Alexander Darius Ornella
University of Hull, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty Member
- University of Graz, Institute of Fundamental Theology, Department Memberadd
- Crossfit, Religion, Media, and Culture, Media, Religion, and Culture, Body (Religion), Religion and Technology, Religion and Media, and 20 moreBody, Communication Technology, and Religion, Body as Space, Sociology of Religion, Sociology of Information and Communication Technologies, Ideas of Identity, Community, Power and Gender In New Forms of Religiousness, Religion, Film Studies, Digital Storytelling, Narrative and Identity, Paul Ricoeur, Religion and Popular Culture, Religion and Film, Film and Theology, Michael Haneke, Quentin Tarantino, Media violence, CrossFit and Religion, and CrossFit and Meaning Makingedit
The popular sport of CrossFit has attracted a number of Christians who simultaneously celebrate their passion for their faith and their passion for their sport. In this interplay of sport and religion, fashion becomes an important means... more
The popular sport of CrossFit has attracted a number of Christians who simultaneously celebrate their passion for their faith and their passion for their sport. In this interplay of sport and religion, fashion becomes an important means for the profession of faith. This essay focuses specifically on religious athletic t-shirts that appear regularly among Christians in CrossFit. I argue that these are not a mere profession of faith but serve a dual purpose: on the one hand being athletic (and one could argue secular) and on the other being religious symbols with a deeper theological meaning. As such, they are sites where business opportunities, religious and sacramental practices, advertisement, and consumption practices collide. I argue that religious CrossFit t-shirts need to be taken seriously as religious-sacramental practice, but also that religious athletic clothing makes faith fit for consumption.
Research Interests:
This volume explores body-making as human-making practice because the bodies we have or mould ourselves into are always a socio-cultural and religious expression of the kind of human beings we are or want to be.
Research Interests: Ethics, Media Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Animation, Terrorism, and 17 moreReligion and Sexuality, Religion and Film, Popular Culture and Religious Studies, Religion, Media, and Culture, Transhumanism, Body (Religion), Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Religion and Media, Film and Media Studies, Religious Studies, Communication Studies, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Theology and Religious Studies, Religion and the Body, Religion and Terrorism, Animal Rights, Animal Ecology, Animal Studies, Animal Ethics, Animal Cognition, Animal Liberation, Animals in Culture, Philosophy Of Animals, Animals & Society studies, Ethics of Animals, and Laboratory Animal Welfare, Animal Law, and Transhumanism Religion
As a basic medium of human interaction, the body is fundamental to socio- cultural communication systems, in particular the communication system «religion». Over time, religious traditions – in all their various cultural and historical... more
As a basic medium of human interaction, the body is fundamental to socio- cultural communication systems, in particular the communication system «religion». Over time, religious traditions – in all their various cultural and historical forms and incarnations – have developed elaborated symbolic systems with body at their centre. This volume proposes to study these sys- tems and the role that body plays in their organisation through the perspec- tive of the concept of body as a medium and by drawing on media and com- munication theory. The papers collected in this volume explore this perspective in relation to different religious traditions, historical periods and theoretical as well as theological themes. They work with specific theoretical frameworks in order to discuss the scope and limitations of thinking of the body as a medium in religious symbol systems. Topics covered range from ancient mythology to contemporary Parsi rituals to the boundaries between body and technology.
Research Interests:
Michael Haneke is one of Europe's most successful and controversial film directors. Awarded the Palm d'Or and other international awards, Haneke has contributed to and shaped contemporary auteur cinema and is becoming more and more... more
Michael Haneke is one of Europe's most successful and controversial film directors. Awarded the Palm d'Or and other international awards, Haneke has contributed to and shaped contemporary auteur cinema and is becoming more and more popular among academics and cinephiles.
Research Interests:
Religiöse Versatzstücke scheinen in der aktuellen Lebenswelt dichter und wichtiger zu werden, gerade in allen medialen Kontexten: in Computerspielen, in der volkstümlichen Musik, im Web 2.0 mit seinen Vernetzungsplattformen usw. Die... more
Religiöse Versatzstücke scheinen in der aktuellen Lebenswelt dichter und wichtiger zu werden, gerade in allen medialen Kontexten: in Computerspielen, in der volkstümlichen Musik, im Web 2.0 mit seinen Vernetzungsplattformen usw. Die Beiträge in diesem Band beleuchten das aus unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln.
