Presidential Address: La Labor de Nuestras Manos

I have worked for over 25 years in Los Angeles, and this presidential address will be delivered in San Antonio. In both cities, Spanish is the dominant language, but often isn’t recognized as such. I will say a few things about the study of Islam in particular, but also connect that more generally to the work that we do in the study of religion, and think more broadly about what is the work of our hands when we do the study of religion. Part of this involves looking at both the study of religion and at theology, and the conflict dualism that is often set up between the two. I will also talk about some insights from religion and music that are important here. I will also discuss the actual work that we do as scholars of religion, which often isn’t the production of scholarly monographs that are sometimes only read by a handful of people, but work that affects thousands.