THE GRADUATE JOURNAL OF HARVA R D DIVINITY SCHOOL 2015, Volume 10 Editor-in-Chief Editorial Lewis West Review Board Anna Attaway Managing Editor Edward Dunar Will Morningstar Ryan Gregg Adeline Harrington Faculty Advisor Jessica Kapustiak Joseph Kimmel Anne Monius Mallika Kirti Sujith Kumar Rhee-Soo Lee Adeel Mohammadi Molly Moses Caleb Murray Cody Musselman Alexandra Nichipor Parameshwaran Ramakrishnan Jesse Rothman Tamira Stephens Kelsey Viscount Zoey Walls The Graduate Journal of Harvard Divinity School is published annually under the auspices of Harvard Divinity School. 45 Francis Avenue Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Authors retain all copyright. Please contact [email protected] with any questions or to request additional copies of this issue. Cover design by Kristie Welsh Contents Acknowledgments v Editors’ Introduction vii Confronting Immortality at Gettysburg: The United States Christian Commission and Civil Religion 1 Cody Musselman Sealed in Skin: Sigillography as Scarification in the Late Middle Ages 13 Kathryn Dickason The Sundered Adam: An Exploration of Augustine’s Work on the Origin of Souls 39 Matthias Giles Book Review: Spirited Things: The Work of “Possession” in the Afro-Atlantic World, edited by Paul Christopher Johnson 55 Khytie Brown Doing Real Scholarship: Reflections on Research beyond Ourselves 63 Kera Street Pluralism and Power: An Interview with Lucia Hulsether 67 The Work of Religious History: An Interview with Helen Kim 75 Pushing the Limits of Theology: An Interview with Michelle Sanchez 83 v Acknowledgments hen we first joined the editorial staff of Harvard Divinity School’s graduate journal, we decided to change things. We imagined Wredesigned websites, flashy logos, and thousands of printed cop- ies. We wanted multiple levels of peer-review, laser-like editorial precision, and a heightened—no, poetic—sense of style. We refused to let any aspect of the journal stagnate. We had dreams. But building and running a journal is hard work, and the modest issue you’re currently holding reflects that. If we—along with our fellow editors— have produced something worthwhile, it’s in part because of the help we’ve had through this difficult process. We’ve relied on friends and colleagues through- out the entire HDS community, many of whom we’re honored to acknowledge below. Omissions reflect limitations of space, not of gratitude. In the Office of Student Life, Tim Whelsky provided constant support and guidance. His help was crucial not only in maintaining the journal’s past achievements, but also in envisioning new ways to involve the journal in the HDS community. Likewise, Katie Caponera connected the journal with essen- tial resources for the production process and for campus outreach. Professor Anne Monius, the journal’s faculty advisor, offered invaluable expertise and, as one of original advisors of the journal a decade ago, an impor- tant link to the publication’s history. She readily answered questions on topics ranging from the overly broad to the hopelessly mundane, providing insight from which the journal benefited immensely. vi In the Office of Communications, Kristie Welsh dedicated considerable time and effort to helping us with layout, design, and the printing process. Wendy McDowell, also, was a valuable resource and advisor for many of the challenges of putting together a print/online publication. The faculty reviewers formed a key part of the journal’s current iteration. Each approached submissions with a care that added immeasurably to the quality and depth of this year’s issue. We’re thankful not only for their time and energy, but for their belief in the academic value of a student-run, student- centered journal. The student editorial board likewise demonstrated a level of attention and commitment critical to the journal’s success. They reviewed the largest number of submissions in the journal’s history, invariably offering helpful comments and informed critiques. Finally, the HDS Student Association generously provided the funding necessary for making this year’s issue—and a return to print—possible. We remain grateful to them, and to all those whose efforts enabled this publication. vii Editors’ Introduction his issue of The Graduate Journal of Harvard Divinity School (formerly Cult/ure) marks a distinct departure from the journal’s past incar- Tnations. Now entering its tenth year of publication, the journal has offered a consistent, thoughtful forum for the academic explorations of the graduate community at HDS and beyond. With this current issue, the journal takes on a new form, one that remains dedicated to the celebration of student research, but also committed to reflecting on the academic environment in which that research takes place. The journal now bears a new name reflecting its new aims. As the editors of this reshaped publication, our hope is not only to feature the scholarly achievements of the graduate community in religious studies and