I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again. ~William Penn~
The ADL is doing a training on Sept 12 at USC to help campuses address hate crimes. I’d love to hear from people who are able to attend. And if you want to support this project but can’t go, consider a donation to the ADL to support this important work.
Above, white supremacists meet to “unite the right” in Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia, in 2017.
Details here.
I recently got to review Antony Alumkal’s Paranoid Science: The Christian Right’s War on Reality for Contemporary Sociology. In this book, Alumkal, a professor of the sociology of religion at Iliff School of Theology, identifies patterns of paranoid thinking in conservative Christians’ engagement with four issues: evolution, LGBTQ+ rights, bioethics, and climate change. Readers interested in any of those topics will find that the chapters devoted to them stand alone well, while those of us interested in broader questions about science and religion will find the book an illuminating read about how conservative Christian organizations work.
Above, the cover of Alumkal’s Paranoid Science.
“When it comes to dealing with science,” he writes, “perhaps the key issue is that ease with which these individuals deny reality when they find it undesirable” (p. 193). That statement could be just as accurately applied, I fear, when it comes to history, economics, and politics.
Rebecca
Whether you are already a fantastic, productive writer who can’t wait to get to your manuscript each day or you are stuck or struggling with half-done manuscripts, a backlog of pieces in your “to-revise” pile, and a feeling of dread when you open your computer each day, you are invited to join the monthly AGT Writing Challenge.
Each month, participants agree to write at least 400 words per day for 5 days each 7 day week, Sunday through Saturday. We start on the FIRST Sunday of every month, and since there are no breaks between monthly challenges, we are usually ending in the following month. If you meet your goals, you will write at least 8,000 words in a month with 4 weeks and 10,000 words in a month with 5 weeks. For September, we begin on Sunday, September 4 and end on Saturday, October 6.
Here’s how it works:
You buy into the challenge with US $20, payable via PayPal to anygoodthing@outlook.com or, if you prefer, check. (Just email me at anygoodthing@outlook.com to ask where to send it.)
You write 5/7 days each week, at least 400 words. Each day that you write, you send your writing to me at anygoodthing@outlook.com with the word count in the subject line. If you meet your goal for the month, you get your $20 back.
If you miss a day, you lose $3. If you miss 2 days, you lose $6. If you miss more than 2 days, you lose the full $20.
Forfeited funds go into a kitty that funds a small monthly prize, drawn at random from among those who meet their 20-day goal; occasional random drawings among participants for other contests; and administrative costs associated with organizing the AGT Writing Challenge.
How do I get started?
From the email address you prefer to use in our correspondence, email me with your name, the email address associated with your Facebook profile (so I can add you to our Facebook group), and how you plan on paying (PayPal or check). If you’d like an accountability partner, please let me know in email. Send any other information you think is important and any questions you might have.
While you can email me your intention to join and put in your $20 at any point, each AGT Writing Challenge begins on the first Sunday of every month. You may join up to two days after the start date but those two missed days will count as your skip days that week, so you’d need to write Tues-Sat of that first week to meet your goal. After the first Tuesday of a month, it’s too late to join for that month, so you’d need to join in the following month. Each challenge runs for four or five weeks–until the next month’s first Sunday.
Who participates?
Participants include professional writers, those writing after a hiatus, and people coming to writing for the first time. Some people are working on professional projects, while others are working on personal ones. Our writers are working on novels, short stories, academic articles, academic books, dissertations, blogs, religious devotionals, memoirs, and more.
What can I write about? Can I work on more than one writing project?
You can write about anything you like. Some folks work on one project the entire time they participate, while others switch between ongoing projects on a regular basis–sometimes even within the same day.
The AGT Writing Challenge is a good opportunity to work on writing that you might avoid otherwise–a spot in your novel where you are stuck, an academic article that has been languishing, or a short story that you think could be good if you’d just revise it.
Do you read my writing?
No. If you send your writing within the body of an email, I’ll see the first few lines when I open the document, but I don’t read it. If you send your writing as an attachment, I don’t open it except to do a word count if you’ve not included a word count in the subject line.
How does the AGT Writing Challenge support my writing?
In addition to regular email check-ins, you can participate in our secret Facebook group, where writers share inspiration and advice, ask questions, and support each other. If you like seeing your daily writing total add up, you can check in with our Google Sheet, an online spreadsheet where you can self-report (using your real name, initials, or a pseudonym) your daily writing progress and see how your efforts are comparing to others in the group. And you can request to be paired with an accountability partner from the group.
How do accountability partners work?
On the first day of the new Writing Challenge, I’ll use Facebook to ask everyone if they would like a writing accountability partner. Just tell me there or email me, if you prefer. Within the first few days of each month, I match partners mostly at random, after making sure that they don’t already know each other or work in the same field or at the same institution to insure that they might not be working on projects that put them in any competition with each other. You and your partner are matched for the whole month, with new partners reassigned each month. You should figure out how you want to check in with each other (FB Messenger, text message, or something else ), how often (daily, M-F, every other day, etc.), and what you want to do in those check-ins (Sometimes a regular, specific question works well: “Did you write for that grant project you have due soon?” “How many words did you add to your chapter today?”).
