Seminars

Meeting Schedule

09/13/2023	Faculty House, Columbia University 6:30 PM	,

10/04/2023	Faculty House, Columbia University 6:30 PM	A ‘Model Minority’ Myth: A White male sociologist named Asian Americans in The New York Times Magazine on January 9, 1966 as “the Model Minority” in order to undermine the civil rights of African Americans Tony Carnes, A Journey through NYC religions Abstract Abstract The creation story of the “model minority” is cited in hundreds, if not thousands, of academic articles. Yet, as far as I can tell, Petersen did not coin the term "Model Minority” in The New York Times Magazine and does not seem to have ever used the term, and he was an active proponent of civil rights for African Americans. How did this mythical story get started and become legendary in Asian American studies as well as popular among Asian American religious groups? I am still on the trail and appreciate any help you can provide.

11/15/2023	Faculty House, Columbia University 6:30 PM	Regimes of Happiness: Civilizations, Disease and the Search for a Fulfilled Life--Joint meeting with (405) Yuri Contreras-Vejar, Universidad Diego Portales, Chile Abstract Abstract The notion ‘regimes of happiness’ is an attempt to capture and define the elusive nature and role of the ideals of human fulfillment in human societies. They are not mere mores or ethical aspirations. Regimes of happiness are social configurations that enact and articulate ethical ideals, which as complex articulations of ideologies concatenations of iconographic imageries and discourses—help social groups and societies to navigate natural and social uncertainties and catastrophes. Regimes of happiness are practical; they effect praxes, and their efficacies determine their abilities to produce lasting effects: institutions. Either as structured organizations or as ensembles of social roles, institutions are key articulators of authority. Regimes of happiness define what is desirable, acceptable, and permissible. To illustrate these analytical distinctions, the lecture “Regimes of Happiness: Civilizations, Disease and the Search of a Fulfilled Life” will focus on the rise of monasticism at the end of the Latin Roman Empire, the transformation of religious orders in Medieval Europe and the reorganization of social life during the Protestant revolutions.

12/20/2023	Faculty House, Columbia University 6:30 PM	,

02/21/2024	Faculty House, Columbia University 6:30 PM	,

03/20/2024	Faculty House, Columbia University 7:30 PM	Reflections on the Queens Religion Project--Joint meeting with (405) Richard Cimino, Founding Editor, Religion Watch Hans Tokke, New York City College of Technology

04/03/2024	Faculty House, Columbia University 7:00 PM	What is an Evangelical? An Insider/Outsider Bioethnoconfession--Joint meeting with (405) Daniel Varisco, Abstract Abstract As an anthropologist who grew up in a Fundamentalist household and went to an Evangelical college to major in biblical archaeology before becoming an avowed agnostic, this talk will be a kind of reflection as an insider/outsider. The talk will be divided into three parts, which I pose as questions for the sake of argument. 1. Coming to terms with the terms: can the term “Evangelical” be understood apart from its roots in “Fundamentalist”? 2. Coming to terms with my own religious upbringing: is it possible to leave a religion without it always being an issue to personally deal with? 3. Coming to terms with the current Trump-doting “MAGA Evangelicals”: what role does or should “God” play in politics? I will provide a handout of resources to better understand the history of Evangelicalism in America, including previous ethnographic analysis.

05/08/2024	Faculty House, Columbia University 6:30 PM	,