ktgerbs.bsky.social
Historian of religion & race, archives, media/tech/comm, politics of education. Always asking: whose stories are told & who gets to tell them? History Prof & Dir. of Religious Studies @ U of Minnesota. Au: Christian Slavery (2018). www.katharinegerbner.com
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Now with explosion of AI:
LLMs draw upon existing cultural texts. They do not generate original ideas, but rather recycle old ones. How do inherent biases of these systems interact with the dynamics above?
What might that mean for individuals and society?
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Thanks! I am actually focusing primarily on the pre-1760 period -- it's a microhistory of the years 1755-1761, looking at the changing meaning of Obeah during that time period - using Moravian+legal archives. It ends with the criminalization process. And agreed re: parallels with the Iberian world
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Ooh that sounds great, thanks for the rec!
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There will be more on the religion-rebellion connection in my next book, “Archival Irruptions,” which focuses on the Construction of Religion and the Criminalization of Obeah in Jamaica after Tacky's Rebellion (1760). Out in Sept 2025 with Duke UP @dukepress.bsky.social
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It is so consistent once you start looking for it. This article was my chance to focus on the connection I saw between the construction of Religion & Rebellion. I was thrilled it became part of this amazing volume - thanks again to @tisawenger.bsky.social and Sylvester Johnson for including me!
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just sent!
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Evan Haefeli and Patricia Bonomi have both written about the Dutch churches and slavery in an Atlantic context.
There is also an ongoing joint project on Church and Slavery in the Dutch Empire that looks at Reformed Protestantism and slavery.
www.pthu.nl/en/news-and-...
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Just emailed :)
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Thanks for the ref! I also wrote a bibliographic essay on "Church and Slavery" that points to several other important works of scholarship on this topic. Happy to share the PDF for anyone who is paywalled.
www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/docu...
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Evan Haefeli and Patricia Bonomi have both written about the Dutch churches and slavery in an Atlantic context.
There is also an ongoing joint project on Church and Slavery in the Dutch Empire that looks at Reformed Protestantism and slavery.
www.pthu.nl/en/news-and-...
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I also recommend Travis Glasson's Mastering Christianity for English Protestantism/SPG
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
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Here is the link to Guasco:
www.pennpress.org/978081220988...
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For early modern Protestant theology re: slavery, there is also Michael Guasco's book for English Protestants and slavery
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Thanks for the ref! I also wrote a bibliographic essay on "Church and Slavery" that points to several other important works of scholarship on this topic. Happy to share the PDF for anyone who is paywalled.
www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/docu...
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Thanks Will!
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This is great! I've been struggling with the balance of how much/if to focus on "classic theorists" versus more contemporary material -- I'll probably do a bit of both. This is upper level undergrad (required for RELS majors). Is there a particular new article/essay that's worked well for you? thx!
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thank you!
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Ooh I love that idea! Another related assignment I heard from Joe Blankholm was having students ask ChatGPT to create a religion, and then to critique the religion based on the theories they learned during class.
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Fantastic, thank you!!
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The other reader/textbook I'm thinking about (thanks to a rec by @sarahdees.bsky.social ) is Cultural Approaches to Studying Religion , which focuses on important theorists not included in Pals. Have others used either/both of these texts? Thoughts/prefs?
www.bloomsbury.com/us/cultural-...
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Thank you! Yes, I'd love to hear what people think about the Pals text and also the accompanying reader. Based on the syllabi I've seen so far, this is the most widely used "textbook"/reader for Theory and Method in Religious Studies courses.
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Yes, good question! It's upper level undergrad, required for RELS majors but also open to others, including possibly a couple grad students.
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Great recs -- thank you so much!
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This is for an upper level undergrad class, required for RELS majors but open to others. I may also have a couple grad students (it's cross-listed at the grad level) but mostly juniors/senior.
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Congratulations!! Just ordered :)
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Thank you! I didn't know about this program/resource -- really helpful.
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Me too :)
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what a great class! love your subheadings on what religion REALLY is. Also your mix of "classics" and new research. Thank you!
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Yes, love this article and also agree with your point about historicizing the field. Thanks!
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I love this idea. Also makes me think of some of the great new scholarship on the FBI and Religion
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thank you! love these suggestions.
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Oh ha sorry! I meant which part of the semester did you assign it: did you wait until the end, after they'd read other texts/learned specific theories? Or at the beginning of the semester?
I'm curious in general about how scholars choose to organize the course: chronologically, thematically, etc
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That's fascinating to hear. Did you assign the entire book? When in the semester did you introduce it?
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Yes, absolutely. The JZ Smith "Religion, Religions, Religious" essay in Critical Terms has been in the vast majority of syllabi I've seen for this course. I also read it as an undergrad and it had a profound impact on me. I'm planning to use that for sure, probably Week 1
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These are such fantastic resources, thank you!
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Upper level undergrad course, required for the Religious Studies major. There is no prereq to signing up for it, but most students will be juniors/seniors.
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very cool!
Also, how DO feeds work? lol i've been trying to figure it out