Talks and Presentations

Refereed Papers

“Critique as Horizon, Critique as Specter: Reflections from the Anthropology of Religion.” Roundtable Discussant, Society for the Anthropology of Religion – New Orleans, Louisiana (May 2017)

“Moving Toward a New Theoretical Framework: Exploring the Concept of ‘Lived Secularism’ in Contemporary Religions.” Implicit Religion, Denton Conference – Sarum College, Salisbury, England (May 2016)

“Affinity and Intimacy: Representational Economies in Jewish Affinity Christianity.” American Academy of Religion – Atlanta, Georgia (November 2015)

“Cultivating Rabbinical Christianity: Evangelicals, Messianics, and Redistributed Ethnic Imaginaries.” Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion – Nashville, Tennessee (March 2015)

“Playing Jewish in Rural Tennessee: A Case Study of Jewish Affinity Christianity and Messianic Judaism.” Southern Studies Conference – Auburn University, Montgomery (February 2015)

“Introducing Theory in the Classroom.” Workshop Leader. North American Association for the Study of Religion – San Diego, CA (November 2014)

“Placing Judaism before Jesus: Rhetorical Constructions of the Proto-­Christian Other in Contemporary Evangelicalisms.” Canadian Society for the Study of Religion – Brock University (May 2014)

“Bible Reading and Bible Rejecting: Negotiating Discursive Identities through Biblical Criticism and Interpretations.” American Academy of Religion – Baltimore, MD (November 2013)

“The Bible and Beyond: Evangelical Material Culture, Experiencing and Exhibiting History.” Canadian Society for the Study of Religion – University of Victoria (June 2013)

“Experiencing the Bible and Exhibiting History: Translation and Tradition as Evangelical Affect and Material Culture.” Society for the Anthropology of Religion – Pasadena, California (April 2013)

It’s Not You, It’s Me: Student Centered Pedagogy in the Classroom.” American Academy of Religion, Eastern International Region – University of Waterloo (May 2012)

“Resisting the Post-Secular Public Sphere: Progressive Christianity and the Politics of Secularism.” American Ethnological Society – New York, New York (April 2012)

“The Cyber-Social Sanctuary: The Performance of the Christian Subject Online and In church.” American Academy of Religion – San Francisco, California (November 2011)

“Mining the Text: An Anthropological Exploration of the Role of Popular Biblical Criticism in Progressive Christianity.” Society of Biblical Literature – San Francisco, California (November 2011)

“An Artifact and an Obstacle: Anthropological Explorations of Popular Biblical Criticisms in Contemporary Christianity.” Historical Studies Prandium – University of Toronto Mississauga (September 2011)

“Hegemonies and Heresies for the Not-So ‘Other’: The Anthropology of Christianity in a North American Context.” American Anthropological Association – New Orleans, Louisiana (November 2010)

“The Academe, the Author and the Atheist: The Reception of the Study of Religion by Progressive Christians.” American Academy of Religion – Atlanta, Georgia (November 2010)

“‘Still, Already, Yet’: A Discourse Analysis of Temporal Adverbs in Progressive Christian Communities.” International Association for the History of Religions – Toronto, Ontario (August 2010)

“When the Sacred Courts the Secular: Representation, Identity and Deconversion Among Atheist Christians.” American Academy of Religion – Montreal, Quebec (November 2009)

“The City, the Concept and the Classroom: Teaching Lived Religions in North America’s Most Religiously Diverse City.” Canadian Society for the Study of Religion – Carlton University (May 2009)  

“But is it Christian?: Labels and Lived Religion in Post-Christian Communities.” Canadian Society for the Study of Religion – University of British Columbia (June 2008)

“Tom Harpur and the Sociology of Dissent.” American Academy of Religion, Eastern International Region – University of Waterloo (May 2007)

“Preaching to the Choir: The Lives and Literature of Agnostic Christians.” Society for the Anthropology of Religion – Phoenix, Arizona (April 2007)

“Agnostic Christians and the Devolution of Theology?” Centre for the Study of Religion Graduate Student Symposium – University of Toronto (March 2007)

“Neo-literalism and the drive for ‘intellectual integrity’ in contemporary liberal Christianity.” Canadian Society for the Study of Religion – York University (May 2006)