What can I expect to get out of this?
If you stick with your goal, you will write at least 8000 words. But while many people join to pump up their output in terms of word count, they often find they experience other benefits like:
How does this work?
Some participants have called the AGT Writing Challenge “magical,” and I don’t disagree–but it’s not clear that the magic works the same way for everyone. Some folks are very motivated by the idea of losing their $20. Others see the $20 as a reward and put it toward a prize of their own to reward their hard work. Most people find that they can do 400 words a day–it’s enough to push their writing forward (You can get an idea out, develop an example, or write an important point in 400 words.) without it being too daunting. Watching your project advance is its own kind of motivation. By the time you’ve had your seat in your desk chair long enough to write 400 words, you often find that you have the time and energy to write more. 400 words can be done in lots of different settings and in a short amount of time, so it becomes harder to say “I don’t have time.”
When you overcome a writing obstacle–whether that’s a technical difficulty in writing, a plot point you’ve been struggling with, a piece of data you couldn’t explain, a bad habit (like interrupting yourself to check email), or something else–you become more confident that you can overcome the next difficulty.
And the AGT Writing Challenge is rooted in respect for writing, encouragement (rather than competition, which is, unfortunately, the situation many of us face at work), and the belief that we all lose when good ideas are lost–and when good thinkers don’t get their ideas out there.
What if I’m writing something I can’t share?
If you are working on a large project that can’t be shared due to privacy concerns, it’s probably not a good pick for the AGT Writing Challenge. However, if you must occasionally write a piece you can’t send in (a faculty review, a review for a book proposal, etc.), just send the word count and a note explaining what you worked on.
What do you do with the writing I send in?
I keep it in my dedicated AGT Writing Challenge email account for the duration of the month. Depending on the number of writers, it may take me up to a week to contact everyone to let them know if they met their goal for the month. After that, I usually wait about 3 days, just to make sure that I didn’t get anyone’s individual tally wrong, and then I delete the emails that contain your writing.
How long do people stay in the AGT Writing Challenge?
Some folks participate for just one month. Others pop in for a month, then take a month off, then come back. Some have participated every month since they joined. Stay as long as you like–and come back whenever you need to.
Do I have to be producing new words each day?
Recognizing that everyone needs to revise and edit (and some folks need to produce tables, which have relatively few words but are a necessary and time-consuming part of their work) here are some ways you can count these kinds of work:
If you have other strategies, suggest them! And feel free to experiment with different strategies until you find one that works for your needs.
Do you offer proofreading, editing, coaching, or writing services?
I do, and you can read about them here. And if I’m not available or not a good fit for you, I’m happy to recommend other editors or writing coaches.
I’m a student. Would you write my paper for me?
No, but I will contact your academic dean, your advisor, and the instructor of the class and let them know you asked.
Where did the idea for this Writing Challenge come from?
A few years ago, I applied for IRB approval to do something like this as an experiment in an online course. My university denied it, saying that the project was too much like gambling. The state’s Department of Finance and Administration (which oversees lotteries, bingo, and games of chance) disagreed, and I argued with the decision, citing a body of literature on similar projects on smoking cessation and weight loss, but the IRB committee was adamant–anything remotely like gambling was off limits. (Those in higher ed in Arkansas might see a joke in here: the state’s lotto funds higher ed scholarships.) But I kept thinking about the idea and eventually decided to apply it to one of my other interests: supporting writers.
We often get stuck thinking that the only way to progress is through criticism. I disagree. Personally, I’ve never once improved because someone tore me apart; I’ve only ever really improved when I felt confident and when others saw potential in me. I figured I wasn’t the only one, so a project like this one might work for other people, too. And if it chips away at a culture of humiliation, that’s a bonus! At the heart of this model is the idea that we can all succeed, that there is room enough for everyone’s ideas, and that we are not in competition for scarce resources but that the more of us in the conversation, the more opportunities we have to develop our ideas.
What motivates you to host this event?
Previously, I’ve directed Women and Gender Studies at Arkansas State University and worked as a dissertation and thesis coach at the University of Kansas. In both roles, I saw my work as helping others build their capacities for writing and research. I love that kind of work–encouraging others, supporting them as they move forward. I’m especially passionate about helping those traditionally underserved by higher ed, including women, first generation scholars, and people of color.
Hosting this been a lot of fun for me so far and encouraging in every way. I’ve cleared off lingering projects, moved new ones forward, got to experiment with new forms, learned a lot about myself as a writer, and reminded myself of why I got into academia in the first place (because I love writing! and I love seeing people succeed in their writing!). And, seriously EVERY SINGLE DAY I get to see AGT writers all bringing new ideas into the world!
I have some more questions.
Contact me at anygoodthing@outlook.com.
