CS Wednesday Talks

The CS Wednesday Talks are held every Wednesday from Noon - 1pm in the ASH Lobby. Speakers present their work and findings in a varitey of subject matters. The talk typically lasts for 30 - 45 minutes, with the remainder of the hour devoted to questions and discussion. All are welcome, lunch is served.

This Week's Talk
November 26th

Jeffrey Guhin, Doctoral Candidate in Sociology at Yale University

Why Worry?: Evolution, Moral Boundary-Making, and Right Practice in Sunni and Evangelical High Schools

Abstract: Based on a year and half of ethnographic fieldwork in two Sunni Muslim and two Evangelical Christian high schools in the New York City area, this talk asks why evolution is only morally salient for the Evangelical schools despite the fact that all four schools are institutionally committed to opposing it. To answer the question, the author proposes that communities will regard a proposition as morally threatening to the degree that it (1) challenges the practices that maintain their central narratives and (2) challenges certain boundaries set by and between the community itself and its self-identified primary antagonist. Because the practices and boundaries of the Evangelical communities are both related to a literal reading of scripture, the theory of evolution is much more threatening--and therefore morally salient--to Evangelicals. In contrast, the practices of the Sunni schools are related to prayer and the boundaries to gender performance, making evolution--even if regarded as untrue--much less threatening.

Biography: Jeffrey Guhin is a doctoral candidate at Yale University in Sociology. His dissertation is a comparison of two Sunni Muslim and two Evangelical Christian high schools in the New York City area, paying special attention to the roles of prayer, scripture, and science. His previous publications include "Is Irony Good for America?: The Threat of Nihilism, The Importance of Romance, and The Power of Cultural Forms" in Cultural Sociology and "The Violences of Knowledge: Edward Said, Sociology, and Post-Orientalist Reflexivity" forthcoming in Political Power and Social Theory. He plans to defend his dissertation in August of 2013.

Upcoming Talks
  To view past talk abstracts visit: CS Wednesday Talk Archive