In this essay, I make the claim that the study of religion suffers from an identity crisis that is made all the worse by an inability to effectively navigate not only the many divisions within the field, but also the ...In this essay, I make the claim that the study of religion suffers from an identity crisis that is made all the worse by an inability to effectively navigate not only the many divisions within the field, but also the many ways in which influences external to the realm of scholarship, including media, university administration, and public opinion, represent significant areas of discourse that need to be better integrated into our scholarly work. In conclusion, I argue that a greater attention to the ethical or social value of social theory can go a long way in helping to clarify what is at stake, and perhaps even bridge some of these divides without loosing academic integrity.展开更多
In the novel What I Saw and How I Lied （2008）, Judy Blundell presents readers a world of noir where so many lies are around the innocent protagonist, 15-year-old girl Evie. It is a challenge for Evie to probe into t...In the novel What I Saw and How I Lied （2008）, Judy Blundell presents readers a world of noir where so many lies are around the innocent protagonist, 15-year-old girl Evie. It is a challenge for Evie to probe into the heart of the deceptions and make ethical choices between good and evil. After experiencing the path from error to truth, from confusion to clarity, and unconsciousness to consciousness, Evie comes to realize the corruption and evils of the society and in an epiphany, obtains a self-knowledge which leads to her initiation. Through analyzing the ethical predicament and ethical choices of the protagonist Evie as well as the negative living environment around her, the present paper aims to interrogate the moral issues of truth, lie, justice, greed, fidelity, and betrayal so as to give readers a better understanding of the theme of initiation in the novel.展开更多
文摘In this essay, I make the claim that the study of religion suffers from an identity crisis that is made all the worse by an inability to effectively navigate not only the many divisions within the field, but also the many ways in which influences external to the realm of scholarship, including media, university administration, and public opinion, represent significant areas of discourse that need to be better integrated into our scholarly work. In conclusion, I argue that a greater attention to the ethical or social value of social theory can go a long way in helping to clarify what is at stake, and perhaps even bridge some of these divides without loosing academic integrity.
文摘In the novel What I Saw and How I Lied （2008）, Judy Blundell presents readers a world of noir where so many lies are around the innocent protagonist, 15-year-old girl Evie. It is a challenge for Evie to probe into the heart of the deceptions and make ethical choices between good and evil. After experiencing the path from error to truth, from confusion to clarity, and unconsciousness to consciousness, Evie comes to realize the corruption and evils of the society and in an epiphany, obtains a self-knowledge which leads to her initiation. Through analyzing the ethical predicament and ethical choices of the protagonist Evie as well as the negative living environment around her, the present paper aims to interrogate the moral issues of truth, lie, justice, greed, fidelity, and betrayal so as to give readers a better understanding of the theme of initiation in the novel.