Research Interests:
"Das vernetzte Subjekt" als Leitthema von Alexander D. Ornellas innovativer Untersuchung dient einer fundamentaltheologischen Annäherung des Lesers an das Verständnis von Subjektivität unter den Bedingungen medialer Gesellschaft heute.... more
"Das vernetzte Subjekt" als Leitthema von Alexander D. Ornellas innovativer Untersuchung dient einer fundamentaltheologischen Annäherung des Lesers an das Verständnis von Subjektivität unter den Bedingungen medialer Gesellschaft heute. Von besonderer Bedeutung sind dabei das Problem einer globalen, ästhetischen Unterströmung im Lebensgrundgefühl und einer ebenso globalen Omnipräsenz des Marktes. Der schöne, designhafte Schein von beidem überspielt nur zu leicht die prinzipielle Künstlichkeit, d.h. mediale Vermitteltheit von Wirklichkeit durch Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien. Ornellas Studie spitzt sich also sinnvollerweise auf die Frage zu, wer noch Subjekt dieser medial verfassten Wirklichkeit sei und was, gegebenenfalls, dessen Konstitutionsweise bzw. theologische Tragweite sein könne? Die Bedeutung jenes Subjekts (zwischen postmoderner Kritik und neuem Antimodernismus) wird letztlich im Lichte einer relationalen theologischen Anthropologie und trinitarischen Kommunikationsstruktur neu bedacht (Gerhard Larcher, Institut für Fundamentaltheologie, Universität Graz).
Research Interests:
"From Once Upon a Time in the West to Moulin Rouge, from Ghanaian video-movies to Japanese Manga, from Christian symbolism in advertising to the mythic significance of female messiah figures, from the relationship of the arts and theology... more
"From Once Upon a Time in the West to Moulin Rouge, from Ghanaian video-movies to Japanese Manga, from Christian symbolism in advertising to the mythic significance of female messiah figures, from the relationship of the arts and theology to the role of the audience in the meaningmaking process, the book provides a feast for anyone wanting to explore the interconnectivity of religion, media and society" (Robert Johnston, Fuller Theological Seminary).
Research Interests: Religion, Cultural Studies, African Studies, Theology, Film Studies, and 31 moreSystematic Theology, Religion and Politics, Religion and Film, Media and Theology, Film and Theology, Media, Religion, and Culture, Theory of Religion, Philosophy of Film, Manga and Anime Studies, Network Society, Religion, Media, and Culture, Theology and Culture, Theological Aesthetics, Communication Theory, Secularization, Cinema, Pentecostalism, Theology and the Arts, Andrei Tarkovsky, Construction of Meaning, Material Culture, Religion and Media, Meaning Making, Religious Studies, Sensuality, Popular Science, Sergei Eisenstein, Messiah Figures, African Popular Culture, Ghanaian Video Films, and Media Anthropology, Critical Discourse Studies
The popular sport of CrossFit has attracted a number of Christians who simultaneously celebrate their passion for their faith and their passion for their sport. In this interplay of sport and religion, fashion becomes an important means... more
The popular sport of CrossFit has attracted a number of Christians who simultaneously celebrate their passion for their faith and their passion for their sport. In this interplay of sport and religion, fashion becomes an important means for the profession of faith. This essay focuses specifically on religious athletic t-shirts that appear regularly among Christians in CrossFit. I argue that these are not a mere profession of faith but serve a dual purpose: on the one hand being athletic (and one could argue secular) and on the other being religious symbols with a deeper theological meaning. As such, they are sites where business opportunities, religious and sacramental practices, advertisement, and consumption practices collide. I argue that religious CrossFit t-shirts need to be taken seriously as religious-sacramental practice, but also that religious athletic clothing makes faith fit for consumption.
