James H. Thrall

Knight Distinguished Assistant Professor for the Study of Religion & Culture

Contact 309-341-7912 jthrall@knox.edu

General Interests
"My interest in world religions stems in large part from having grown up in Japan, Burma, Korea, and the Philippines as a member of a U.S. Foreign Service family. We were surrounded by a seemingly infinite variety of religious expression that shaped and flavored the cultures in which we lived. I also spent a substantial portion of my adult life working as a religion journalist, either for secular newspapers, or in communications for the Episcopal Church. Both roles involved dealing intimately with some of the gnarlier issues confronting contemporary faith groups. These experiences instilled a strong respect for the power of religious commitment to influence essentially all areas of life.

I study religion primarily as a social phenomenon, especially as communicated through cultural products of literature, film, and other media. I am particularly interested in the speculative potential of science fiction in exploring religious meaning. I bring a postcolonial perspective to my work that I have applied most recently in articles on representations of religion in postcolonial science fiction (who knew there could be such a thing?). My other research interests include twentieth-century feminist explorations of mysticism, world or global Christianity (with an emphasis on Burma), and peace studies.

The endless inventiveness of human beings in developing systems of religious meaning, often in ways they would never think to call religious, constantly surprises me. I delight in sharing that sense of surprise with students."

Years at Knox: 2010 to present

Education
Ph.D., Religion and Culture, 2005, Duke University.
M.A.R., Theology, 1986, Yale University Divinity School.
B.A., English, 1978, Colby College.

Full Curriculum Vitae - (DOC)

Selected Professional Accomplishments

Honors/Grants
Exemplary Service Award, International College, University of Bridgeport, 2010.
Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching, Duke University, 2003.
Duke Graduate School Travel Grant for research at Myanmar Institute of Theology, Yangon, Burma/Myanmar, 2001.
Graduate Student Essay Award, American Academy of Religion Southeastern Region, 2000.
Mary Cady Tew Prize for scholastic excellence, Yale Divinity School, 1984-85.

Publications
"K-Pax." In When Worlds Collide: Critical Companion to Science Fiction Film Adaptations. Science Fiction Texts and Studies Series. Liverpool, UK: Liverpool University. In Press, 2011.

"Learning to Listen, Listening to Learn: The Taoist Way in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Telling." In Practicing Science Fiction: Critical Essays on Writing, Reading and Teaching the Genre, edited by Karen Hellekson, Craig Jacobsen, Patrick Sharp, and Lisa Yaszek. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010.

"Postcolonial Science Fiction?: Science, Religion and the Transformation of Genre in Amitav Ghosh's The Calcutta Chromosome." Literature and Theology 23.3 (September 2009): 1-14.

"The Religions of Battlestar Galactica: Making Human/Making Other." In When Genres Collide: Selected Essays from the 37th Annual Meeting of the Science Fiction Research Association, edited by Thomas J. Morrissey and Oscar De Los Santos, 141-49. Waterbury, CT: Fine Tooth Press, 2007.

"Immersing the Chela: Religion and Empire in Rudyard Kipling's Kim." Religion and Literature 36.3 (Autumn 2004): 45-66.

"Love, Loss, and Utopian Community on William Gibson's Bridge." Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction 33.91 (Summer 2004): 97-115.

Review essay of Gauri Viswanathan's Outside the Fold: Conversion, Modernity and Belief. Polygraph: An International Journal of Culture and Politics 12 (2000): 187-195.

Assistant editor for Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Ed. Hans Hillerbrand. 4 vols. New York: Taylor and Francis, 2003.

"The Golden Kingdom" [Ann Hasseltine Judson's perceptions of nineteenth-century Burma]. Christian History and Biography 90 (Spring 2006). Served as consultant on Burma and provided photographs for special issue on Adoniram and Ann Judson.

Film/Television Reviews
The Time Traveler's Wife (New Line Cinema, 2009). Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) Review (Fall 2009).

Pushing Daisies television series. Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) Review (Spring 2009).

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Linsefilm, 2007). The Journal of Religion and Film 12:1 (April 2008).

The Golden Compass (New Line Cinema, 2007). The Journal of Religion and Film 12:1 (April 2008).

Presentations
"Multicultural Identity in Religion and the Arts." Moderator, Panel on Arts, Literature, and Religion, American Academy of Religion, Atlanta, Georgia, 2010.

"Religion Counts: Demographic Technologies and the Politics of Secularism." Organizer, Panel Moderator, and Discussion Leader, Religion and Media Workshop, American Academy of Religion and Auburn Media, Atlanta, Georgia, 2010.

