The Political Theology Syllabi Project: Martin Kavka
. . . As you can tell from the course description, I even started the course by asking, in effect, "Why are people using this term?" I'm still not sure that I know the answer to that question almost...
View ArticleThe Political Theology Syllabi Project: Dana Hollander
In the academic setting of Religious Studies, developing curricular spaces in which to thematize the relationship of religion and politics is a highly effective way both to engage undergraduate...
View ArticleBook Preview – The Future of Illusion by Victoria Kahn
Victoria Kahn (University of California, Berkeley) previews her new book, The Future of Illusion: Political Theology and Early Modern Texts (University of Chicago Press, 2013). The Future of Illusion...
View ArticleReasoning about Exceptions – Editorial for Political Theology 15.5
One of the most important tasks for political theologians today is the cultivation of capacities for democratic reasoning about exceptions to the rule of law. The task is important because liberal...
View ArticlePolitical Theology or Social Ethics?: Towards The Democratic (Keri Day)
Within Christian traditions, one may be met with this provocative question: does “political theology” or “social ethics” sponsor liberative practices oriented towards human flourishing? Interestingly,...
View ArticleWeird John Brown and the Uses of Elusiveness (E. Brooks Holifield)
In conjunction with the Marginalia (part of the LA Review of Books), Political Theology Today has organized a symposium on Ted Smith's extraordinary new book Weird John Brown: Divine Violence and the...
View ArticleThe Blurred Line Between Law and Violence (William T. Cavanaugh)
A bishop recently said that 90% of the homilies he has ever heard can be boiled down to two words: “Try harder.” Of all the things that Ted Smith’s book does well, the most compelling for me is his...
View ArticleJohn Brown: Madman? Terrorist? Righteous warrior? (Peter Ochs)
Ted Smith delivers an unprecedented thesis about Brown's violent assault on slaveholders as the human side of a “divine violence.” From beyond the limits of any earthly system of political justice and...
View ArticleWeird John Brown: A Response to Cavanaugh, Day, Holifield, Murphy, and Ochs...
. . . In the book I think about what it would mean to see Brown as a “Great Criminal” who did wrong but can still be read as a sign of a divine violence that breaks the hold of the slave system on...
View ArticleThe Political Theology Syllabi Project: Inese Radzins
My interest in teaching a course on Political Theology came from my research on Simone Weil. I wanted to understand how the area of political theology could help me interpret Weil’s oeuvre, which often...
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