Method Today - Redescribing Approaches to the Study of Religion - Brad Stoddard
1. Comparison
Method Today - Redescribing Approaches to the Study of Religion - Brad Stoddard
Aaron W. Hughes [+]
University of Rochester
Aaron W. Hughes is the Dean’s Professor of the Humanities and the Philip S. Bernstein Professor in the Department of Religion and Classics at the University of Rochester. His research and publications focus on both Jewish philosophy and Islamic Studies. He has authored numerous books, including Situating Islam: The Past and Future of an Academic Discipline (Equinox, 2007); Theorizing Islam: Disciplinary Deconstruction and Reconstruction (Equinox, 2012); Muslim Identities: An Introduction to Islam (Columbia, 2012); and Abrahamic Religions: On the Uses and Abuses of History (Oxford, 2012). He currently serves as the editor of the journal Method and Theory in the Study of Religion.
Description
This chapter surveys comparison, one of the foremost methods employed in the academic study of religion since its inception. It provides a historical overview, critique, and suggestions for what a more sophisticated comparison might look like in the future. It does this by paying attention to the messiness of social interaction as opposed to essentialized and discrete religious traditions.