I am available for virtual and in-person conversations – customizable in focus and length of time. Other topics I’d be happy to discuss include transitioning from academia to applied research. Please feel free to contact me – coberlin@gmail.com
Politics by another means in a contemporary era of polarization
Social movements do not simply protest in the street in order to persuade followers that they have something to offer. Often social movements need physical locations, a place, in order to organize themselves and directly engage with the public. Creationists root their political call in the built environment at the Creation Museum—no longer just relying on ideological rhetoric online, or protests in the street. I demonstrate how Answers in Genesis’ (AiG) success is about a distinction between accuracy and plausibility. Rather than making claims to the accuracy of knowledge, AiG’s focus is to provide enough evidence in its own cultural site to make its narrative plausible to a broader public, a particularly useful strategy during a politically polarized era.
It’s a great case study for courses on social movements, American politics/political culture, right wing populism (domestic and international), or any course wrestling with the interface of religion, science, and politics.
Material culture, controversy (& museums)
Unpacking the materiality of a contested site affords a close-up understanding of how a group attempts to make ideas and objects credible; what techniques does AiG use and how does it accomplish a plausible “look and feel” of a museum? Creating the Creation Museum underscores the political intentionality behind curatorial choices, aimed to teach museum visitors how to ‘read’ every object and experience in the Creation Museum.
A unique addition to any course exploring material culture in Science and Technology Studies, American Studies, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, and Museum Studies.
Unique data and multi-methods
This is the first scholarly monograph to situate the Creation Museum in the context of the broader creationist social movement. It draws on over three years of on-site ethnographic fieldwork including rare internal access to the Creation Museum’s leadership, a unique historical dataset of over 1,000 internal documents from creationist organizations, and a robust analysis of media coverage.
Applicable for any social science research methods courses engaging with content analysis, ethnography, interviewing, or organizational studies.