First Impressions #83: Amira Jarmakani on Desert Romances and the War on Terror
Popular “desert romance” novels reveal some of the cultural logic in the construction of U.S. imperialism and the war on terror. Kristian Petersen
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First Impressions
First Impressions #82: Elizabeth Hayes Alvarez on the Virgin Mary in Nineteenth-Century American Culture
In the nineteenth-century United States, the Virgin Mary appealed to Protestants just as much as she did to Catholics. Dave Krueger speaks
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First Impressions #81: Redskins: Insult and Brand by C. Richard King
Exploiting an imagined “Native Americanness” for profit or pleasure is a common feature of the American experience. Kristian Petersen talks with C. Richard
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First Impressions #80: Hector Avalos on the Impeachable Ethics of Jesus
Jesus may not have been the moral exemplar he is so often considered to be. Joseph Ryan Kelly talks with Hector Avalos about
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First Impressions #79: Prasenjit Duara on Modernity and a Global Sustainable Future
Can the ideal of global sustainability serve as a modern form of transcendence? Kristian Petersen talks with Prasenjit Duara, Oscar Tang Chair of
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First Impressions #78: Benjamin Sommer on Revelation and Authority in Judaism
Can the religious texts and traditions of Judaism be authoritative and sacred while also being human and sometimes fallible? Joseph Ryan Kelly talks
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First Impressions #77: Father James Martin on the Seven Last Words of Jesus
The final utterances of Jesus Christ on the cross are particularly meaningful to his followers. Father James Martin speaks with First Impressions host
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First Impressions #76: Grawemeyer Award Winner in Religion: Susan R. Holman
Why is religion so important for thinking about global health today? This a special edition of First Impressions featuring the winner of the 2016
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First Impressions #75: Sean McCloud on Fighting Demons in American Culture
A haunted present is often the symptom of a repressed past. Dave Krueger speaks with Sean McCloud author of American Possessions: Fighting
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First Impressions #74: John Shelby Spong On Biblical Literalism as a “Gentile Heresy”
A close reading of Matthew’s gospel reveals that a literal understanding of Jesus’s story obscures its deep Jewish roots. John Shelby Spong joins
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