New Books Network

About Kristian Petersen

NBN Episodes hosted by Kristian:

Islamic Studies October 30, 2020

Interrogating Secularism

Race and Religion in Arab Transnational Art and Literature

Danielle Haque

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
In many popular accounts of contemporary “Western” society there is an inherent contradiction between the principles underlying liberal secularism and Islam. This type of binary discourse about “religion” and “secular” naturalizes these differences and promotes the seeming rigidity of the two categories. But secularism is much messier than that. Danielle Haque, Associate Professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, questions this simplistic narrative in her new book Interrogating Secularism: Race and …
African American Studies October 19, 2020

Jezebel Unhinged

Loosing the Black Female Body in Religion and Culture

Tamura Lomax

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
One of the central threads in the public discourse on Black womanhood is the idea of the “Jezebel.” This trope deems Black women and girls as dishonorable and sexually deviant …
History October 9, 2020

Al Rashid Mosque

Building Canadian Muslim Communities

Earle H. Waugh

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
In the early 20th-century Muslims, primarily with roots in Lebanon, began to settle in Canada’s interior plains. In 1938, the small community in Edmonton opened the first mosque in the …
South Asian Studies September 4, 2020

Aurangzeb

The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King

Audrey Truschke

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
For many, the history of the Mughal empire looms heavy over contemporary South Asian social imaginaries. The lightning rod figure within modern day myths about the past is the Mughal …
American Studies August 14, 2020

With Stones in Our Hands

Reflections on Racism, Muslims and US Empire

Sohail Daulatzai and Junaid Rana

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
In this current moment it has become increasingly clear that US society is deeply entangled in racist policies and logics of white supremacy. While this affects numerous communities, anti-Muslim racism …
African American Studies August 5, 2020

Reimagining Hagar

Blackness and Bible

Nyasha Junior

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
Popular culture helps shape how audiences imagine Biblical personalities in our contemporary moment. For many, Warner Sallman’s portrait of Jesus fixes him as white, others envision Moses as Charlton Heston …
Literary Studies July 17, 2020

Poetry in Praise of Prophetic Perfection

A Study of West African Arabic Madih Poetry and its Precedents

Oludamini Ogunnaike

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
Around the world Muslims praise the Prophet Muhammad through the recitation of lyrical poetry. In West Africa, Arabic praise poetry has a rich history informed by local literary, spiritual, and …
Middle Eastern Studies June 26, 2020

Muslim Qurʾānic Interpretation Today

Media, Genealogies and Interpretive Communities

Johanna Pink

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
Qurʾanic interpretation in contemporary societies is shaped in a multitude of ways. There are educational institutions that inform how one understands the text, linguistic hurdles for readers and commentators, publicly …
Critical Theory May 22, 2020

Radical Skin, Moderate Masks

De-radicalising the Muslim and Racism in Post-racial Societies

Yassir Morsi

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
Muslims living in locations like Australia, Europe, or North America exist within a context dominated by white racial norms and are forced to grapple with those conventions on a daily …
Anthropology May 21, 2020

Method as Identity

Manufacturing Distance in the Academic Study of Religion

Christopher M. Driscoll and Monica R. Miller

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
In the study of religion there are various camps that each approach their subjects in unique ways. Each method is shaped by particular interpretive choices, such as to be objectively …
British Studies May 1, 2020

Governing Islam

Law, Empire, and Secularism in Modern South Asia

Julia Stephens

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
As British colonial rulers expanded their control in South Asia legal resolutions were increasingly shaped by the English classification of social life. The definitional divide that structured the role of …
American Studies April 24, 2020

Teaching Islamic Studies in the Age of ISIS, Islamophobia and the Internet

Courtney M. Dorroll

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
Islamic Studies classrooms have grown significantly over several generations. While once we could only find courses on the tradition in the most prestigious of institutions now Islam classes are taught …