Anthropologist Mayfair Yang teaches in the Religious Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has done pioneering…
The future of China’s past: An interview with Mayfair Yang
colonialism
The ethics of proselytism
At On Faith this week, "the question" is whether religious groups proselytizing overseas amounts to "religious freedom" or to "coercion."
Exploring Buddhist violence
Michael Jerryson discusses his new book Buddhist Warfare, co-edited with Mark Juergensmeyer, at Religion Dispatches, explaining "how the notion of…
Colin Dayan: “‘Civilizing’ Haiti”
In the Boston Review, Colin Dayan argues that woefully little has changed since the colonial era with respect to Western…
Idaho missionaries replay colonial legacy, imperial hubris
Anthea Butler analyzes the case of Idaho missionaries arrested in Haiti, comparing it to the long history of colonialism and…
“New” pantheism enters the Oscar race
After claiming two of the big prizes at this year’s Golden Globes (Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director…
God was on everybody’s side: A conversation with Jean Comaroff
It is my pleasure to inaugurate Rites and Responsibilities, a new dialogue series for The Immanent Frame and the Social…
David Brooks outdoes Pat Robertson
A number of blogs recently have criticized David Brooks for his response to the earthquake in Haiti. Noting that Haiti's…
No view from nowhere
I’ll start with a comment about my own angle of approach. There is of course no view from nowhere, and…
Colonialism and conflict
If the idea of purification is to retain broad currency across the colonial landscape, it may need to be defined…