Photos from the Third Session

Prof. George Williamson--whose first book, The Longing for Myth in Germany, examined the nineteenth-century interest in myth in German scholarship, politics, and society--delivered his paper to begin the third session: "Political Religion? Deployments of the Sacred in Hitler's German" (PDF; available with your Bama ID and Password).

The curious role of Christian religious symbolism and discourse in the Third Reich--what he characterized as "ecclesiastical and doctrinal aggrandizements"--was Williamson's focus, drawing on such evidence as propaganda images from that era (as seen above). He concluded that whether Nazism ought best to be understood as a specifically Christian movement--a position much debated in the literature--is not a question that the historian can settle. Williamson therefore concluded the lecture by proposing that the often used category "political religion" is a rather troublesome analytic concept for scholars to use.

Prof. Ramey (left), a specialist in modern Hinduism and trans-national social identities, and Prof. Trost (right), a specialist in religion, media, and popular culture in the U.S. as well as U.S. religious history (and both of whom are Religious Studies faculty members), were the respondents.

The wide variety of topics covered throughout the symposium--from social theory to history and literary criticism--ensured that a steady flow of audience members took place throughout the day.

As usual, the event could not have taken place without the help of a number of people in the background. Case in point: along with Ms. Donna Martin, Ms. Betty Dickey (pictured above, both of the Department of Religious Studies), popped in and out through the day to make sure that the trains were running on time.

See photos from the fourth session