I have been told by more publishers than I can (or care to) count that there is no market for my book on American gun culture, Gun Curious: Understanding America’s Evolving Culture of Firearms. For some, there is no market for books on guns generally; for others, no market for my particular low-heat, balanced takeContinueContinue reading “What If I Thought of My Book as a Work of Art Rather Than a Commodity?”
Category Archives: Writing
In Honor of My Textbook Co-Author Keith A. Roberts
On December 31st, I submitted the revised manuscript for the 7th edition of Religion in Sociological Perspective. I am Keith Roberts’ co-author on this textbook. Keith brought me in to do the revisions for the 5th edition over a decade ago. This was wonderful for me because I had always wanted to do a textbook,ContinueContinue reading “In Honor of My Textbook Co-Author Keith A. Roberts”
Bibliographic Reflections on the Sociology of Religion
The manuscript for the 7th edition of my textbook, Religion in Sociological Perspective, is due to Sage Publications by the end of 2019. Which is just days away. One of the the last major tasks I had to complete was the bibliography. This was no small task. Including the 269 new citations I added forContinueContinue reading “Bibliographic Reflections on the Sociology of Religion”
A justification as to why a leave is essential to complete the proposed project
I am completing an application for a university funded one-semester research leave at full pay to work on a book related to my ongoing research with Katie Day on church security (generously funded by the Louisville Institute). As much as I enjoy teaching, I am grateful for the opportunity to take a leave from teachingContinueContinue reading “A justification as to why a leave is essential to complete the proposed project”
Handbook of Religion and Society
As my last big project in the sociology of religion I edited a Handbook of Religion and Society for the Dutch publishing giant Springer. The book was published in 2016, but I just received a book performance report from the publisher which prompted me to mention it today. The handbook includes 26 chapters by aContinueContinue reading “Handbook of Religion and Society”
“The Sociology of U.S. Gun Culture” Article Published and Available Free Online
In case you missed the announcement on my Gun Culture 2.0 blog, I am very happy to report that my second academic article on gun culture was published recently in the journal Sociology Compass (my first was on religion and gun ownership). Thanks to a generous grant from Wake Forest University’s ZSR Library and theContinueContinue reading ““The Sociology of U.S. Gun Culture” Article Published and Available Free Online”
Trying to Put My Writing on a Diet
Like many academics, I write alot. Books, book chapters, articles, book reviews, lectures and lesson plans, manuscript reviews, letters of recommendation, my blogs (this one less than my Gun Culture 2.0 blog), emails, and more. Like some academics, I enjoy writing. Although I enjoy writing, it is hard. Or perhaps, I enjoy writing because itContinueContinue reading “Trying to Put My Writing on a Diet”
Religion and Guns Research Digested in Academic Minute
For those of you who would rather listen to me explain my recent article on religion and guns in America than read it, you can do so thanks to WAMC Public Radio’s Academic Minute program, which is also available on the Inside Higher Education website. Or if you are a real glutton for statistical punishment,ContinueContinue reading “Religion and Guns Research Digested in Academic Minute”
Clinging to Their Guns and Religion?
Before I began studying American gun culture, I spent 20+ years studying American religion. So it is perfectly natural that I would try to bridge the two interests. It is also the case that people often connect religion and guns in America. This, too, makes sense because the United States today is one of theContinueContinue reading “Clinging to Their Guns and Religion?”
My Blogging Year in Review for 2015
Because most of my blogging these days is at my Gun Culture 2.0 blog, this personal blog gets relatively neglected. So I was surprised that I still had nearly 6,000 visitors to the site in 2015. According to my WordPress annual report, these are the posts that got the most views in 2015: Reflections onContinueContinue reading “My Blogging Year in Review for 2015”