theology, but also to enable that community to examine and reflect on its own journey through the university. Here, we offer a set of essays and interviews that foreground graduate work in two senses. You will find academic essays, representative of current trends in the study of religion and a sampling of the most insightful graduate work in today’s academy. But you will also find pieces that interrogate not only the work we produce, but the work we act out daily: the work of living, studying, teaching, and building careers in the university. These selections speak to the interests we share as students of religion and to the professional challenges we face as aspiring professors, teachers, activists, or writers. They provide perspec- tives on the difficulties and joys of academic life, as well as a set of tools for addressing challenges to come. viii With this shift in format and mission have come numerous logistical shifts that have radically reshaped the look and feel of the journal, and, though in large part invisible, have consumed much of the energy that went into this year’s issue. Most obvious, of course, is the change in name. But this shift reflects a much larger restructuring of the editorial process. All academic submissions now undergo a two-part peer-review, first by our student editorial board and then by a set of anonymous faculty reviewers. We have worked to increase the rigor of the journal’s scholarship, and have, with the invaluable assistance of our fellow editors, applied to the journal a new level of editorial care. Along with this organizational shift comes a new material form for the journal. After several years of online-only publication, the journal now returns to print. And with this new, corporeal presence comes a new virtual one, too: with an updated and redesigned website, the publication is now easily acces- sible and distributable in multiple formats. The journal is still evolving and there is much work to be done in the com- ing years. Here we offer what we see as a strong foundation for the journal’s continued growth, and we hope not only for the product to be a resource for our community, but for the process to be one as well. The work of editing, orga- nizing, and writing for the journal is an opportunity for students to develop some of the most crucial skills for a life in academia (and in many other areas as well). With a strong new presence at HDS, the journal can be an integral part of students’ growth into scholars. This issue begins with three academic essays. First, Cody Musselman (Yale) examines the rival conceptions of civil religion and Christian faith at the Get- tysburg Battlefield. Her ethnographic work reveals contestations of America’s civil religion and questions the relationship of this country’s Christian pasts with its ever-shifting present. It pushes us to return to memories of conflict, nation, and God in order to understand contemporary religious tensions. Next, Kathryn Dickason (Stanford) compares medieval Christian conver- sations on seals and scars. Her writing connects two disparate types of faith and practice, with considerable implications for our understanding of medieval religious worlds. The body, signification, the fragile link between creation and God—all meet in her consideration of image and skin. Finally, Matthias Giles (HDS) weaves together Augustine’s diverse body of work to distill a coherent—and often ignored—doctrine of the human soul. He places Augustine’s writings in conversation with the religious debates of late antiquity, using this careful juxtaposition to illuminate Augustine’s own argu- ments and innovations. The result is a vision of the soul that unites humanity before God. ix Following the academic features, the issue includes a set of essays and inter- views that address concerns of scholarly research and academic professionaliza- tion. First, Khytie Brown (Harvard) reviews Paul Christopher Johnson’s edited volume on conceptions of spirit possession in the study of Afro-Atlantic reli- gions. She provides a crucial snapshot of the intersections of religion, racializa- tion, and colonialism. Then, Kera Street (Harvard) looks into the relation of academic work to living communities. The connection is one that sustains her own scholarly work, and that keeps it grounded in ethical and practical issues central to the place of religion in public and communal life. Next are two interviews with current doctoral students. Lucia Hulsether (Yale) spoke with the journal about her own work and about the divisions— real or imagined—between the academy and the public, and her own practices for enduring, and enjoying, the stresses of university life. Helen Kim (Harvard) likewise details her own work on transnational evangelicalism, before discuss- ing her own academic path. For her, academic labor is at once intellectual, physical, and spiritual work—especially when writing on the recent past, on little-known topics, or on contemporary politics.