Publications

Books

• Forthcoming. Religions Are Remixes: Rethinking Originality, Authenticity, and Authority in the Study of Religion (Routledge, 2024).

Book Chapters

• Forthcoming. “The Sound of One Deck Snapping,” in Skateboarding and Philosophy: A Brief History of Grind, edited by Joshua Heter and Josef Thomas Simpson (McFarland & Company, 2024).
• “Close Your Eyes, Breathe, and Stick it to the Man,” in Punk Rock and Philosophy: Research and Destroy, edited by Joshua Heter and Richard Greene, 245-253 (Illinois: Carus Books, 2022; Pop Culture and Philosophy Series, Volume #7).
• “Versioning Buddhism: Remix and Recyclability in the Study of Religion,” in The Routledge Handbook of Remix Studies and Digital Humanities, edited by Eduardo Navas, Owen Gallagher, and xtine burrough, 95-108 (New York: Routledge, 2021).
• “Remix in Gilead,” in The Handmaid’s Tale and Philosophy: A Womb of One’s Own, edited by Rachel Robison-Greene, 77-89 (Illinois: Open Court Publishing Company, 2019; Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, Volume #123).
• “A Month from Now, I’ll Be a Balding, Toothless Skeleton,” in American Horror Story and Philosophy: Life Is But a Nightmare, edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene, 131-143 (Illinois: Open Court Publishing Company, 2018; Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, Volume #114).
  • I was invited to speak about my chapter on Richard and Rachel’s podcast, I Think, Therefore I Fan: “That Which Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Terrified!” (October 30, 2018).
• “They Get Them When They’re Children,” in The Americans and Philosophy: Reds in the Bed, edited by Robert Arp and Kevin Guilfoy, 3-13 (Illinois: Open Court Publishing Company, 2018; Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, Volume #112).
• “‘Why Do You Go On Living?’: Ripley-8 and the Absurd,” in Alien and Philosophy: I Infest, Therefore I Am, edited by Jeffrey Ewing and Kevin S. Decker, 198-206 (New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell, 2017; Philosophy and Pop Culture Series).
  • A version of this chapter also appeared in Issue 78 of The Philosopher’s Magazine: “Pop Culture: Why Go On Living?” (58-64, 2017).
  • Review by Ray Blank at Sci Phi Journal, “From Facehuggers to Thought-Provokers”: “…an engrossing study of the central character in Alien: Resurrection, the clone of Ripley that has also absorbed some of the alien’s characteristics…this essay does a superb job of reiterating the question in Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus and relating it to Ripley’s circumstances. Walker shows some flair by providing as good an answer, and as difficult an answer, as Camus might have offered.”
• “I Want You to Survive” and “If I Don’t Save the World, I Have No Value,” in The Ultimate Walking Dead and Philosophy: Hungry for More, edited by Wayne Yuen, 31-41 and 135-138 (Illinois: Open Court Publishing Company, 2016; Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, Volume #97).
• “You’re Not Religious, Okay,” in Orange Is the New Black and Philosophy: Last Exit from Litchfield, edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene, 123-136 (Illinois: Open Court Publishing Company, 2015; Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, Volume #92).
• “You Monkeywrenching Bastard!” in Jurassic Park and Philosophy: The Truth is Terrifying, edited by Nicolas Michaud and Jessica Watkins, 167-176 (Illinois: Open Court Publishing Company, 2014; Popular Culture and Philosophy Series, Volume #82).

Peer Reviewed Articles

• “Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha, Canonical Authority, and Remix Theory in the Study of Religion.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 90, no. 2 (June 2022; online May 9, 2022). DOI: 10.1093/jaarel/lfac031.
• “Holy Piracy: Kopimism, the Sacralisation of Information, and the Legitimating Power of Religion,” Culture and Religion 19, no. 3 (2018): 329-344. DOI: 10.1080/14755610.2018.1466819.
• “Popular Culture and Religion in America,” with Lynn Schofield Clark, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Religion in America, January 2018. DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.457.
• “Subversive Drinking: Remixing Copyright with Free Beer,” Transformative Works and Cultures 25 (2017). DOI: 10.3983/twc.2017.1096.
• “‘It’s Not A Fucking Book, It’s A Weapon!’: Authority, Power, And Mediation In The Book Of Eli,” Journal of Religion & Film 20, no. 3 (October 2016).
• “My[Sacred]Space: Discovering Sacred Space in Cyberspace,” The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 22, no. 2 (Summer 2010). DOI: 10.3138/jrpc.22.2.005.
  • Revised article downloadable here as a PDF (the published article should be used for citation purposes; this is an updated version with edits and revisions that had been discussed and approved but omitted upon publication)

Appearing in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

• “Lichen Days” (April 12, 2024)
• “Animal Liberation in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’” (November 3, 2023)
• “Mindful Foraging” (June 7, 2023)

Appearing in Salon

• “‘American Horror Story’s’ Youth Obsession: A Witch’s Fear of Aging, and Ours” (January 2, 2014)
• “Stop Asking God To Do Your Job!” (August 7, 2013)
• “This Summer’s Blockbusters Are Really About Overpopulation” (July 10, 2013)

Appearing in PopMatters

• “‘BoJack Horseman’ and a One Trick Pony’s Search for More” (November 6, 2014)
• “Religion and Biological Limits in Post-Humanity: ‘Her’ and ‘Transcendence'” (June 18, 2014)

Appearing in Nomos Journal

• “Critical Remix and Zombies in Game of Thrones” (May 28, 2019)
• “That Old-Time, Cut-Up Religion” (February 22, 2019)
• “A Journey From Card to Card: Kaylee Pinecone’s Tales of the Tarot” (December 4, 2018)
• “Buddha B. Goode: Originality, Remix, and a Secular Buddhism” (November 12, 2017)
• “‘What Do You Got That Cross for in Your Apartment?’: Sacrifice and Semiotics in HBO’s True Detective” (January 9, 2016)
• “Papal Graffiti” (August 5, 2014)
• “Revolutionizing the Revolution: Brad Warner’s Hardcore Zen” (February 4, 2014)
• “Walking Like a Buddha: Lodro Rinzler on Buddhism in Our Everyday Lives” (November 26, 2013)
• “‘Carrying the Torch into the New World’: Amanda Sage and the Visionary Art Movement” (August 8, 2013)
• “Through the Glass Onion: A Look Inside the Art of Michael Divine” (March 1, 2013)
• “What Our Eyes Have Witnessed: An Interview with Stant Litore” (November 16, 2012)
• “‘Whatever It is, We All Carry It’: Taṇhā and AMC’s The Walking Dead” (October 9, 2012)
• “Ovila de Sierra Nevada: American-Made Trappist Ale” (April 11, 2012)
• “The Path Back Home” (March 8, 2012)
• “What is Nomos Journal?” with Stephen G. Wright (January 1, 2012)

Miscellaneous

• “Righteous Remixes, Sacred Mashups: Rethinking Authority, Authenticity, and Originality in the Study of Religion,” Doctoral Dissertation, University of Denver, Spring 2021.
  • Named top dissertation in Digital Religion studies in 2022 by the Network for New Media, Religion & Digital Culture Studies
• “Broadening the Spectrum: The Religious Dimensions of the Rainbow Gatherings,” Master’s Thesis, University of South Florida, Spring 2009.
• “Musical Spirituality: The Transformative Power of Popular Music,” Honors Thesis, University of Central Florida, Spring 2007.