Research Interests: Religion, Material culture of religion, Body (Religion), Material Religion, Religious Studies, and 9 moreClothing, History of clothing and fashion, Crossfit, Religion and the Body, Religion and Materiality, CrossFit and Religion, CrossFit and Meaning Making, Materiality of Religion, and Religion and Garments
Clerical masculinities, much like their lay/secular counterparts, often appear unchanging because they are the products of naturalization processes. Clerical masculinities, however, are far from being stable but the live and breathe the... more
Clerical masculinities, much like their lay/secular counterparts, often appear unchanging because they are the products of naturalization processes. Clerical masculinities, however, are far from being stable but the live and breathe the dynamics of both their socio-religious context and their secular ‘others’. The BBC sitcom Rev. (2010-2011) is a refreshing take on the everyday life and problems of a vicar in the Church of England trying to avoid stereotypes that often come with clerical roles. Besides its entertainment factor, the sitcom is a valuable site to study the negotiation practices of clerical masculinity in the context of the Church of England. Rev. is not the first and only TV show featuring clerics, but its approach of exploring and inquiring points out that masculinities are never just beneficiaries or performers of power but also subject to power and socio-religious momentums. Uncovering religious negotiation processes of masculinities, Rev. can give an institution that is involved in the ‘production’ of religion a more human face. This paper focuses on the "loser" aspects of the series' male characters, in particular Rev. Adam Smallbone to show that the male characters struggle with fitting in to predefined notions of being a man but at the end of the show learn to appreciate and celebrate their own masculinities.
Research Interests: Religion, Masculinity Studies, Religion and Film, Masculinity, Masculinities, and 9 moreStudies On Men And Masculinity, Religion and Popular Culture, Masculinity and Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Clerical Marriage and Celibacy, Gender, religion, masculinity and culture, Clerical Masculinity, Religion and TV, and Religion and Television
This blogpost explores the sport of CrossFit as meaningful material practice via the use and display of t-shirts. It offers a unique case study and encourages us to look at the domain of sport with new eyes, one where materials, artefacts... more
This blogpost explores the sport of CrossFit as meaningful material practice via the use and display of t-shirts. It offers a unique case study and encourages us to look at the domain of sport with new eyes, one where materials, artefacts and practices are simultaneously part of the mundane world but also transcend the ordinary and manifest transformative values. The blogpost is published at the Material Religions Blog and available for free. Please see link below.
Research Interests:
Technological imaginaries are not confined to the imaginary realm, dreams, or narratives but what we imagine and how we imagine impacts our lived experiences and our practices. In an essay on “The Real Consequences of Imaginary Sex Acts”,... more
Technological imaginaries are not confined to the imaginary realm, dreams, or narratives but what we imagine and how we imagine impacts our lived experiences and our practices. In an essay on “The Real Consequences of Imaginary Sex Acts”, Brett Lunceford argues that imagined, labeled, and named sex acts are more than mere fantasy. “My contention is that such imagined acts serve a normative function, providing limits on not only sexuality but also the kinds of individuals worthy of such acts.” A similar argument can be made about technological imaginaries: while creating, designing, and using technologies can unlock human creativity, technologies, the expectations we have and the stories we tell also frame our experiences.
In their study of the cultural impact of the Sony Walkman, Paul du Gay, Stuart Hall and others have created the Circuit of Culture and identified five cultural processes to help analyze cultural artefacts. These five processes are – in no particular order: identity, representation, consumption, production, and regulation. I propose to use du Gay/Hall's framework and create a 'Circuit of Technological Imaginaries'. I want to point out that this is just a draft version open for discussion and the elements are not limited to those I have identified.
This paper explores the aspects of narratives, body, sublime, materiality, agency, and aesthetics as important elements of technological imaginaries. They are intertwined and interact with each other on multiple levels.
In their study of the cultural impact of the Sony Walkman, Paul du Gay, Stuart Hall and others have created the Circuit of Culture and identified five cultural processes to help analyze cultural artefacts. These five processes are – in no particular order: identity, representation, consumption, production, and regulation. I propose to use du Gay/Hall's framework and create a 'Circuit of Technological Imaginaries'. I want to point out that this is just a draft version open for discussion and the elements are not limited to those I have identified.
