Monthly Archives: November 2019

(Lachrymose Diaspora) Coins Jewels & Things Lost & Found (Colmar Treasure)

Posted on November 25, 2019 by zjb

With all due respect, the paltriness of the so-called Colmar Treasure, now on view at the Cloisters, is a lachrymose little testament. On loan from the Musée de Cluny in Paris, the “treasure” refers to the remains of valuables (coins, … Continue reading →

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Is There a Jewish Problem in Religious Studies & at the AAR?

Posted on November 21, 2019 by zjb

The place of Judaism and Jews, in their tiny little corner in the study of Religion and at the AAR has been a running question as old as the AAR itself about which a little history could be written, and … Continue reading →

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(Temple Society of Concord) The Essence of Judaism is Architecture (Syracuse)

Posted on November 7, 2019 by zjb

Undergraduates at Syracuse, and elsewhere I supposed, gravitate to Abraham Geiger and Reform Judaism when we pull up to the modern period in my introduction to Judaism. They like the individualistic voluntarism that they associate with liberalism and which they … Continue reading →

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A word that moves me: Affect

Posted on November 6, 2019 by zjb

Originally posted on affecognitive:
Our faculty colloquium this fall asked colleagues to select one word that motivates our work in religion (teaching, scholarship, or both). My word, unsurprisingly, was affect. These are my remarks: In turning to the noun, affect,…

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Affective Partisanship & Ideological Partisanship (Theories of Religion Redux)

Posted on November 6, 2019 by zjb

[h/t Joshua Garoon] This op-ed by Thomas Edsall here at the NYT about the relationship between group partisanship and ideology reminds me of arguments in theories of religion going back to Marx-Durkheim and Weber that touch upon contemporary affect studies. … Continue reading →

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