“Religion” in Theory and Practice
Demystifying the Field for Burgeoning Academics
by Russell T. McCutcheon
Paperback (Published)
(September 2018)
ISBN: 9781781796832
6.1 x 9.17 inches
Price: $32.95
In stock
Hardback (Published)
(September 2018)
ISBN: 9781781796825
6.1 x 9.17 inches
Price: $100.00
In stock
The first section outlines McCutcheon’s broader and more recent thoughts on the current state of the field (such as the claims, by some, that the field is now “post-theory”) while the second section applies the first at a variety of discrete sites within the profession. These include how we approach teaching the introductory course, the work carried out in professional associations and conferences, the ongoing problem of contingent labor and what faculty might be able to do about it, the challenge of talking about what a theoretically-engaged scholar of religion actually does, and the varied audiences and readers who we can now try to reach with our work. Drawing on previously published, but revised, material for four of the ten chapters, the volume invites readers to step back from their own individual, specialized work so as to consider some of the wider structures in which the wider field exists and where all of our work is carried out.
“Religion” in Theory and Practice follows on from McCutcheon’s 2014 Equinox book Entanglements: Marking Place in the Field of Religion by offering both an overview of the current state of theory in the academic study of religion as well as examining a variety of practical sites where critical scholarship is implemented but also challenged. Although addressed to early career scholars–taking one reviewer of Entanglements seriously by adding to the meager genre of books directed toward these important readers–the volume should also be of interest to anyone curious about why many in the study of religion continue to assume that their object of study needs special attention. The first section outlines McCutcheon’s broader and more recent thoughts on the current state of the field (such as the claims, by some, that the field is now “post-theory”) while the second section applies the first at a variety of discrete sites within the profession. These include how we approach teaching the introductory course, the work carried out in professional associations and conferences, the ongoing problem of contingent labor and what faculty might be able to do about it, the challenge of talking about what a theoretically-engaged scholar of religion actually does, and the varied audiences and readers who we can now try to reach with our work. Drawing on previously published, but revised, material for four of the ten chapters, the volume invites readers to step back from their own individual, specialized work so as to consider some of the wider structures in which the wider field exists and where all of our work is carried out.
In Theory 1. Feast and Famine in the Study of Religion 2. Utility and Limits: On the World Religions Paradigm 3. The Sociology of Religion or Social Theory of Religion? 4. Redescribing Spirituality: The Strategic Use of the Solitary Identifier In Practice 5. Making Experts Curious About Their Expertise in the Introductory Course 6. A Baker's Dozen of Tough Choices 7. There Are Advantages to Knowing Your Limits: On Making a Difference for Non-Tenure Track Colleagues 8. Perhaps (Not) Love 9. So You're Not a Priest? Identifying the Scholar of Religion 10. Why I Blog In Praxis: Responses to "Theses on Professionalization", In Theory 1. Feast and Famine in the Study of Religion 2. Utility and Limits: On the World Religions Paradigm 3. The Sociology of Religion or Social Theory of Religion? 4. Redescribing Spirituality: The Strategic Use of the Solitary Identifier In Practice 5. Making Experts Curious About Their Expertise in the Introductory Course 6. A Baker's Dozen of Tough Choices 7. There Are Advantages to Knowing Your Limits: On Making a Difference for Non-Tenure Track Colleagues 8. Perhaps (Not) Love 9. So You're Not a Priest? Identifying the Scholar of Religion 10. Why I Blog In Praxis: Responses to "Theses on Professionalization"
- By (author) Russell T. McCutcheon
"As the humanities job market becomes increasingly precarious, books like these are indispensable guides for pragmatic strategies in the changing workplace." --Loch, Adam, Reading Religion, May, 2020
—
"As the humanities job market becomes increasingly precarious, books like these are indispensable guides for pragmatic strategies in the changing workplace." --Loch, Adam, Reading Religion, May, 2020
—
Other Titles in this Series
Similar Books
A Companion to Christianity and Sport in Europe and North America (19th-21st centuries)
Volume 1: Western and Eastern Europe
A Connecting Polemic in the Medieval Mediterranean
The Correspondence of Leo III and ʿUmar II
Volume 6
Ars Prophetica
Theology in the Poetry of Twentieth-Century Hebrew Poets Avraham Halfi, Shin Shalom, Amir Gilboa, and T. Carmi
As Messianism Turns to Heresy
The Regenstein Chair Lectures On Lurianic Kabbalah and Shabbatai Tzevi at Hebrew Union College - Cincinnati
Beyond Sovereign Courts
Agents and Practices in Early Modern Spanish and Habsburg Diplomacy
Volume 3
Creating the Woman in Antiquity
Proceedings of the 16th Melammu Workshop, Innsbruck, 2–3 June 2022
Volume 13
Cultic Kisses
Fruitful Encounters Between Deities and Humans. Festschrift for Angelika Berlejung on the Occasion of Her 65th Birthday
De/colonizing Theologies
Glocal Histories, Contemporary Challenges, Theoretical Reflections
Volume 4
Drunk the Potion, No Whit Charmed
The Doctrine of Pure and Perfect Souls from Iamblichus to Damascius