This paper explores the aspects of narratives, body, sublime, materiality, agency, and aesthetics as important elements of technological imaginaries. They are intertwined and interact with each other on multiple levels.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
“There’s a nigger on the horse” marks the beginning of Quentin Tarantino’s most recent violation of filmic style, language, and good taste other directors might not get by with. As offensive as language and images might be, the film’s... more
“There’s a nigger on the horse” marks the beginning of Quentin Tarantino’s most recent violation of filmic style, language, and good taste other directors might not get by with. As offensive as language and images might be, the film’s mise-en-scène, its language, and its dialogue express that the encounter between bodies is always shaped by a politics of bodies in/out of place and ideas about whose bodies might inhabit which spaces or what spaces are off-limits for whose bodies. This paper, then, draws on Jean-Claude Kaufmann's study of topless beach culture to analyze the body politics in Tarantino's Django Unchained.
Research Interests:
What is body? This article argues that body is always boundary-body, liminal body. As liminal body, it is always on the verge of becoming but is not yet. Becoming, body is in constant transformation, acts upon and reacts to its... more
What is body? This article argues that body is always boundary-body, liminal body. As liminal body, it is always on the verge of becoming but is not yet. Becoming, body is in constant transformation, acts upon and reacts to its techno-socio-cultural-religious environment, is constantly acted upon, re-worked, re-drawn, re-imagined; not-yet being because it constantly escapes the boundaries that confine and aim to tame messy bodies. Technology in particular plays a crucial role in the dynamics of these boundary processes because it can exert power over bodies but it also allows body to open up into the world and to incorporate the world into itself.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Gender and technology might seem unrelated on first sight because technology is often considered a neutral other that does not have anything to do with gender. Yet, taking a closer look at the language we use to talk about technology, at... more
Gender and technology might seem unrelated on first sight because technology is often considered a neutral other that does not have anything to do with gender. Yet, taking a closer look at the language we use to talk about technology, at the images we rely on to represent technology, its uses and users, it becomes clear that gender stereotypes are more present than ever in the context of technology. Rather than subverting traditional gender roles, technology often reinforces and re-inscribes stereotypical behavior and ideas. Analyzing Apple iPad/iPhone advertisements, this paper will uncover some of the gender biases present in popular techno-narratives.
Research Interests: Religion, Sociology of Religion, Gender Studies, Sex and Gender, Social Networks, and 16 moreReligion and Sexuality, History of Technology, Gender and Sexuality, Anthropology of Gender, Gender, Religion and Technology, Gender and religion (Women s Studies), Digital Identity, Gender and Technology, Bloggers, Digital Identity Formation, Gender in Mediated Contexts, Identity, Digital Inequity, Personal Web, and Anthropology of Religion
Research Interests:
"Quentin Tarantino’s latest violent masterpiece Inglourious Basterds has been well yet critically received. Many reviewers have pointed out that the film is morally ambivalent the least because of the aesthetics of violence and the... more
"Quentin Tarantino’s latest violent masterpiece Inglourious Basterds has been well yet critically received. Many reviewers have pointed out that the film is morally ambivalent the least because of the aesthetics of violence and the revised version of Europe’s darkest years of the twentieth century. Others, however, perceive it as a much needed and refreshing film - despite or precisely because Tarantino makes obvious the webs of violence.
This article suggests that violence is a deliberate and important means for Inglourious Basterds to work. To fully appreciate the multilayered message of the film, an alternative reading of its aesthetics of violence is necessary: one that focuses on Tarantino’s defiant and bold (yet intentional) use of various forms of violence to brilliantly orchestrate (or manipulate) the viewers’ emotions and bodily senses. He stages violence as spectacle, but the way he uses violence is always also more than a spectacle: it serves as irritation—or better interruption—of audience perception, audience experience, and audience expectations. Instead of offering a cathartic moment or happy ending, Tarantino, in fact, refuses to offer catharsis and thus opens up a space for reflection and trans- formation."
