Papers written during my PhD at University of Calgary, 2005-current:

Flourishing and The Real: The implications of Grace Jantzen’s critique of salvation for John Hick’s soteriology

Course: Comparative Philosophy of Religion, with Keith Ward. "In this paper, I will consider how Jantzen’s critique of salvation applies, or fails to apply, to the idea of ‘salvation/liberation’ which John Hick suggests in An Interpretation of Religion... My argument will be that while on the surface there are some good reasons why Jantzen might suggest a degree of compatibility, ultimately Hick’s understanding of salvation/liberation is strongly tied to his metaphysical assumptions - specifically, his realism and his insistence on transcendence as a characteristic of the Real - and therefore flourishing could only replace salvation were Hick to make some significant changes to his thought." Approximate length: 5,000 words.

Papers written during my MA at Lancaster University, 2003-04:

The Relevance of Apocalypse: Ethics, Subjectivity and the Possibility of Revolution

My dissertation, supervised by Paul Fletcher. An analysis of the revolutionary, reactionary and nihilistic manifestations of apocalypticism, primarily through the philosophical lens of Alain Badiou, but with reference also to Ernst Bloch and Walter Benjamin. Examples of apocalypticism taken up in this paper include the medieval crusades of the poor, 'cults' whose apocalyptic prophecies 'fail,' the Anabaptists of Munster, the Diggers and the Publick Universal Friend. Approximate length: 30,000 words.

Apocalypticism as Spiritual Wrestling Match: Neon Genesis Evangelion, the Tracts of Jack T. Chick, and the Longing for an Intelligible Reality

Course: Popular Visual Culture, with Johnathan Munby. With reference to Roland Barthes' analysis of wrestling, the main argument of this paper is that "Both Chick’s tracts and Neon Genesis Evangelion present a spiritual 'spectacle of excess' which ties moral characteristics tightly to appearances, magnifies the importance of gestures, and emphasizes the display of 'Suffering, Defeat and Justice.' In both texts, it is an apocalyptic element that motivates these wrestling-like features." Approximate length: 6,000 words.

The "Heroic" Establishment of Patriarchy: A Jungian-Feminist Reading of the Babylonian Creation Myth

Course: Myth, with Robert Segal. An analysis of the mythical struggle between Tiamat and Marduk, beginning with a traditional Jungian reading (Tiamat as terrible mother) and moving on to alternative interpretations - inspired by the work of such Jungian feminists as Desmaris Wehr, Estella Lauter and Sylvia Brinton Perera - that are on the whole more sympathetic toward Tiamat. Approximate length: 6,000 words.

A Jungian Spirituality for Women? Caroline Myss' Sacred Contracts versus Jung's Feminist Critics

Course: Religion and Spirituality in the Modern World, with Linda Woodhead. "... not only is it possible to combine feminism and Jungian thought within a spirituality of life, but the two can already be found coexisting quite successfully within the spirituality of Caroline Myss... Myss succeeds in utilizing the creative and imaginative elements of Jungian thought that are most useful in empowering women, while avoiding the essentialist and androcentric components that feminists most stridently reject." Approximate length: 6,000 words.

Dedication to the Impossible: Badiou, Irigaray and Postmodern Ethical Subjectivity in the Religious Realm

Course: Ethics and Postmodern Thought, with Paul Fletcher. Contrasts the ethical thought of philosopher Alain Badiou and French feminist-psychoanalyst Luce Irigaray, in order to highlight a number of areas in which the two thinkers are surprisingly compatible. Approximate length: 6,000 words.

Can Consumer Appeal and Spiritual Transformation Coexist? Celebrity Involvement and Consumer Provisions at the Los Angeles Kabbalah Center

Course: The Turn to Spirituality, with Paul Heelas. "Against critics who disparage the Kabbalah Center, I will argue in this paper that despite the two elements that critics seem to find most offensive - celebrity involvement and emphasis on consumer provisions - we should not be too quick to assume that no spiritual transformation is possible through Kabbalah." Note: this is not the form of Qabalah that I or most occultists of my acquaintance pursue, this refers strictly to the Hollywood form as taught by Rav P. Berg. Approximate length: 6,000 words.