In this Book
- Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion
- Book
- 2001
- Published by: State University of New York Press
- Series: SUNY series, Issues in the Study of Religion
summary
A lively critique of the study of religion in the modern academy, one that makes the scholar of religion a cultural critic rather than a caretaker of a religious tradition or a guru dispensing timeless wisdom. Critics Not Caretakers argues that the study of religion must be rethought as an ordinary aspect of social, historical existence, a stance that makes the scholar of religion a critic of cultural practices rather than a caretaker of religious tradition or a font of timeless wisdom. From a general introduction written for a wide audience and a theoretical essay that outlines the basis of an alternative, socio-rhetorical approach to studying religion, the book moves on to a series of dispatches from the theory wars, each of which uses the work of such writers as Karen Armstrong, Walter Burkert, and Benson Saler as a point of entry into wider theoretical issues of importance to the field’s future. The author then examines the socio-political role of this brand of critical scholarship—a role that differs dramatically from the type of sympathetic caretaking generally associated with scholars of religion who feel compelled to “go public.” Concluding the work is a consideration of how scholars as teachers can address issues of theory and critical thinking in the undergraduate classroom. Written with verve, Critics Not Caretakers provides a viable alternative for all those dissatisfied with the covertly political, liberal humanist approach that currently dominates the study of religion.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Acknowledgments
- p. xvii
- Copyright Permissions
- p. xxi
- Part I: Redescribing Religion as Something Ordinary
- Part II: Dispatches from the Theory Wars
- Part III: Culture Critics and Caretakers
- Part IV: Going Public: Teach Theory
- Part V: Afterword
- pp. 237-240
- References
- pp. 241-256
Additional Information
ISBN
9780791490747
DOI
MARC Record
OCLC
794701289
Pages
296
Launched on MUSE
2012-02-08
Language
English
Open Access
No