Read Part 1 of Russell McCutcheon‘s recent blog post on his new book, co-authored with William Arnal. Part 2 of the blog post appears here.
What Lil’ Wayne’s New Song Says About “Amerika”
In her latest post on BET News, Monica Miller discusses the timeliness of the release of Lil’ Wayne’s “God Bless Amerika” with the ruling of the Zimmerman trial. Miller notes how “Amerika” addresses ideas of nationalism, religion, and race that were prevalent during and after the trial and acquittal of George Zimmerman. To learn more about what she has to say, read her post here.
The Hunger Games
Russell McCutcheon has posted a brief blog on another site commenting on a recent (and rather troubling) article that distinguishes English lot as the best major if ones goal is to make oneself a better human being — yes, you heard right.
Read his post here.
Commentary on BET News
Monica Miller‘s latest post on BET News reflects on how the ruling in the State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman trial potentially affects and perpetuates the public’s perceptions of delinquency, intelligence, etc., with regard to race and culture. Read her article, “After Trayvon: What’s Next?” here.
BET News Post
In her latest piece, Monica Miller discusses Dr. Carl L. Hart’s new book that addresses issues on drugs and society. Read her post “Commentary: The High Price of the War on Drugs” on BET.com here.
HuffPost Blog
Steven Ramey occasionally writes blog posts for HuffPost Religion. Read his latest blog “Constitutional Freedoms and Defining Religion” here.
Marginalia Review of Books
Monica Miller has recently joined Marginalia Review of Books as a contributing editor. Marginalia provides substantive reviews on academic literature concerning history and religion within various fields of study. Miller’s primary role will be helping to develop reviews, essays, and op-eds concerning the intersection of religion and popular music and also identity in the study of religion.
Bloomsbury Advances in Religious Studies
Craig Martin recently joined the series editors for the Bloomsbury Advances in Religious Studies monograph series. Its volumes all aim to clarify the role and place of Religious Studies in the academy, with theoretical aspects underscored through their application to the actual study of religions, often in the form of frontier research.
Supplements to MTSR
Russell McCutcheon is one of the three series editors for a newly founded monograph series with Brill of the Netherlands: Supplements to MTSR.
The series considers books for publication that explicitly address issues of theory (whether explanatory or critique) and methodology (the study, not simply the use, of method) in the academic study of religion. The first volume contracted in the series is a retrospective volume celebrating MTSR‘s 25th anniversary.
Race and Displacement
Merinda Simmons’s co-edited book, based on a 2009 conference held on the campus of the University of Alabama (of which she was an organizer) that was devoted to the roles of race in such things as displacement, forced migrations, nation and nationhood, and the way continuous movements of people challenge fixed racial definitions, is soon to be published by the University of Alabama Press.