At the risk of sounding irreverent (or a bit heretical?), I was struck by how much the ISHS can sound like the “International Society Haunted by Spirituality.” This was most evident in James Wood’s wonderfully allusive plenary, but there were undercurrents in other discussions and papers. As a religion scholar, it’s very interesting to watch people tiptoeing into the shallow end—or diving into the deep end—of the topic which I have made my professional focus. My sense is the Society can be a new “middle space” between the American Academy of Religion and the Modern Languages Association. The breadth of interdisciplinarity was exciting and refreshing. It was probably the most diverse meeting I’ve attended.
This will be a fun, stimulating group to hang out with!
[Webmaster’s note: This post is part of a series offering impressions of, and reflections on, the 2014 ISHS Conference by participating Society members.]
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