Sightings Articles

Painting of Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus | humanities | Religion and Literature

Oedipus Then and Again … And Again

Pasolini’s Edipo Re reminds us of the boldness at the heart of humanistic learning: the conviction that the texts we decide to study should matter not just for us but for anyone. ...

March 9, 2023
White Twitter bird logo with bright blue background

Antisemitism | Judaism | Religion and Literature

Misdiagnosing Jewish Loyalty

In literature and social media, people have written about Jews to draw boundaries between "in" and "out."...

November 17, 2022
god - blake

art | Religion and Literature | prophets

The Christian Who Was a Church of One

In a world that seems to me to offer precious little of the mantle of prophecy, I offer you William Blake....

February 17, 2022
Cold Cave live in Paris 2018

music | pop culture | religio-secular culture | Religion and Literature

Secular Music in Seven Lessons

Darkwave artist Cold Cave's recent album, "Fate in Seven Lessons," sheds light on the complexities of popular culture's interaction with religion...

June 24, 2021
Dr. Manette

Religion and Literature | university life | study of religion | Students | Coronavirus

A Tale of Two Classrooms: Impressions of an Academic Year

Even in extraordinary times, Dickens reminds us to exercise caution around superlatives...

June 21, 2021
Steppenwolf

Religion and Literature | pop culture | Thomas Aquinas | evil

The Moral Emptiness of Zack Snyder's Justice League

Understanding what makes a movie villain compelling (or not), with a little help from Thomas Aquinas...

May 3, 2021
Walden Revisited

Religion and Literature | america | social justice

Thoreau's Ethics of Delight

Walden's religious quest for justice in a life of simple pleasures...

March 11, 2021
books

Religion and Literature | American Civil War | Myth

The Mythology and Mythologies of the Great American Novel

The roots and dangers of the quest for America's literary masterpiece...

February 15, 2021
Scheherazade and the Sultan

Qur'an | Coronavirus | Religion and Literature

Relief After Misfortune

A centuries-old Islamic literary genre may still offer consolation today...

January 4, 2021
fleabag

Religion and Literature | Film | Catholicism | pop culture

When a Vow Turns Out to be... a Vow: ‘Fleabag’

Exploring religion's leading role in the hit television series “Fleabag”...

April 20, 2020