Religious Studies is an academic discipline that explores the phenomenon of Religion, from a multi-disciplinary perspective informed by literary-critical, anthropological, sociological, philosophical, historical, economic, political, etc. methodologies and theoretical frameworks. My goal as a teacher is to introduce newcomers to the excitement of studying religion from an academic perspective, and to teach upper year students the nuances that Religious Studies can bring to any discussion of religion in social, political, economic etc. contexts.
Popular Culture is a particular interest of mine, and it is my conviction that the insights drawn from Religious Studies can help us understand both the widespread appeal of pop culture and the significance of pop cultural fandoms. Ideology and meaning are being defined in the trenches of pop culture, and pop culture situates audiences in a global framework where fundamentally religious questions about the meaning and nature of humanity, the environment, the monstrous, and the divine among many other themes are being negotiated.
If students leave my classes with the conviction that religion is much more present, varied, and significant than they had previously been aware, and understand that the ideological biases of investigators shape not only their conclusions, but the very content of what and how they perceive the objects of their research, then I am happy with my work
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