Current Research

Main Areas of Research and Interest:

  • Remix Theory
  • Philosophy and Religion in Popular Culture
  • Buddhist Philosophy
  • Conceptual Metaphor Theory
  • Ironic Activism
  • Pirate Politics
  • Religious Dimensions of Alcohol Production/Consumption
  • Apocalyptic Zombie Narratives
  • Absurdist/Existential Fiction
  • Zen Practice
  • Animal and Environmental Ethics
  • Urban Foraging and Wildcrafting
  • Open Source/Access and Digital Privacy

Most of my current research and writing centers on Buddhist philosophy, remix theory, conceptual metaphor theory, and popular culture. I recently finished editing the manuscript for my first book, which will be published later this year with Routledge: Religions Are Remixes: Rethinking Originality, Authenticity, and Authority in the Study of Religion. More soon on a couple other projects in development!

On sale August 9, 2024

This book utilizes an approach that centers on remix theory and conceptual metaphor theory, arguing for an examination of the study of religion via a model for analyzing cultural constructs that the author terms Remix+/-. After discerning the metaphorical correspondences underlying his argument, the author claims that the shift in conceptual and terminological framing remix provides can assist in understanding religious phenomena and developments differently, playing close attention to the sorts of meanings, implications, and assumptions that are disrupted and subverted as a result. The chapters indicate how notions of originality, authenticity, and authority are problematized and challenged from the perspective modeled by Remix+/-, with Buddhist philosophy occupying a significant role in the demonstrative examples. This book will be of interest to remix theorists and conceptual metaphor theorists because it advances a new approach to applying both remix and metaphor to the study of cultural constructs. It will also be valuable for those studying religion and digital culture—especially Buddhist thought and practice—as it proposes a new lens through which religiosity can be defamiliarized and critically analyzed.