I published a piece in The Atlantic arguing that reductive political critiques of pop culture imitate the simplistic approach of the evangelical right.
Agamben’s Pinocchio now available
My translation of Agamben’s Pinocchio: The Story of a Puppet, Doubly Commented Upon and Triply Illustrated is now available for purchase. It marks my tenth published book-length translation, and wow, it’s a weird one!
Conference paper on Paul and the Qur’an
I posted the text of my most recent conference presentation, comparing the treatment of the figure of the Jew in Paul and the Qur’an.
Two new translations of my work into Farsi
I just learned that Žižek and Theology and Neoliberalism’s Demons have been translated into Farsi. The publication of the introduction to What is Theology? in an Iranian academic journal is also planned.
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
During the spring semester, I have two speaking engagements planned. The first is a paper entitled “What is Star Trek About? Federation, Fan-Service, or Freedom,” which will be part of a seminar on franchise storytelling at the American Comparative Literature Association meeting in March. The seminar is made up of the contributors to the University of Minnesota Press series “Mass Markets,” edited by Gerry Canavan and Benjamin Robertson, and my paper will preview some of the key claims of my planned book on Star Trek.
The second is an invited lecture at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls, as part of their Imtiaz Moosa Philosophy and Ethics speaker series. My talk, entitled “Democracy Between Populism and Neoliberalism,” will be on Monday, April 17. Details are available here; a description follows below the fold. Continue reading “Upcoming Speaking Engagements”
Spring 2023 Syllabi
I have updated my Teaching History and Sample Syllabi page to reflect the three courses I will be teaching this coming semester:
- Ethics (syllabus): This will be my second time offering this course in the philosophy department, and this time around I have tried to make the reading load more manageable without sacrificing rigor. It will be a larger class than I typically teach, but I believe I’ve come up with good ways to hold them accountable for close reading of primary texts nonetheless.
- Reading the Qur’an (syllabus): This will be my first time offering the course since I began my Arabic study of the Qur’an in earnest, and I’m excited to work with a very diverse and motivated group of students.
- Music, Verse, and Drama (syllabus): This has become a staple offering for me in the Shimer program. I especially enjoy the challenge of trying to find a common language to discuss music between students with no background and those with a lot of musical training.
New roundtable contribution published
Religious Studies Review has published a roundtable on Robert Yelle’s Sovereignty and the Sacred, to which I contributed a reflection on Yelle’s engagement with Agamben in the book and how it might have been taken further. You can read the submitted version, complete with embarrassing typos and stylistic infelicities, here.
Translation of Agamben’s Pinocchio coming soon!
I completed the proof corrections this afternoon for my translation of Agamben’s Pinocchio: The Story of a Puppet, Doubly Commented Upon and Triply Illustrated, which is set to be released in April and is already available for preorder.
Book Review Published
The journal Humanimalia has published my review of Carlo Salzani’s excellent book Agamben and the Animal in its latest issue.
Routledge Handbook of Star Trek is out!
The massive and incredibly comprehensive Routledge Handbook of Star Trek is out. Edited by Leimar Garcia-Siino, Sabrina Mittermeier, and Stefan Rabitsch, it also includes a chapter by me on the ethical dilemmas explored by Star Trek. See the image below for more information and a handy discount code!
