that work in the Academy? I am still thinking that through.

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RodtRDH

Rod the Rogue Demon Hunter, Preacher of Hope | Black Scholar of Patristics | Writer for Nonviolent Politics. Destroyer of Trolls. It must be that angry puppy.

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In which I was part of a panel at a scholarly conference for the first time

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Langston Hughes was part of the Harlem Renaiss...

My Experience At the Southwest Commission for Religious Studies

Saturday, I entered arena of scholarship once more, the first time as an “Independent Scholar.” But don’t be deceived, my independence gave me the freedom to ask questions at every session I attended. My goal was to network as much as possible, and I achieved that goal, primarily in the morning.

In the afternoon, I felt I was in good company with the Womanist and Liberationist Ethics session of the AAR, and then a little later at the plenary session lead by Joerg Rieger.

Our panel, the Harlem Renaissance and Black Religion(s), was the first Panel I have been asked to be a part of. It was sort of a risk to go where I had never gone before, to actually do a scholarly presentation on black science fiction, postcolonial theology, Christianity, and race, but I pulled it off. My thesis adviser and Brite professor Keri Day was the moderator, while Phillip Luke Sinitiere also presented on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I also volunteered to read Lou Joseph’s paper on Langston Hughes’s play Emperor of Haiti so he could receive credit on his CV. I felt like this panel was the beginning of something different and special, and Lou’s work was very important. Thus, I felt compelled to volunteer to read (I myself in the past have had a reader for a paper).

The best thing about all of our research projects is the potential for engaging the Harlem Renaissance and Black Religion(s) from an intercultural perspective. With Lou’s look at the Haitian Revolution in light of the Catholic religion and Langston Hughes’ literature, Phillip’s engagement with Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s being influenced by the Negro church tradition, and my observations on the similarities and differences between Irishman C.S. Lewis and George Schuyler, the possibilities are real and endless. It’s part of my vision to be a Black Church scholar for a Multicultural world, and this project may fit the bill. At the panel itself, I spoke for a total of close to 80 minutes (both presentations were at 30 minutes, then the q & a); I just couldn’t stop talking. I was like the Bubba Blue of Black Sci Fi!

(NSFW)

I would definitely like to be part of a panel again, even if it’s not about the Harlem Renaissance or science fiction. I would highly recommend you give it a try if you are a student, since it means collaboration with other scholars and more engagement with the audience.

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RodtRDH

Rod the Rogue Demon Hunter, Preacher of Hope | Black Scholar of Patristics | Writer for Nonviolent Politics. Destroyer of Trolls. It must be that angry puppy.

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Important Notice: A New Site for Scholars of Religion and/or Philosophy

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For scholars and students:

I found a site that is collecting calls for papers at one location, in the areas of religion and/or philosophy. If you know of a conference that needs paper presenters, please submit to:

Religion and Philosophy Call for Papers

RodtRDH

Rod the Rogue Demon Hunter, Preacher of Hope | Black Scholar of Patristics | Writer for Nonviolent Politics. Destroyer of Trolls. It must be that angry puppy.

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Society of Race, Ethnicity and Religion: A New Scholarly Society

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On the wall of Theology and Critical Race Theory Facebook Group, Celucien Joseph posted a link to a new Scholarly Society, The Society of Race, Ethnicity and Religion.

Here is the description:

“Nuestro vino de plátano, y si es agrio, es nuestro vino.” – José Martí
(Let us make our wine out of plantains, and if it comes out sour, it is still our wine)

“Although a space has been carved out for scholars of color, the scholarship taking place within that space continues to be ignored; and because there are numerous sessions and groups during Academic conferences – so many of our sessions are forced to conflict with each other, seldom providing the opportunity for scholars of color to cross-pollinate. We must ask if we inadvertently constructed impressive exclusive cul-de-sacs from which to master our particular disciplines. Like a four-leaf clover, our separate cul-de-sacs operate side-by-side with few of us ever venturing into the adjoining communities. Solidarity may occur from time to time, but it usually happens with little intellectual engagement. If we rile against most Euroamericans for not engaging our scholarship, then in all honesty, we must also hold ourselves accountable, for few of us, in our numerous books and articles, actually quote or dialogue with other communities of color.
Many of us are content to remain within our own academic niche. Others, because of the numerous sessions at academic conferences, are unable to ever visit the neighboring cul-de-sac. More disturbing is when scholars of color are oblivious to how they and their communities are locked into structures that cause oppression to other communities of color. Where do we explore how our separate marginalized communities remain complicit with disenfranchising other groups, whether those groups are marginalized due to darker skin pigmentation, language, gender, sexual orientation, economic class or different religious traditions?
To this end, we (Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Anthony Pinn, Miguel A. De La Torre) propose creating The Society of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion (SRER). The purpose of this multi-discipline Society is to create a space where communities of color can gather to discuss among themselves so as to advance their scholarship though the power of synergism – a space where we can engage, learn, and be challenged from communities of color other than our own. Please note we are not the leaders of the Society, just coordinating the first meeting. At our first meeting we hope a leadership council is established representing a male and female representative from each community of color
WHEN: April 26-28, 2013 (tentatively)
WHERE: Chicago (tentatively)
WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU
1) Forward this email to scholars of color you believe would be interested
2) Become a member of SRER by sending a $100 membership check to:
Society of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion
c/o Miguel A. De La Torre
Iliff School of Theology
2201 University Blvd
Denver, CO 80210
Send the check my March 15, 2012 so that you can be listed as a Founding Member of the Society; and we can have a head count so that when we travel to Chicago in late March 2012, we know how many people are really interested and can make appropriate reservations for accommodations. Include with your check a) Your name, b) Institution, c) Email, d) Phone numbers, and e) if you plan to attend the first meeting
3) Get involved, we need people who have legal experience that can incorporate us; have CPA experience who can file our 501(c)3; have grant writing experience who can help find monies for getting the Society off the ground and provide scholarship for students to attend; and can help us set up a webpage/blog where members can discuss and help plan that first meeting.
4) When we have our first conference, space would be created to organize ourselves more efficiently. Meanwhile, our first task is to discover how many colleagues of color are truly interested (measured by membership) and then, actually meet.”

RodtRDH

Rod the Rogue Demon Hunter, Preacher of Hope | Black Scholar of Patristics | Writer for Nonviolent Politics. Destroyer of Trolls. It must be that angry puppy.

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