areas of expertise
American religious history; new religious movements; science and technology studies; media studies; Western intellectual history since the seventeenth century
Technology + new religions
“Media, Technology, and New Religious Movements” in Lewis, James R. and Inga Tollefsen (eds) Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements Volume II. Oxford University Press. (2016)
“Site Temporarily Unavailable: Revisiting the Role of Information in ‘Scientology v. the Internet.’ Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review 6(1): 101-119. (2015)
“Sleeping Prophet: The Life and Legacy of Edgar Cayce” in Hammer O, Rothstein M (eds.) Brill Handbook on the Theosophical Current. Brill.
Academia + the job market
“Religious Studies Beyond the Discipline: On Earning and Awarding a Humanities Ph.D.,” co-written with Andrew Ali Aghapour, Thomas J. Whitley, Vaia Touna, and Russell T. McCutcheon. Religious Studies Beyond the Discipline. Equinox. (forthcoming, 2023)
“Academic Job Market” discussion with Erica Bennett and Jacob Barrett. New Books Network. (2022) Listen: https://tinyurl.com/473v2epj
“On Working Beyond the Academy” discussion with Gregory Soden. New Books Network. (2022) Listen: https://tinyurl.com/vs54uucy
CONFERENCES + AWARDS
My research has benefited from presentation at national and international venues, including the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion (2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, and 2010), and the International Society for Media, Religion, Culture (2014, 2012).
My work has been generously supported by the Sacred Writes Public Scholarship Program at Northeastern University; the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture; the UNC Chapel Hill Future Faculty Fellowship Program; the Garner Fellowship; and CU-Boulder’s “The Best Should Teach” Silver Award for Graduate Teaching.
Teaching
technology, the self, and ethical problems
religion | technology | politics | materialism
Religion, magic, and science
natural vs artificial | human vs nonhuman | living vs dead | animate vs inanimate