What place might there be for theology in humanities scholarship? Under the umbrella of ongoing debates about the secular (or post-secular), this question offers new perspective on the current discussion about critique, asking where and how religion and theology fit: they have often been the objects of critique, but can they also be its engines? If so, ought they? Might theology afford new ways of thinking about Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s “reparative reading”? What are the ethical and methodological implications of taking up theology as a “lens” for reading and analyzing works of art? We intend to pursue these questions through a series of sponsored book readings, four books over the course of 2018. Possible titles include Francis X. Clooney’s Comparative Theology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), John Caputo’s Philosophy and Theology (Abingdon, 2006), Catherine Keller’s On the Mystery (Fortress, 2008), and Amy Hollywood’s Acute Melancholia (Columbia, 2016).
This group looks to take up, in a more extensive and reflective way, theological works of broad impact across multiple fields – literary studies, philosophy, theory, culture and gender studies, and more.
For more information contact Jason Kerr (English)