Religion in Culture Lunch Series
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On Wednesday, October 11, 2006, the Department, along with
the Religious Studies Student Association (RSSA),
hosted the first Religion
in Culture Lunchtime Discussion of the new semester, featuring
the work of our own Associate Professor Steve
Jacobs. Prof. Jacobs--who is on the Secretary/Treasurer
of the International
Association of Genocide Scholars and regularly teaches
courses and publishes in this subject area--has held the Department's
Endowed
Chair in Judaic Studies since January 2001. The predistributed
article that was discussed during lunch was his recently published
essay, "The
Study of Genocide Gets Religion" (PDF; this article is
posted on the Department's "secure" server, requiring
your Bama ID/Password).
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Keke Pounds, a student in Prof. Jacobs's REL
238, also attended the lunchtime event.
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Prof. Jacobs's essay, which he described as exploring a newer
area of study, advocated for scholars both within and outside
the academic study of religion to take more seriously the
possible role played by religious beliefs, behaviors, and
institutions in providing some of the conditions in which
acts we commonly designate as genocides
might take place. Although scholars routinely study such things
as myth, ritual, systems of authority, etc.--it is odd that
they so rarely focus their studies on genocides, given that
(as he argued in his essay) all of these "have been factors
in genocide."
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RSSA Vice President, Justin Nelson, introduced Professor
Jacobs.
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To say that the box lunches provided by the
Department were rib-ticklingly delicious would be a sad, sad
understatement.
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Resources
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"Holocaust
and Genocide Studies: The Future is Now," a 1998 article
by Prof. Steve Jacobs
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Holocaust
and Genocide Studies, An International Journal
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Institute
for the Study of Genocide
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U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Raphael
Lemkin and the term "Genocide"
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Our thanks to Betty Dickey
and to Donna Martin for all of their work to plan Department
events. And thanks once again to Jennifer "Say Cheese!"
Alfano for taking photos of this event.
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Prof. Jacobs opened the lunch with a summary
of his article and fielded a number of engaging questions
throughout the discussion.
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Our lunchtime discussion events are limited to majors and
minors in the Department and provide an opportunity for
them to read scholars' current work and discuss it with
them--whether they are our own faculty or visiting lecturers.
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Sarah Luken, a graduating senior and student
worker in the Department once again this year, was overhead
to exclaim in a surprisingly exercised manner: "Trade
you my chocolate chip cookie for an apple? You've got
to be kidding!"
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REL students Zach Price (left) and Brooks
Harvard (middle), along with Prof. Russell
McCutcheon, all listen attentively.
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Prof. Jacobs and Chris Hurt, RSSA
President. In the background can be seen the framed flyers
for all past Religion
in Culture Lectures.
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