This article suggests that violence is a deliberate and important means for Inglourious Basterds to work. To fully appreciate the multilayered message of the film, an alternative reading of its aesthetics of violence is necessary: one that focuses on Tarantino’s defiant and bold (yet intentional) use of various forms of violence to brilliantly orchestrate (or manipulate) the viewers’ emotions and bodily senses. He stages violence as spectacle, but the way he uses violence is always also more than a spectacle: it serves as irritation—or better interruption—of audience perception, audience experience, and audience expectations. Instead of offering a cathartic moment or happy ending, Tarantino, in fact, refuses to offer catharsis and thus opens up a space for reflection and trans- formation."
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Today, technology affects us in a variety of ways: it helps to bridge great distances, it opens up new possibilities for communication, and it allows us to see our world in ever-new perspectives. Technology also increasingly permeates... more
Today, technology affects us in a variety of ways: it helps to bridge great distances, it opens up new possibilities for communication, and it allows us to see our world in ever-new perspectives. Technology also increasingly permeates bodily boundaries, both on a physical level (or in "real" life) as well as on an imaginary level (or in narratives that deal with the relation between body and technology). An important aspect of these already implemented technologies or future visions of the interaction between human bodies and technology is the enhancement of sexuality through technological appliances or even its replacement by other forms of "fusion" between human beings. This paper focuses on how sciencefiction narratives and posthuman philosophy imagine the transformation of today's messy and wet "body-sex" into "future-sex" arguing that in fact the body is not made redundant in these visions, but rather changed and "queered" through its interaction with technology.
Research Interests:
In public perception (in particular in secular Europe), technosciences are often con- sidered as something verifiable, neutral, and without any relation to the religious realm. Looking back at ancient times, however, powerful mythical... more
In public perception (in particular in secular Europe), technosciences are often con- sidered as something verifiable, neutral, and without any relation to the religious realm. Looking back at ancient times, however, powerful mythical figures like Pro- metheus suggest that technoscientific developments and insights have always been tied to the religious and transcendent realm. Prometheus’ heritage is still influen- tial, inspirational, and visible today in arts, philosophy, the technosciences, and re- ligious communities.
This paper analyzes the Catholic Church’s position towards the technosciences and argues that it employs a binary approach in the evaluation of findings and de- velopments in modern sciences and technology: advancements are either in line with religious worldviews (and their moral implications) and can thus be approved of ethically and theologically, or they (seem to) deny the existence of a higher being or (seem to be) contrary to religious ethics and are thus rejected. This paper, then, suggests that theology should advocate a methodological atheism to overcome this binary approach. Doing so would not mean to betray religious or theological con- victions. Rather, it would pick up on an old and important tradition in theological reasoning of methodologically excluding the revelation in favor of reliance on reas- on alone to demonstrate the rationality and reasonability of faith.
This paper analyzes the Catholic Church’s position towards the technosciences and argues that it employs a binary approach in the evaluation of findings and de- velopments in modern sciences and technology: advancements are either in line with religious worldviews (and their moral implications) and can thus be approved of ethically and theologically, or they (seem to) deny the existence of a higher being or (seem to be) contrary to religious ethics and are thus rejected. This paper, then, suggests that theology should advocate a methodological atheism to overcome this binary approach. Doing so would not mean to betray religious or theological con- victions. Rather, it would pick up on an old and important tradition in theological reasoning of methodologically excluding the revelation in favor of reliance on reas- on alone to demonstrate the rationality and reasonability of faith.
Research Interests:
In his paper on graveyard commemoration of sport celebrities, Huggins argues that “memorials say something about the perceived personal identity of the commemorated sporting hero.”[1] As such, the gravestone and the memorial might say... more
In his paper on graveyard commemoration of sport celebrities, Huggins argues that “memorials say something about the perceived personal identity of the commemorated sporting hero.”[1] As such, the gravestone and the memorial might say more about the patron(s) than the athlete. They emerge from and are expression of discourses about gender, power, class, religion, and fame. In particular the tomb of the boxer Tom Sayers functions as “an assertive expression of heightened working-class sporting status”[2]. This project will use the material-visual object of Sayers’ tomb as a starting point to reflect on sports and remembrance. It will not offer a detailed discussion of Sayers’ tomb as a single case study but use his tomb and the meanings attached to it to analyze a broader phenomenon: sport as practice of remembrance which manifests itself in a range of sporting practices and material practices.
