It is perhaps just as well that travels prevented me from blogging about this episode of Doctor Who right away after it aired. There is a big reveal that reframes the narrative and mentioning it when some might not have yet had the chance to see it would be cruelly spoilerific. As it happened, I was en route to Australia, a country experiencing out of control bush fires and intense smoke, when I watched it, and that made the episode’s... Read more
A revised and extended call for papers from the Journal of Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies appears below. Please consider submitting something, but please also help spread the word by circulating this announcement! The call for papers on the Bible and Science Fiction is re-opened with a broader call, now the Bible and Speculative Fiction. We are looking for articles dealing with the interactions of biblical and related non-biblical texts with literary, television, film and other cultural artefacts (video games; cartoons; graphic... Read more
On the episode of the ReligionProf Podcast that was released today, I talk with Roger Sneed about his current project literally digging into archives of notes, clippings, drafts, and other materials belonging to Octavia Butler. From there we explore comparisons between Butler’s vision and that of Star Trek, sci-fi as prophecy, and much else. Since it is so directly related, I want to share here this call for papers from the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts: We... Read more
I don’t know how I missed coming across this term until now, but I’m so incredibly happy to have added it to my vocabulary. Sarahbeth Caplin referred to “narcegesis” in the context of her comments on Anne Graham Lotz’s remarks about Donald Trump’s removal of troops from Syria perhaps being connected to the “End Times.” She wrote: Nothing in the Bible was written with 21st century America in mind. It was written for a specific set of people in very... Read more
OK, let me begin by confessing that the pun that I originally had in mind to make in the title of this post was terrible. I toyed with the idea of calling it “Mythisnadicism.” There are probably only a very small number of people who would have guessed that I was planning to bring together the subject of mythicism, and the way mythicists contrast the Gospels to other Greco-Roman historical texts, and the isnads of the Islamic hadith tradition. Now... Read more
Butler University invites undergraduate scholars to share innovative research, scholarship, and creative endeavor with hundreds of their peers at the 32nd Annual Undergraduate Research Conference April 17, 2020 at Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana Our submission and registration systems are now open— We are now accepting submissions through February 14, 5:00 PM (EST). All guests planning to attend the URC should register no later than March 27. Visit www.butler.edu/urc for more information Conference Director: Dr. Dacia Charlesworth Conference Coordinator: Melissa Friedman... Read more
A call for papers about Star Trek: Special Issue of Interdisciplinary Literary Studies: A Journal of Criticism and Theory (www.psupress.org/Journals/jnls_ILS.html). We invite essays that investigate the concept of hybridity within the Star Trek universe. Accepted essays will be published in a Special Issue of the peer-reviewed journal Interdisciplinary Literary Studies (Penn State University Press). Please submit essays of no longer than 7,500 words to http://www.editorialmanager.com/interlitstudies/. Select “Special Issue Article” before uploading your manuscript. Deadline for receipt of essays is May 18, 2020 Possible topics include hybridity and:... Read more
https://vimeo.com/234933162 In this Apostle Paul APB, Rob Orlando asks what Paul was on trial for, and how the message of Paul differed from that of James and Peter, who were tellingly not hauled before the same Jewish authorities for comparable accusations to Paul. This connects in interesting ways with another topic that has been in the news lately, namely the use of Romans 13, in particular by conservative Evangelicals, to insist that one should not criticize the government. It is... Read more
On the Shoulders of Giants TitanCon 2020 Belfast, Ireland August 28-30, 2020 Call for Papers In the spirit of deepening and broadening its roots, Titancon 2020 is adding a formal academic track to its programming. The convention began as a collaboration between the Brotherhood Without Banners, who wanted to put on a fan convention for Game of Thrones, the Belfast SF/F society The Other Ones, who wanted to put on an SF/F convention, and Arkham Gaming Centre, who wanted to... Read more
I recently rewatched Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. There is a running joke throughout the movie that actually is fundamental to its point. Spock quotes ‘an old Vulcan proverb,’ “Only Nixon could go to China.” There is discussion of Shakespeare in the original Klingon. And Chekov makes reference to the Russian epic of Cinderella. But in fact, what initially struck me as mere attempts at humor are in fact central to its message (and woven into the soundtrack in ways I hadn’t perceived... Read more
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