Garrett Clark considers the overlapping sensory experiences represented by Boko Haram’s flags, arguing that this synesthesia facilitates deep psychological violence.
Boko Haram and the Aesthetics of Violence
Going through the Emotions: Islamic Calligraphy in a Public School
In the example below, parents at an American public high school balk at the secular study of Islamic calligraphy because the writing’s legacy is sacred for Muslims. Emily Egolf helps us think through the dispute.
Star Wars as American Religion
If one’s working definition of “religion” is more capacious than “beliefs in supernatural powers,” if the purpose of the course is to view American history and culture through the lens of “religion” – as a category of analysis, rather than a found thing – then new possibilities emerge.
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,”… but probably reflecting a specific context.
I am not so much interested in what religions exist in Star Wars but why they may be there and why we read the “texts” the way we do. Although space is a vacuum, Star Wars was not constructed there. Instead it was constructed in a context that influenced Lucas and the rest of the moviemakers.
Forcing Religion into Star Wars: Another Episode of Scholarly Fiction
So if you’ve read this blog post to determine whether Star Wars is a religion, I’m sorry but this is not the blog post you’re looking for.
