What is Esotericism? Cultural Studies Approaches and the Problems of Definition in Religious Studies

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bergunder
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Religious Studies

Ms. Marvel's America

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Gender Studies ◽  
Comic Book ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
General Reader ◽  
Immigration History ◽  
Cultural Frameworks ◽  
Community Pedagogy

This book is a scholarly examination of the comic book character of the new Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, from multiple disciplinary approaches, including religious studies, gender studies, cultural studies, communication, and pedagogy. The essays cover topics from fashion, immigration history, technoculture, and fandom and are intended for a broad range of general and academic readers, from comics fans to comics scholars. The book’s four main sections—“Precursors,” “Nation and Religion, Identity and Community,” “Pedagogy and Resistance,” and “Fangirls, Fanboys, and the Culture of Fandom”—apply specific theoretical and cultural frameworks to their examination of the character. The book closes with a one-page comic by comics scholar and artist Jose Alaniz, as well as an exclusive interview with author G. Willow Wilson by gender studies scholar Shabana Mir. The editors’ wide-ranging expertise, from comics and religious studies to literature, gender, and popular culture, inform and shape this volume suitable for both undergraduate and graduate classrooms, as well as the general reader.

“Food (Not) from a Truck”

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-106
Author(s):  
Benjamin E. Zeller
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Cultural Study ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Food Studies ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Nutritional Studies

Abstract This article charts the major concepts, theoretical and methodological models, and approaches used by teachers and scholars of religion and food, with a focus on how such concepts may be embedded within courses on religion and nature. The article first introduces central topics such as foodways, the food cycle, and some key concepts within the cultural study of religion, nature, and food. Second, it notes how the study of religion, nature, and food requires drawing from the tools of food studies, religious studies, diet/nutritional studies, and cultural studies, among others. Finally, the article offers some best practices in terms of how to teach the topic, focusing on active learning strategies. The article proposes that because everyone eats, the topic of religion, nature, and food is a unique way to engage students, helping them think critically about an otherwise unexamined but pervasive aspect of life.

What is Esotericism? Cultural Studies Approaches and the Problems of Definition in Religious Studies

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bergunder
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Research Subject ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Specific Research ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theoretical Considerations

AbstractThere is an ongoing debate whether esotericism could be a meaningful subject for Religious Studies. The recent history of the academic research into esotericism will be presented and critically discussed, how it has tried to define its subject and how this discussions have reached an impasse. It is proposed that certain theoretical perspectives from cultural studies offer alternative ways in determining a research subject, especially one based on Ernesto Laclau’s concept of “empty signifiers.” This argument will be followed by a methodological application that translates the theoretical considerations into a concrete and specific research design of discursive networks.

scholarly journals Department of Cultural Studies, Religious Studies and Theology, Chernivtsi National University: Where Are You Going

Idei ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 106-113
Author(s):  
Микола Шкрібляк
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
National University ◽  
Historical Retrospect

The author of the article presents the Department of Cultural Studies, Religious Studies and Theology of Chernivtsi National University in historical retrospect and perspective.

scholarly journals Ni kaczka, ni bóbr, czyli słów kilka o dziobaku w symbolice i wierzeniach Aborygenów

2020 ◽  
pp. 85-108
Author(s):  
Dawid R. Wesołowski
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Australian Aborigines ◽  
Monographic Study ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
Characteristic Features

Since ancient times, people have been fascinated by animals. They are such a close element of the biosphere, that it is not possible for them to go unnoticed. Treating animals as sacred beings is one of the primary elements of totemism – belief in kinship with the class of objects (in this case animals). It is clearly visible in the culture of Australian aborigines. The paper presents, through the scope of mystic relation aborigines-animals, the role of platypus in the culture of indigenous inhabitants of Australia. It is also an attempt to fill the gap in the humanist discourse about animals because to this day platypus haven’t had any monographic study in the field of religious studies, cultural studies or even animal studies. By analyzing the stories from the Dreamtime, the text shows the mythical genesis of this mammal, the origin of its characteristic features, and it functions in the life of a tribe, especially in the light of aquatic symbolism.

scholarly journals The Qumran Visualization Project: Prospects for Digital Humanities in Theological Libraries

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Digital Humanities ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Literature History

Digital Humanities are a hot topic in disciplines as varied as literature, history and cultural studies, but at present theology and religious studies departments seem to be lagging behind. This essay will offer a critical review of one Digital Humanities project that is relevant to theological libraries and Biblical Studies: the Qumran Visualization Project. The essay will discuss why theological libraries should start considering the Digital Humanities, and then offer some strategies for how libraries can support, promote or otherwise engage with this type of project.

scholarly journals Method and Theory in Religious Studies: Retrospect and Prognostications

2007 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morny Joy
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
First Century ◽  
Critical Awareness ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Insight Into

There is a distinct possibility that, in the twenty-first century, Religious Studies as a discipline could come into its own. Its multidisciplinary orientation, if handled with due critical awareness as to its own former grandiose ambitions and present entanglements, could provide insight into the various problems that beset contemporary existence. Religious Studies has been involved in a number of internal debates that have sapped its energies and prevented it from advancing theoretically in ways that would help it address these problems. In this article I survey some of the developments that have taken place in other disciplines that could be of benefit in helping Religious Studies take its place as a discipline that is relevant for the twenty-first century.Keywords: Religious studies, cultural studies, culture, postcolonialism, gender

The Sacred in the Mundane: A Confessional Reading of International relations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyudmila Ternovaya
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stable State ◽  
International Communication ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Human Relations ◽  
Religious Attitudes ◽  
Wide Range

In the monograph, certain areas of international communication are presented through the spectrum of the influence of various manifestations of religion on them: from religious features of the worldview to stable behaviors of participants in international relations, which are dictated by their religious attitudes. Many processes of international life under the influence of the confessional factor can acquire opposite characteristics, in particular, develop in the spirit of harmony, understanding and cooperation, or, conversely, demonstrate tension that develops into a large-scale conflict. In order to maintain a stable state of international relations, it is necessary to listen sensitively to the wisdom that was laid down in ancient sacred texts and preserved in many manifestations of human relations to nature, in culture and public institutions of charity and charity that help bring the sacred closer to the mundane. It is addressed to specialists in the field of history, geopolitics, cultural studies, religious studies. It may be of interest to a wide range of readers who are attracted by stories linking different spaces and times.

scholarly journals What is the contemporary political myth?

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-224
Author(s):  
Marcin Pisarski
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Independent Form ◽  
Political Myth ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Rational Arguments

Abstract The article attempts to forma a definition of contemporary political myth. This definition is formulated against the background of concepts that have been presented so far in sciences close to the topic of myth, such as religious studies, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, philosophy, and cultural studies. The contemporary political myth becomes an independent form which, not contradicting the definitions of myth in other scientific disciplines, is transferred, updated or created from scratch in order to liberate and direct the political energy inherent in society. The contemporary political myth becomes an unverifiable fiction which, through referring to images and symbols, often replaces a discussion or rational arguments. Despite its irrational nature, it has a distinguishable impact on the society and the political activities and behaviour undertaken within it.

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