Leading Works in Religion and Law

“The Experiment” presents scholars of religion with an opportunity to draw upon their training to reflect upon a contemporary issue. Editorial assistant Jacob Barrett engages with a recent edited volume from Routledge titled Leading Works in Law and Religion that, while focusing on the identity of the subfield of law and religion within the discipline of legal studies in the United Kingdom and Ireland, provides many sites for comparison with the religion and law subfield of religious studies in the United States context. Drawing upon the model set by the volume, Barrett imagines what a volume titled Leading Works in Religion and Law could look like and what the subfield of religion and law stands to gain from engaging in a project like the one done by its law and religion counterpart.

The Future of Museum Studies with Dr. Nicholaus Pumphrey

“The Profession” opens a window onto the myriad ways scholars have made use of their training in and beyond the academy. In this issue, editorial assistant Emma Welch speaks with Dr. Nicholaus Pumphrey—curator of the Quayle Bible Collection at Baker University—looking into the discourse on museums and archives and the questions it brings for the scholar of religion. What follows is an introduction to the Quayle Bible Collection and its artifacts, plus what the students and staff of Baker University have to say about the future of museum studies as it pertains to the study of religion.

“This Obscure Desire toward a Better Understanding”

Barth studied theology because of his confirmation instruction which introduced him to theological topics. He went to Bern, Berlin, Tübingen and Marburg, preferring liberal approaches over conservative ones. But in his autobiographical notes, he later overstated things when he stressed that at that time he preferred a very different theology than his father. Adolf von Harnack, Wilhelm Herrmann, and Martin Rade became his most important teachers. Kantian and Neo-Kantian philosophy interested him, and he enthusiastically read Schleiermacher’s speeches On Religion. In Bern Barth joined the Zofingia student fraternity (where he became known for his views on “the social questions”) and experienced his first great love. After finishing his studies he worked as editorial assistant for the journal Die Christliche Welt in Marburg, where his outspokenness soon became evident.

Guest Editors' Note

Introductory essay to special issue from Guest Editors Ann E. Green, Wiley Davi, and Editorial Assistant Olivia Giannetta.

Editors' Note

During the current global pandemic, a series of transitions have taken place at Social Analysis. Judith Bovensiepen from the University of Kent and Hans Steinmüller from the London School of Economics have joined Martin Holbraad, University College London. The three of us will edit the journal from this issue onward as a team, supported by our editorial assistant, Alonso Zamora Corona, and the staff at Berghahn.

Editorial

The world has changed. In early 2020, when COVID-19 spread around the globe, closing museums and universities and disrupting life as we know it, Museum Worlds: Advances in Research, like many academic and professional journals, was also affected. Of course, in a pandemic with so many lives lost, and many others exposed to illness, unemployment, and the disruption of the economy, travel, and trade, the tertiary and cultural sectors were bound to be adversely impacted as well. With the shutting of museums and galleries, university teaching going online—resulting in increased workloads for academics, the laying off or furloughing of staff, the delaying of the production of books and journals (with publishers unable to send books out), and the cancellation and/or delay of conferences and research projects—it was natural that we would also struggle to get together an issue for 2020. It was indeed a challenge compiling Museum Worlds 8 as the virus raged, but thanks to our hard-working team of editors, our generous and patient contributors, our tireless readers and peer reviewers, and the expert advice of Janine Latham and her colleagues at Berghahn, we got there. I want to thank everyone involved in this issue for their help in seeing it into print, and especially Dr. Susette Goldsmith, my editorial assistant, for being there in the final stages.

Crisis and Risk Communication Scholarship of the Future: Reflections on Research Gaps

Risk and crisis communication is a vibrant and growing area of research and practice. As we head into the third year of publishing the first journal dedicated to crisis and risk communication, the editor and editorial assistant pose some especially promising areas for future research. In this essay, we also introduce the articles published in this journal, including how they meet promising research gaps to fill.