Gary Laderman But it is in this more ambiguous, liminal conceptual space, between medicine and recreation, body and spirit, religion and science, that altered states of consciousness and mind altering substances do their best work.
Tag Archives: American religion
Just Say Yes: In Drugs We Trust
Gary Laderman Anyone interested in the new frontiers of American religion should pay attention to how Americans love to say yes to their drugs.
David Wojnarowicz’s Christ: Symbols of Hope, Corruption, and Violence
The Devil’s in the Details: The Krampus Conundrum
Madison Tarleton Accusations of blood libels and ritual murders only heightened suspicions that Jews were demonically possessed and were most evidently non-Christian beings, perhaps even sub-human.
Suicide: The Last Taboo?
Gary Laderman I am still hesitant to pursue it in my class—perhaps because of the feeling that it is “taboo”; perhaps because a lingering sense that only “professionals” should be talking about it. It is highly, highly charged for so many of us. As one student put it, “trigger warnings were made for this topic.”
Disney’s Christopher Robin and the Idolatry of Work
Daniel Anderson Tragically, Christopher Robin’s life seemingly proves Adorno’s adage that a “wrong life cannot be lived rightly.”
The Ghost of Roy Orbison Goes on Tour
Peter Lehman He seemed to be defined by an absence, which then materialized as a dark, quiet persona who always kept his eyes covered in public, inviting people to project their thoughts, fears and melancholy onto him.
Watering the Roots of Mormonism: The Erie Canal’s Contribution to the Faith
S. Brent Plate Religious groups took various routes out of the area, often seeking ever greener pastures to the west. Many groups that began along the canal, like the Mormons, Spiritualists, and Adventists, spread to remote corners of the globe.
Humor is Not Just Entertainment: 7 Questions for David Feltmate
David Feltmate Popular culture scholarship is actually quite difficult, but people seem to think it is easy. It is not enough to just watch TV or listen to music, you really have to dig into the significance of the material and its social importance.
America’s 10 Commandments: 7 Questions for Jenna Weissman Joselit
Jenna Weissman Joselit No other country made, or continues to make, as much of them as America does.