Method Today
Redescribing Approaches to the Study of Religion
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 1. October 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
286 pages
978-1-78179-568-2 (ISBN)
Description
Thirty or forty years ago, the phrase "method and theory" in Religious Studies scholarship referred to more social scientific approaches to the study of religion, as opposed to the more traditional theological hermeneutics common to the field. Today, however, it seems that everyone claims to do "theory and method," including those people who shun social scientific approaches the academic study of religion.
Method Today brings together the contributions of scholars from a recent North American Association for the Study of Religion conference to explore the question of what it means to do "theory and method" in an era where the phrase has no distinct meaning. Contributors specifically address the categories of description, interpretation, comparison, and explanation in Religious Studies scholarship.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
442 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78179-568-2 (9781781795682)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Brad Stoddard is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He has degrees from the University of California at Berkeley, Yale Divinity School, and Florida State University. His research explores religion and public policy, particularly as they relate to criminal justice policies in the era of faith-based initiatives.
Content
Introduction: Method Today Brad Stoddard Part I 1. Comparison Aaron W. Hughes, University of Rochester 2. He who Knows One Language, Knows None: On the Inevitabilities of Comparison and Translation Lucas Carmichael, University of Colorado 3. Comparison and the Production of Knowledge A Response to Aaron Hughes' "Comparison" Thomas J. Carrico, Jr., Florida State University 4. On Z-factors and Empires: Reflections on Aaron Hughes's Essay on Comparison Andrew Durdin, University of Chicago 5. Complicating `Comparison': On Perspective, Rhetoric, and Recognition in the Study of Religion Stacie Swain, University of Ottawa 6. Response Aaron W. Hughes Part II 7. Toward a Pushier Critical Analysis of "Religion" and Attendant Categories Naomi Goldenberg, University of Ottawa 8. Preaching to the Choir? Religious Studies and Religionization Ian Alexander Cutherberton, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada 9. Religion and Description Daniel O. McClellan, University of Exeter 10. Title Emily D. Crews, University of Chicago 11. In Pursuit of a Pushier Study of Those Words we Like to Put in Quotes Neil George, York University, Canada 12. Response to the Responses to "Toward a Pushier Critical Analysis of `Religion' and Attendant Categories" Naomi Goldenberg Part III 13. Explanation and the Study of Religion Egil Asprem and Ann Taves, University of California, Santa Barbara 14. "Constitution God-Gives Rights": Explaining Religion and Politics in the Malheur Occupation Spencer Dew, Centenary College 15. Ontological v. Axiological Approaches to Religion Joel Harrison, Northwestern University 16. Count Me In Paul Kenny, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 17. Causal Explanations in the Study of Religion Erin Roberts, University of South Carolina 18. To Our Critics Egil Asprem and Ann Taves Part IV 19. Interpretation and the Study of Religion Kevin Schilbrack, Appalachian State University 20. Homo Interpretans Jennifer Eyls, Tufts University 21. Combining and Constituting Mark Q. Gardiner and Steven Engler, Mount Royal University, Canada 22. Subjectivity and Meaning Joshua Lupo, Florida State University 23. A Reply to my Critics Kevin Schilbrack Afterword: Method: NAASR and Beyond? Gregory D. Alles, McDaniel College