Research Interests:
On her website, the prominent Christian CrossFit athlete Andrea Ager reflects on wearing a “Jesus saves, bro” t-shirt at a recent competition. She declares: “That day I got to reperesent [sic] for the only brand worth representing“. The... more
On her website, the prominent Christian CrossFit athlete Andrea Ager reflects on wearing a “Jesus saves, bro” t-shirt at a recent competition. She declares: “That day I got to reperesent [sic] for the only brand worth representing“. The ambiguity in the language leaves open if “brand” refers to the apparel or to Jesus or salvation and raises important theological questions about the practice of the professio fidei: if God becomes a brand, does the professio fidei become a series of economic transactions in which faith in the Christian God becomes brand loyalty?
Drawing on Pace’s understanding of religion as communication (Pace 2011) this paper will discuss the idea of God-as-brand in the context of CrossFit, an increasingly popular sport in which material and body practices are an important identity marker. I argue that the material practice of wearing one’s professio fidei transforms the religious act into a political and economic act.
Drawing on Pace’s understanding of religion as communication (Pace 2011) this paper will discuss the idea of God-as-brand in the context of CrossFit, an increasingly popular sport in which material and body practices are an important identity marker. I argue that the material practice of wearing one’s professio fidei transforms the religious act into a political and economic act.
Research Interests:
"CrossFit is a strength routine with the aim to develop a ‘broad, general and inclusive fitness’. While the workouts can be done alone, CrossFit emphasizes community and encourages working out together. In fact, this spirit of... more
"CrossFit is a strength routine with the aim to develop a ‘broad, general and inclusive fitness’. While the workouts can be done alone, CrossFit emphasizes community and encourages working out together. In fact, this spirit of ‘togetherness’ and encouraging each other to complete the routines is key. While CrossFit itself did not emerge from a religious context, some of the top level athletes are deeply religious, the best example is Rich Froning, the two-times winner of the CrossFit Games.
While the connection between sports, religion, and community is not a new one, during this research lunch, I will explore this relationship between CrossFit, community values, and spirituality/religion and ask if there is something unique about CrossFit that lends itself to traditional and non-traditional practices of meaning making.
When: Wednesday, 26 February 2014, 12.30pm
Where: Wilberforce SR 236, School of Social Sciences, University of Hull"
While the connection between sports, religion, and community is not a new one, during this research lunch, I will explore this relationship between CrossFit, community values, and spirituality/religion and ask if there is something unique about CrossFit that lends itself to traditional and non-traditional practices of meaning making.
When: Wednesday, 26 February 2014, 12.30pm
Where: Wilberforce SR 236, School of Social Sciences, University of Hull"
Research Interests:
"Man as Industrial Palace" (1926) is the title of probably the most famous of Fritz Kahn’s, a German gynecologist, body illustrations. It was published as part of the five volume book series "The Life of Man" (Kahn 1922-1931) in which... more
"Man as Industrial Palace" (1926) is the title of probably the most famous of Fritz Kahn’s, a German gynecologist, body illustrations. It was published as part of the five volume book series "The Life of Man" (Kahn 1922-1931) in which Kahn heavily draws on machine analogies to explain the inner workings of the body to an audience not familiar with professional or detailed medical and anatomical knowledge. This paper will argue that machinic and technological bodies need to be understood as boundary bodies: but not as bodies that are neither human nor machine, but as bodies that seem to be easy to categories but defy all categorization. They are bodies on the verge of becoming yet not becoming. Based on Kahn's illustrations, it will conclude with some reflections on how boundary-bodies and bodies-on-the-verge are "making humans".
