Sigrid Peterson, Ph.D. » About

About

I do believe that religion is, among other things, an intellectual activity
– and to play upon Paul Ricoeur’s well-known phrase, it is the perception of incongruity that gives rise to thought.
– Jonathan Z. Smith (Map, 1978: 293-4) 1/

My PhD is in the Academic Study of Religion - the languages, practices, and ideologies of particular religions in particular places in particular time.

A less structured site where my views on torture have unfolded is found at doctortwo.wordpress.com.

Currently I am a lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Recently, in the Summer of 2009, I taught Religion and Psychology. Currently, in Spring Semester 2010, I am teaching Religion and Science, based on my syllabus-for-relst102-601 2010A .

My dissertation in its full and stuffy title, with link to the pdf files of sections, is Martha Shamoni: A Jewish Syriac Rhymed Liturgical Poem about the Maccabean Martyrdoms (Sixth Maccabees). The short title is Sixth Maccabees.

My CV (Curriculum Vitae) gives a full presentation of my education, experience, publications, activities, and interests. Well — interests, not so complete. You can find it at the link just below.

Sigrid Peterson, January 2010 CV
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1/ See Sidebar

See this link, which contains the link to my cv.

"I do believe that religion is, among other things, an intellectual activity -- and to play upon Paul Ricoeur's well-known phrase, it is the perception of incongruity that gives rise to thought." -- Jonathan Z. Smith (Map, 1978: 293-4) Jonathan Z. Smith's well-known description of religion, and of the academic study of religion, combines the well-known phrase "perception of incongruity" as developed by the anthropologist of mind, Jerome Bruner, and the similarly well-known phrase from Paul Ricoeur, "the symbol gives rise to thought." Did Smith mean that the perception of incongruity necessarily led to the invention of religion, or to the examination of religion?