American Academy of Religion

A Blueprint for the Public Study of Religion. In addition to its traditional goal of fostering excellence in the academic study of religion, the AAR’s recently revised mission statement includes a new goal of enhancing the public study of religion. But what is the public study of religion? How might we collectively (and inevitably imperfectly) define it? This AAR address will offer a blueprint. I suggest that such a public study of religion involves a renewed curiosity about, and disciplined and ethical reflection on, four things: 1) the nature of our scholarly contexts; 2) the nature of our scholarly publics; 3) the nature of power and privilege in the study of religion; 4) the nature of labor in the study of religion. I will use theory in the study of religion, philosophy of the public sphere, and poetry to draw the blueprint. As a way of gesturing to another kind of collective that moves beyond the “magisterial voice of the single leader,” our time together will involve AAR voices other than my own. I end with an exhortation to a newly energetic and different kind of curiosity as fundamental to our work as public scholars. In her poem, “Ars Poetica #100: I Believe,” Elizabeth Alexander ends with a query: “. . . and are we not of interest to each other?” José I. Cabezón , University of California, Santa Barbara, Presiding Panelists: Laurie Louise Patton, Middlebury College This session was recorded at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, California, on November 23.

Submissions by women to journals and books series, including JAAR, are lower by percentage than the percentage of women in the field of religious studies. This panel brings together women successful as editors and authors to discuss the reasons for this and offer advice and support to women in the field for their publishing agendas. Andrea Jain, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, Presiding Panelists: - Zayn Kassam, Pomona College - Elaine Maisner, University of North Carolina Press - Lisa Sideris, Indiana University - Catherine Wessinger, Loyola University, New Orleans This session was recorded at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, California, on November 23.

Laurie L. Patton is 2019 President of the American Academy of Religion, President of Middlebury College, and a scholar of South Asian history and culture. Her forthcoming book, "Who Owns Religion? Scholars and Their Publics in the Late Twentieth Century" (University of Chicago, December 2019), examines the cultural work of the study of religion through a discussion of extreme cases—the controversies of the late 80s and 90s—where the work of scholars was passionately refuted and refused by the publics they describe. The emergence of the multicultural politics of recognition during this decade created the possibility of “eruptive” public spaces, which were magnified by the emergence of the Internet, a development that changed the nature of readership for all involved in producing scholarship. Patton’s incisive analysis of the six cases leads to a series of reflections on the status of public scholarship today, and the self-critical work that scholars should pursue as they engage in their work. The book will be essential reading for religious studies scholars. Mara Willard, Boston College, Presiding Panelists: - Leela Prasad, Duke University - Erik Owens, Boston College - Mark Juergensmeyer, University of California, Santa Barbara Responding: - Laurie Louise Patton, Middlebury College This session was recorded at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, California, on November 23.

The Teaching and Learning Committee facilitates an engaging, hands on workshop, helping participants build assignments that are creative, more plagiarism resistant, and, importantly, that also assess course outcomes. In this recorded workshop, participants identify the key components of a successful assignment; explore strategies for designing creative scaffolded and staged assignments; describe the purpose and features of a capstone project; discover how to effectively consider outcomes in assignment strategies; and demonstrate ways to buffer against plagiarism. Panelist: Amy Hale, Atlanta, GA This session was recorded at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, California, on November 23.

The American Academy of Religion presents its annual Journalism Award to recognize outstanding contributions to religion reporting in the previous year. This session celebrates journalistic excellence as it relates to the public understanding of religion, drawing insights from previous awardees, members of the award jury, and partners from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting. Panelists will discuss partnerships and opportunities to advance the public understanding of religion amidst the changing media landscape and the different challenges faced by broadcast and print journalism. The discussion will engage the biggest religion news stories and religion topics of 2018. The 2019 recipients—Ian Johnson and Dawn Araujo-Hawkins—will be honored in absentia. Joshua McElwee, third place winner, is the Vatican correspondent for National Catholic Reporter who often travels as part of the papal press pool. His articles covered some of the hottest topics of 2018 including Bishops' prosecutions may point to new phase in church's sex abuse crisis, Irish sex abuse survivors say Francis should admit to Vatican's cover-up, and Wuerl resigns, ending influential tenure in wake of abuse report. Evan Berry, Arizona State University, Presiding Panelists: - Joshua McElwee, National Catholic Reporter - Liz Kineke, Broadcast Journalist - Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times - Shirley Abraham, Documentary Filmmaker - Jon Sawyer, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting - Asma Afsaruddin, Indiana University This session was recorded at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, California, on November 23.

This panel brings together five editors of religious studies journals to discuss the nuts and bolts of journal editing, with the aim of making the process more transparent. The panel will be of particular interest to graduate students and junior faculty who are new to the activities of scholarly publishing. Andrea Jain, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, and S. Brent Plate, Hamilton College, Presiding Panelists: - Elizabeth Ann Pritchard, Bowdoin College - Johan Strijdom, University of South Africa - Jimmy Yu, Florida State University - Marie W. Dallam, University of Oklahoma This session was recorded at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, California, on November 23.

AAR 2019 - Aurora, a New E-Learning Platform: An Information Session with Co-Creator, Maren Wood by American Academy of Religion

When humanities scholars talk about exploring and pursuing “alt-ac” and “post-ac” careers, two concerns often dominate the conversation: 1) Graduate studies in the humanities don’t prepare us for or aren’t relevant to non-academic career paths, and 2) We don’t know where to look for or how to apply for non-academic jobs. Whether you are a scholar thinking about non-academic careers or a faculty member interested in supporting students engaged in such searches, join our panel of career services experts to discuss the many careers that are open to — and even looking for! — people with advanced training in the humanities. Panelists will discuss existing resources and where to find them, as well as ways that departments, universities, and professional organizations like the AAR can better support scholars in non-academic careers. Amy Defibaugh, Temple University, Presiding Panelists: - Giulia Hoffman, University of California, San Diego - Maren Wood, Beyond the Professoriate This session was recorded at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, California, on November 25.

Not every PhD becomes a professor. Some never want to, but a growing number discover too late that there's little room in the academy for them or it's not a good fit for what they want their careers to be. They also might find that they are not prepared for a job hunt outside of the ivory tower. But religious studies scholars can shift into work outside the academy. Join Kelly J. Baker, co-editor of the 2018 book Succeeding Outside the Academy: Career Paths beyond the Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM (University Press of Kansas, 2018) for a discussion of the book, including the diverse career options for religious studies scholars. Panelists will also reflect on why scholars leave the academy, share their experiences on their own professional paths, and consider how we should be preparing grad students for diverse careers. Shreena Gandhi, Michigan State University, Presiding Panelists: - Kelly J. Baker, Women in Higher Education - Heidi Ippolito, University of Denver - Sarah "Moxy" Moczygemba, University of Florida - Hussein Rashid, Islamicate, LLC - Mary Beth Yount, Neumann University This session was recorded at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, California, on November 23.

Dr. Mary E. Hunt has authored guidelines entitled Be Brief, Be Witty, Be Seated for presenting a conference paper that are posted on the AAR website. Come hear Dr. Hunt review and update the guidelines in a digital age. Join in a brown bag discussion on best practices an engaging conference presentation that will showcase you and your work to best advantage. Panelists: - Elizabeth Ursic, Mesa Community College - Mary E. Hunt, Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual This session was recorded at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, California, on November 23.