Adam Kotsko

This weekend is the American Academy of Religion national conference in San Antonio. Unlike apparently the majority of my colleagues, I will be attending in person! I will be part of three sessions, only two of which are officially on the books. The two official sessions are as follows:

• “Capitalism, Dis-ease, and the Long Shadow of COVID-19” (Religion and Economy Unit), Monday, 12:30 PM-2:30 PM (Virtual) — a panel discussion on the impact of the pandemic on academic life.
• “Race and the Origins of Capitalism” (Theology and Continental Philosophy Unit), Monday, 5:00 PM-6:30 PM (In Person) — I will be presenting a paper entitled “The Political Theology of Silvia Federici.”

In addition, I will be pinch-hitting as a panelist for “Author Meets Critics: Marika Rose, A Theology of Failure: Žižek against Christian Innocence (Fordham University Press, 2019)” (Theology and Religious Reflection Unit), Sunday, 3:00 PM-4:30 PM (Virtual) — a discussion of a book I am spending a very enjoyable afternoon reviewing!

I look forward to seeing some of you in person there — or, failing that, in little Brady Bunch boxes on my laptop as I sit in my hotel room.

This morning I signed a contract to translate Agamben’s recent book Pinocchio for Seagull Press. I plan to deliver the finished translation next spring, in anticipation of a release date in early 2023.

I have a piece up at Truthout on the idea that racism is “America’s original sin.”

I recently reviewed S. Jonathan O’Donnell’s Passing Orders, a fascinating study of contemporary “spiritual warfare” literature, in the journal Politics, Religion, and Ideology.

I was recently interviewed by Liam Miller of the “Love–Rinse/Repeat” podcast on my new book What is Theology?

Next week I will be participating in a conference on Democracy and Theology, held virtually under the auspices of Yonsei University in South Korea. My paper will be entitled, “The Threat to ‘Our Democracy’ and the Neoliberal Crisis of Legitimacy.” A poster for the event follows.

What is Theology? is now shipping from Amazon, where it is reportedly the #1 new release in both philosophy and political history. The book of course remains available direct from the publisher as well.

The first event related to my new book, What is Theology?, will be taking place under the auspices of the Inter-Chicago Circle for Experimental Critical Theory (Interccect) on Tuesday, September 28. See details here — thanks to Anna Kornbluh for organizing!

Classes start tomorrow, so the time for tinkering has passed. I have posted the syllabi for my courses on the Teaching History and Sample Syllabi page. They are as follows:

• Integrative Studies: Ancient to Early Modern World: the first half of the Shimer Great Books School’s senior seminar, stretching from Gilgamesh to the present day. I have taught this a few times before, and it remains easily my favorite course to teach. (I will also be teaching the second half in the spring.)
• Natural Sciences: The Shape of the World: a Shimer Great Books seminar on cosmology and astronomy, from the Pre-Socratics through Galileo, with side trips into Chinese, Indian, and Arab scientific traditions.
• Cardinal Directions Senior Seminar: Utopia and Dystopia: a relatively unique requirement at North Central is a senior capstone course for their Gen Ed experience as well as their major. Professors get to pick their own topics, and I chose utopia and dystopia as a way of getting them thinking creatively about the future — both their own and that of society as a whole.
• Ethics: this will be my first offering in the philosophy department at North Central, hopefully the first of many!

I was asked to contribute reading list on neoliberalism for a new book recommendation site.