Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4648 )

• The Wars of the Worlds

  

  Just as it is appropriate for news sources to carry religious stories without ridicule in weekend editions, October is the month when strange things might be... Read more

  Posted on 30 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Non-Fiction Steampunk

  

  The histories of Tom Standage approach familiar things from unfamiliar angles. Being interested in Steampunk, and a daily user of the internet who has trouble... Read more

  Posted on 29 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Devil’s Food

  

  One figure among the standard repertoire of Halloween characters has never appeared on my list of favorite monsters. I suppose it may be because as a child I... Read more

  Posted on 28 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• How God Became Male

  

  What is gender? Okay, we all know about the mechanics of the thing, but gender is more than just sex. Indeed, it is a psycho-social construct that is difficult... Read more

  Posted on 27 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Keeping Time

  

  Did you remember to set your clock back? Depending on where you are (and this presumes there are any people reading this at all) it might have been a mistake. Read more

  Posted on 26 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Fate of Goddesses

  

  The goddesses Asherah and Astarte are sometimes confused, even by experts. Astarte, also known as Ashtart, Ashtarte, Athtart, and Astaroth, among other names, i... Read more

  Posted on 25 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Huge Or Not?

  

  The word “refugee,” I recently learned, was originally coined to refer to the Huguenots. As the Reformation began to take hold in Europe, although mostly... Read more

  Posted on 24 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Washed Out Or Burnt Over?

  

  Is America a Christian nation? The answer to that question will no doubt raise ire in some part of the room. People, speaking mostly without data, will assert... Read more

  Posted on 23 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Viking Trail

  

  History is a powerful elixir, capable of transforming sinners to saints with the mere passage of time. Well, calling Vikings saints may be a bit of a stretch,... Read more

  Posted on 22 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Doodle Dandy

  

  Deep in the stacks of the New College library at Edinburgh University, I came upon a book in the open shelves with a date of 1611. Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• North Tarrytown

  

  Ichabod Crane has undergone many incarnations since Washington Irving conjured him. Not very sympathetically described in the original “Legend of Sleepy Hollow,... Read more

  Posted on 20 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Empire State

  

  Hegemony is a funny word. In studies of antiquity it is commonly found since it denotes the “Leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Know It All

  

  Perhaps it’s the fact that I had a career malfunction in the middle of my chosen vocation, or perhaps it’s a natural consequence of earning an advanced degree. Read more

  Posted on 18 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Monsters of Science

  

  Maybe it’s the ebola in the air, or perhaps the gas from all the midterm elections verbiage, but I’ve been on a monster run this October. Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Campus Crusade

  

  The Chronicle of Higher Education also chronicles the trials and travails of religion in academia. A recent edition of CHE reported on how California State... Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Gothic American

  

  American Gothic, the painting by Grant Wood, caused me trouble at Routledge. An author wanted to use the image on the cover of his book (we eventually managed... Read more

  Posted on 15 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Autumn Music

  

  It is an experience as old as humanity itself. At least humanity that started to realize that age, as remote as it may seem, will always eventually catch up wit... Read more

  Posted on 14 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Open Sea

  

  “In 1492,” they tell me, “Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” As a feat of science in the age of discovery, there is no doubt that this was an event worth... Read more

  Posted on 13 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Joy of Tech

  

  In the age of Steampunk, New Jersey is among the world capitals. Indeed, today is the second day that the International Steampunk City will be inhabited in... Read more

  Posted on 12 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Lions Among Men

  

  Facial follicle emasculation, i.e. shaving, has some interesting religious implications. A recent Associated Press story highlighted this when students at... Read more

  Posted on 11 October 2014 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY