All Quiet on The Small Internet

Posted on by Richard Newton
"Quiet Please" is written on Brick

And somewhere in-between I had the realization that, contrary to popular belief, the internet isn't just about generating original content that demonstrates influence or raises one's clout. The web need not be worldwide; and our time in it, world dominating. I'm here for the small internet, where a niche of people find what they're looking for--whether they were looking for it or not. And for me this has involved what Kelly J. Baker has called "the cold take," and C. Travis Webb describes as "intellectual intimacy."

Real Talk: CFPs and Stepping up the AAR and SBL Pre-Game

Posted on by Richard Newton

As I've written before, so much of academic life is trying to figure out how people fit into the boxes we use to make sense of our worlds. Knowing some of the politics and frustrations that entails, I've tried to use this website to open that process up a bit. And I appreciated sharing about that in some different venues.

REL 101 (WCH): Signifying Religion: An African American Worldview

Posted on by Richard Newton

What if the study of religion started with the African American experience? Instead of privileging a specific tradition, this course examines the history of a people who came to a new world compelled to quickly learn the significance of "religion" itself. We will follow along by plumbing the depths of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, listening to … Continue reading REL 101 (WCH): Signifying Religion: An African American Worldview

#EtownEngage: #FergusonSyllabus Teach-In

Posted on by Richard Newton

LancasterOnline’s Tim Stuhldreher spoke to my colleagues and I about what the #FergusonSyllabus looks like at Elizabethtown College. Check out his article, “College events look at Post-Ferguson, Race, Justice Questions.”

Teaching Religion 101 –The Old School and the New School

Posted on by Richard Newton

On August 29, 2014, members of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion shared tweets on what they had been taught as students and what they are teaching now as professors. Thanks to everybody who was a part of it. And a special thanks to the Forum for Theological Exploration, Seminarium, and the … Continue reading Teaching Religion 101 –The Old School and the New School