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Internet has become a rich resource for people to learn more about religious traditions and believes. It also provides opportunities for practitioners of a particular tradition to discuss their faith and matters of doctrine and... more
The Internet has become a rich resource for people to learn more about religious traditions and believes. It also provides opportunities for practitioners of a particular tradition to discuss their faith and matters of doctrine and discipline on message boards and religious news portals. These sites, however, are more than just a source for information or an opportunity to exchange ideas. They are “sacred spaces” which religious practitioners enter to participate in and perform a drama of identity. Rather than providing an opportunity for transformative experiences, however, these “sacred spaces” become increasingly polarized spaces in which (lay) watchdogs try to safeguard proper religious doctrine to create safe havens amidst a world that is perceived to be amoral and anti-religious. Looking at Catholic online boards, this paper will analyze the dynamics and control mechanisms at work in those sacred spaces and reflect on the implications of the self-understanding of board members and moderators on “offline” (religious) life, such as the establishment of parallel hierarchies or the perceived role of theology in the Church.
CrossFit is a fitness regime that is – in its inception – unrelated to traditional religion but has, over the past few years, attracted a number of Christian athletes. Some of these athletes bear witness to their faith with and through... more
CrossFit is a fitness regime that is – in its inception – unrelated to traditional religion but has, over the past few years, attracted a number of Christian athletes. Some of these athletes bear witness to their faith with and through their bodies. Rich Froning, the four time winner of the annual CrossFit Games, for example, has “Galatians 6:14” (“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”) tattooed over his upper body. Other Christian CrossFitters gather for retreats where they subject their bodies to sweaty workouts, prayer, meditation, and Bible readings. This paper will introduce suffering and witness bearing CrossFit bodies and contemplate the relationship between bodily suffering and religion in the CrossFit community.
I will be giving this talk at the seminar “Le corps et les discours religieux contemporains” / “The Body and Contemporary Religious Discourse” at DRES, CNRS-Université de Strasbourg.
I will be giving this talk at the seminar “Le corps et les discours religieux contemporains” / “The Body and Contemporary Religious Discourse” at DRES, CNRS-Université de Strasbourg.
Research Interests:
The panel looked at the representation of (male) gender roles in film in the context of religion. My presentation in particular looked at how the British BBC TV series "Rev." portrayed masculinities in the context of the Anglican Church.
The terms “memory” and “identity” today are contested yet omnipresent in social discourse, especially in times of crises. What are we as individuals and community to remember and what is best forgotten? Is identity inclusive or exclusive?... more
The terms “memory” and “identity” today are contested yet omnipresent in social discourse, especially in times of crises. What are we as individuals and community to remember and what is best forgotten? Is identity inclusive or exclusive? Christopher Nolan’s film MEMENTO portrays the struggles with and between memory, identity, and the reconciliation of past and present. Rather than something stable, Memento strikingly and visually compelling portrays identity and memory as inscription processes onto and into the body. Even if something might best be forgotten (or has been forgotten), life and life experiences leave marks on the individual and in society. Using MEMENTO as tutor text, this paper will discuss Ricœur’s notion of narrative identity and argue that identity, memory, remembering, and forgetting are forms of art that need to be practiced and nurtured. Following, Ricœur, it will propose that we have both, a duty to remember as well as a duty to forget.
Research Interests:
Warnings about climate change often come wrapped in apocalyptic language and scenarios, often as a rhetorical strategy to convey the sense of urgency with which action is required. Similarly, technologies that promise to deliver us from... more
Warnings about climate change often come wrapped in apocalyptic language and scenarios, often as a rhetorical strategy to convey the sense of urgency with which action is required. Similarly, technologies that promise to deliver us from the impending climate apocalypse often come shrouded as savior-technologies. Once such example are carbon capture and storage solutions. Language and imagery on websites and in marketing material presents these technologies as transformative technologies: they promise to transform something harmful in the atmosphere (CO2) into paradisiacal plentitude: carbon as infinite energy resource. This paper will discuss and explore the underlying ideas behind carbon capture and storage technologies and discuss how language used to talk about the climate opportunities they offer transcends the everyday and the ordinary. Based on David Chidester’s understanding of religion, this paper argues that the power of carbon capture narratives is grounded in religious tropes and ideas.