“Constructing the Spiritual Enclave: Dispensationalism and Rapture Narratives in Contemporary Christian Fundamentalisms.” Centre for the Study of Religion Graduate Student Symposium – University of Toronto (March 2006)

“Progressive Christianity in Canada.” Canadian Society for the Study of Religion – University of Western Ontario (May 2005)

“Memories and Truths: A discussion of Confessional Narratives in Canadian Literature.” American Academy of Religion, Eastern International Region – McGill University (May 2005)

 

Invited Papers, Responses and Lectures

Workshop Leader, “Teach with Confidence: ‘Difficult Conversations’ in the Classroom,” Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion.  American Academy of Religion and Society for Biblical Literature – Denver, Colorado (forthcoming, November 2018)

Panelist, “Digital Media and Communications,” Academic Relations and Leadership Committee. American Academy of Religion – Boston, Massachusetts (November 2017)

Invited Respondent, “Using Thick Descriptions and Ethnographic Analysis.” Construction of Christian Identities Seminar, Society for Biblical Literature – Boston, Massachusetts (November 2017)

Invited Paper, “State of the Field: The Religious Studies Department.” North American Association for the Study of Religion – Boston, Massachusetts (November 2017)

Public Colloquium, “An Intentional Interloper: Constructing Kinship in Jewish Affinity Christianity.” Religion Here and Now Lecture Series – Rhodes College, Memphis (September 2017)

Response to Marla Frederick, Gabriel Acevedo, Randy Styers, and James Spickard, “Rethinking Theory, Methods and Data: A Conversation between Religious Studies and Sociology of Religion.” American Academy of Religion – San Antonio, Texas (November 2016)

Public Colloquium, “Proportional Prosperity: Class, Language, and Philosemitism in American Evangelicalism.” American Religions Lecture Series – University of North Carolina, Charlotte (April 2016)

Response to Matt Bagger, “Of Cognitive Science, Bricolage, and Brandom.” North American Association for the Study of Religion – Atlanta, Georgia (November 2015)

Respondent, Religion(s) and Neoliberalism Panel, Marxist Section. American Sociological Association, Chicago, Illinois (August 2015)

Roundtable Discussant, “Being the Change: The Civic Learning Faculty Learning Community at MTSU,” at the 2015 ADP/TDC/NASPA Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana (June 2015)

Roundtable Discussion of Candy Gunther Brown’s The Healing Gods: Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Christian America. Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion – Nashville, Tennessee (March 2015)

“The City: Multidirectional Pedagogy in a Multicultural Milieu.” International Research Network on Religion and Democracy – Notre Dame University, Beirut, Lebanon (December 2013)

“Christianity After Christ: Performing Deconversion Narratives and Progressive Christianity.” Centre for Ethnography Lecture Series – University of Toronto Scarborough (March 2012)

“Talking Textualities: Approaches to and Appropriations of Historical Data by Progressive Christians.” Christianities Seminar – University of California, San Diego (November 2011)

Roundtable Discussion on Pedagogy for Graduate Students. – Canadian Society for the Study of Religion – University of New Brunswick (May 2011)

“Charting the Eschatological Other: A Study of Language and Identity Construction in Progressive Christianity” – London School of Economics, London, England (May 2011)

“The Resolve to Disbelieve: Tracing a Genealogy of Skepticism in Canadian Protestantism.” Wednesday Afternoon Public Lectures – University of Victoria (January 2011)

“A Faithful Heresy: Linguistic Analysis of Eschatological Adverbs for progressive Christians.” Religion Colloquium – University of Toronto (November 2010)

Response to Joel Robbins, “Keeping God’s Distance: Sacrifice, Possession and the Problem of Religious Mediation.” Religion, Culture, Politics Jackman Working Group – University of Toronto (September 2010)

The Gospel of Thomas and Other Gnostic Texts.” Guest Lecture to RLG241: Early Christian Writings –University of Toronto (November 2008)

Round Table Discussant. “The Study of Religion in the Public Sphere.” Centre for the Study of Religion Graduate Student Symposium – University of Toronto (April 2008)

Public Lectures and Community Presentations

“How to Think and Talk Christian: A Linguistic Exploration of the Church’s Use and Misuse of Words.” Cordova Bay United Church – Victoria, British Columbia (June 2013)

“Saving Christianity from Itself: A Case Study of the Faithful Heretic.” Victoria Secular Humanist Association – Victoria, British Columbia (February 2011)