Right now, you’re high on the smell of new Expo markers and feeling hopeful that your new planner is going to bring a level of peace and productivity that you’ve never experienced. Your students, with fresh haircuts and a commitment to making all their 8 am classes, are feeling the same.
How can you make the honeymoon phase last? Here are 5 ideas:
Then, a closer like, “Please know that your professors care about your success and are rooting for you.”
Above, Dancers of the Third Age, an image on a notecard from Syracuse Cultural Workers. Check them out for beautiful cards that support important causes.
What are your strategies for keeping morale up?
I’ve just started a new stint as a features editor of the Religious Studies Project. I mention this because I think that some of you might like what RSP is about: it’s an international group of collaborators producing podcasts of interviews with scholars of religion about the whole range of topics that fall under “religion.” Recent podcasts address the grief rituals, Japanese Shinto, magic, drone metal mysticism, and Muslim superheroes.
Above, Earth’s 2005 Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method. Want to learn how drone metal can be a spiritual practice? Check out the RSP podcast on the topic.
Anyway, if this looks interesting, I hope you’ll check it out!
Rebecca
On a Facebook group about higher ed that I belong to, a member asked us to share our favorite part of our jobs. There’s a lot to love about this gig, but, for me, one of the best parts is getting to be part of a conversation with scholars whose work you admire. So that’s why it was such a joy for me to read J.E. Sumerau’s review of God Hates: Westboro Baptist Church, American Nationalism, and the Religious Right in Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews recently. Sumerau is a professor of sociology at the University of Tampa whose work on religion and sexuality is incredibly helpful, I think, in understanding power and abuse within religious settings (You can find links to articles here.)
Here’s an excerpt from the review, and you can find the full text of it here:
The outline and examination of the similarities and differences between conservative Christian movements and groups allows Barrett-Fox to move beyond the spectacle of the Westboro Baptist Church and connect its operations to broader patterns in contemporary society. This is made all the more interesting—and potentially useful in classrooms of varied levels—because the analysis is embedded within intricately constructed thick descriptions of events and political activities, extensive interview quotes from various sources, and multi-faceted historical aspects of the Westboro Baptist Church itself. The use of this data throughout the argument reaches an impressive zenith in Chapter Four—wherein Westboro Baptist Church and the religious right are placed in comparison—and Chapter Five, wherein the author offers an intricate discussion of theological, national, and civil liberty conflicts on a broader scale.
Beyond the broader analytic offerings and possibilities of the work, I was also struck by just how well-written and easy to read this text is. Barrett-Fox undertakes a very complicated project here but does so in an easily accessible writing style that I would feel comfortable assigning in undergraduate courses. The use of examples—from federal laws to local disputes, from sermon topics to private interviews, from broader social movements to specific Westboro Baptist Church campaigns—does a lot of the work by allowing illustrations, rather than overly academic extrapolation, to do most of the talking. As a result, the book reads more like a mainstream non-fiction discussion of the questions many people have asked about Westboro Baptist Church, contemporary America, and the religious right than the average academic text. This readability may be problematic for people less familiar with religious and sexual scholarship, as they may wish for more background, theorizing, or structure in places. At the same time, this approach makes the book much easier for those interested specifically in this topic and for wider audiences coming to the subject from different perspectives and academic levels. I would thus not be surprised to see this book do well beyond specifically academic, political, or religious audiences and contexts.
Overall, Barrett-Fox has constructed an intriguing and well-written text that both sheds light on one of the most controversial conservative Christian groups in recent memory and outlines the ways this group fits into broader American political and religious patterns, histories, and movements. As such, the work may be an entertaining and interesting read for scholars seeking to make sense of the ongoing political battles between religious groups and minority communities throughout our current political structure. At the same time, Barrett-Fox’s efforts here may provide starting points for ongoing and emerging critical approaches to sociologies of religion as well as greater integration of sexual and political concerns into the scientific study of religion and religious movements.
If you haven’t picked up a copy, today would be a good day. University Press of Kansas is having a sale that ends tomorrow; enter HOT30 as a discount code at checkout to get 30% of any book from the press. (While you are there, check out the press’s books on presidential history. You might find something in there to give you hope or comfort yet!)
Above, a note from a student in introduction to sociology ends with “It sounds strange but I have enjoyed reviewing/redeciding everything I know/believe. Thank you!” It doesn’t sound strange at all!
I recently got the opportunity to review David Weaver-Zercher’s Martyrs Mirror: A Social History, from Johns Hopkins University Press for the journal American Studies. I think the book will interest many of our readers. And if you’ve read it, please let me know what you think!
You can find my full review here: _Martyrs Mirror_ review
Rebecca
Okay, to be fair, all the books from University Press of Kansas are on sale right now, so when you fill your shopping cart, be sure to put a copy of God Hates: Westboro Baptist Church, American Nationalism, and the Religious Right in it.
When you check out before midnight on June 30, just use the code HOTS30 to get your discount.
Rebecca