"Women, Spirits, and Postcolonial Speculation in Nalo Hopkinson's The Salt Roads," Arts, Literature, and Religion Section, American Academy of Religion, Atlanta, October 2010.

"Song of the Other: Kon Ichikawa's Biruma no Tategoto (The Burmese Harp)," Film and Religion Section, International Society of Religion, Literature and Culture, Oxford University, UK (September 2010, scheduled).

"Gods and God: Frontiers of Religion on Caprica," Science Fiction Research Association, Carefree, AZ, June 2010.

Moderator, Panel on Science Fiction Film, Science Fiction Research Association, Carefree, Arizona, 2010.

Panelist, Year in Review: Science Fiction on Film Panel, Science Fiction Research Association, Carefree, Arizona, 2010.

Panelist, Roundtable on Teaching Science Fiction, Science Fiction Research Association, Carefree, Arizona, 2010.

Film Presenter, Jesus of Montreal. Religion, Film and Visual Culture Group, American Academy of Religion, Montreal, November 2009.

"Religion and Evolution," Honors Program Symposium on Evolution, University of Bridgeport, November 2009.

"Magic Words and Magic Rites: Roman Catholicism in Warren Rochelle's Harvest of Changelings," Science Fiction Research Association, Atlanta, June 2009.

"Christianity: A Western Religion?" Organized world religions panel for Litchfield Community Center Adult Education Program, Litchfield, Connecticut, March-April 2009.

"Battlestar Galactica's Women of Faith." Women and Religion Section, American Academy of Religion Southeastern Region, Nashville, March 2007.

"‘Space' as Sacred Space?: Science Fiction Television Images the Void." International Society of Religion, Literature and Culture, University of Stirling, Scotland, October 2006.

"Facing Danger: May Sinclair's Erotics of War." Arts, Literature, and Religion Section, American Academy of Religion Southeastern Region, Atlanta, March 2006.

"Five Short Stories of Evelyn Underhill," St. Matthew's Episcopal Church Book Group, Hillsborough, North Carolina, February 2006.

"Crazy Saints: Movies, Sainthood and Mental Illness." Duke University Psychiatry Residents Group, October 2001, February 2005.

"Life, Death and the Bourgeoisie in Evelyn Underhill's The Grey World and The Column of Dust." Co-organizer and presenter, joint session of Religion and Popular Culture/Christian Spirituality Groups, American Academy of Religion, San Antonio, November 2004.

"Sex and the Episcopal Church." Guest lecture for Professor Elizabeth Clark's "Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Christian Tradition" course, April 2003.

The Lovely Bones: A Novel, Alice Sebold, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church Book Group, Hillsborough, North Carolina, March 2003.

"Who's in Charge of Heaven?: The Afterlife, Film, and Ethics." Joint session of Religion and Popular Culture Group/Religion, Culture, and Communication Consultation, American Academy of Religion, Toronto, November 2002. Also presented at International Society of Religion, Literature and Culture, York, England, September 2002.

"Resisting the Bomb: Hiroshima's Mary McMillan." Yale-Edinburgh Group on the History of the Missionary Movement & Non-Western Christianity, Edinburgh, July 2002.

"Mother Wants You: Frontiers of Desire in Shane." Arts, Literature, and Religion Section, American Academy of Religion, Denver, November 2001.

"Passing for Human: Hybridity and Border Issues for Roswell's Aliens." Joint session of Religion, Film and Visual Culture Group/Religion, Culture, and Communication Consultation, American Academy of Religion, Denver, November 2001.

"Finding Middle Ground with the Middle Way: Christian/Buddhist Synthesis in Modern Buddhism in Burma." History of Religions Section, American Academy of Religion Southeastern Region, Atlanta, March 2000.

Professional Service
Judge, Student Paper Award, Science Fiction Research Association, 2010-.

Member, Steering Committee for Arts, Literature, and Religion Section, American Academy of Religion, 2006-.

Secretary, Executive Director Search Committee, American Academy of Religion, 2005-2006.

Campus & Community Involvement
Faculty Advisor, Theology Club and journal of interreligious dialogue, Knox College.
Co-director, World Religions Department, University of Bridgeport, 2009-2010.
Member, Course Curriculum Committee, Duke University Writing Program, 2006-2007.
Member, Mellon Fellows Search Committee, Duke University Writing Program, 2005-2006.
Coordinator, Religion and Theory Reading Group, Duke University Graduate Program in Religion, 2003-2006.