And Now for Something Very Big: The American Academy of Religion
October 25, 2010, 9:12 am
Posted by Cathleen Kaveny
Much of the time, we at dotCommonweal focus on themes of interest to Catholics. But it’s big, big religious world out there.
This weekend, the American Academy of Religion is meeting in Atlanta–it’s the big conference of scholars in religious studies in the US, and increasingly in the world. Poke around the program. What do you think? Any sessions you’d like to go to?
It looks wonderful. I seached for “church of Christ”. Members of that group do not seem to be participating, but the search yielded some sessions like “Mormon Art and Literature” and “Religion and Humor in Popular Culture: The Sacred, the Satirical, and the Scatological”.
From that:
“Two separate papers will address the use of humor on the long-running animated comedy series ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘South Park,’ another will contrast the Monty Python satire of Christian origins ‘The Life of Brian’ with Mel Gibson’s brutally serious ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ and a fourth will explore the use of Catholic motifs and improvisational style in the stand-up routines of George Lopez.”
“Using South Park allows us to see how popular culture construes religion, and it allows us to see that Americans might be more comfortable consuming intolerance of new religious movements than tolerance. After all, if Stan dislikes Mormons and Scientologists, why can’t we?”
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Then I searched for “nuns” and found “Souls in Extremis: Sex, Death, and Moral Insanity”.
From that:
“’You Are All Mine, and I Am Entirely Thine’: Miracle Cures and the Consummation of Spiritual Marriage in the Georgetown Visitation Convent, 1824–1838″
“This paper will analyze the theological, cultural, and ritual ‘logic’ of a series of ‘miracle cures’ of nuns that took place in the Georgetown Visitation Convent between 1824 and 1838. It will explore the gender dynamics of the nuns’ spiritual marriage to Jesus, and elucidate the role of the body—and especially, of physical pain and healing—in their spirituality and relationship to Jesus. The paper will pay close attention to the tensions that arose from the cures as a means of shedding light on the assumptions about gender, class, and power (both human and divine) in nineteenth-century American and Catholic culture.”
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I’ll be going, and am already overwhelmed by the number of overlapping and potentially interesting sessions.
But above all, I’m cheesed that it’s over Halloween; I’ll miss my kid’s trick-or-treating. I wonder if the Wiccans are upset. They should be…
I’ll be going . . . . But above all, I’m cheesed that it’s over Halloween . . . .
David,
It was accidentally left out of the program notes, but absolutely no one will be admitted who is not wearing a Halloween costume. So remember to dress up. I understand the nun’s outfit Lady Gaga wears in the video for Allejandro is going to be a very popular costume, but I don’t recommend it for you. But please remember to dress up. And of course we will all be interested to hear what you go as and how the other participants react to your costume.
Helpfully,
The Other David
Dear The Other David: I anticipate that I will have to wear a suit and tie at some point, which is about a once-a-year costume for me. I will be unrecognizable, I assure you.