Earlier this year, I had the great honor to engage in a discourse with various scholars on the topic of the Frankfurt School’s relationship to religion and theology. Included in the discourse were Amjad Hussain, Dalal Sarnou, Hille Haker, Rudolf J. Siebert, Will M. Sipling, and Jeremiah Morelock. Click the link below to watch our discussion:
Now available: Islamic Perspective Journal: Vol. 23, Spring 2020.
I’m pleased to announce that the latest edition of Islamic Perspective Journal, Vol. 23, Spring 2020 is now available. It includes my essay “Ethno-apotheosis and Bilderverbot: The Theo-Philosophical Basis for the Current Western Daseinkampf,” a version of which was presented at the 2019 conference “Critical Theory and the Study of Religion: Conference in Honor of Rudolf J. Siebert,” which took place in November of 2019 at Western Michigan University.
To watch the conference, follow this link: Critical Theory and the Study of Religion Conference
For the London Academy of Iranian Studies, the publisher of IPJ, see: London Academy of Iranian Studies
Exclusive Identity Ideology and Politics: Then and Now. Part 1-5
On May 7th, Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert, Dr. Michael R. Ott, and I engaged in a discourse with Jeremiah Morelock on the subject of “Exclusive Identity Ideology” for the Critical Theory Research Network. This discourse began as a reflection of Dr. Siebert’s biographical story “The Friendly Jewish Lady of Frankfurt,” and ventured into numerous other issues regarding nationalism, fascism, identity politics, the Alt-Right and the ongoing crisis of capitalism which has exasperated identity politics throughout the West. Videos of the discourse have been uploaded to YouTube by The Critical Theory Research Network. Please enjoy the videos and support the Critical Theory Research Network as well as the work of Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert, Michael R. Ott, and myself, Dustin J. Byrd.
We are planning to publish a co-authored book rooted in this discourse with Ekpyrosis Press
Now Available: The Critique of Religion and Religion’s Critique: On Dialectical Religiology (Brill 2020)
The Critique of Religion and Religion’s Critique: On Dialectical Religiology
Series: Studies in Critical Social Sciences, Volume: 165
Editor: Dustin J. Byrd
In The Critique of Religion and Religion’s Critique: On Dialectical Religiology, Dustin J. Byrd compiles numerous essays honouring the life and work of the Critical Theorist, Rudolf J. Siebert. His “dialectical religiology,” rooted in the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, especially Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin, Herbert Marcuse, Erich Fromm, Leo Löwenthal, and Jürgen Habermas, is both a theory and method of understanding religion’s critique of modernity and modernity’s critique of religion. Born out of the Enlightenment and its most important thinkers, i.e. Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud, religion is understood to be dialectical in nature. It contains within it both revolutionary and emancipatory elements, but also reactionary and regressive elements, which perpetuate mankind’s continual debasement, enslavement, and oppression. Thus, religion by nature is conflicted within itself and thus stands against itself. Dialectical Religiology attempts to rescue those elements of religion from the dustbin of history and reintroduce them into society via their determinate negation. As such, it attempts to resolve the social, political, theological, and philosophical antagonisms that plague the modern world, in hopes of producing a more peaceful, justice-filled, equal, and reconciled society. The contributors to this book recognize the tremendous contributions of Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert in the fields of philosophy, sociology, history, and theology, and have profited from his long career. This book attempts to honour that life and work.
Contributors include: Edmund Arens, Gregory Baum, Francis Brassard, Dustin J. Byrd, Denis R. Janz, Gottfried Küenzlen, Mislav Kukoč, Michael, R. Ott, Rudolf J. Siebert, Hans K. Weitensteiner, and Brian C. Wilson.
Paperback is now available through Haymarket Books
Link to Haymarket Books: The Critique of Religion and Religion’s Critique: On Dialectical Religiology
Islamic Perspective Journal Vol. 22, Winter 2019 Now Available
I’m pleased to announce that the new edition of Islamic Perspective Journal, Vol. 22 Winter 2019, is now available for download. My article, Return of the Volksgemeinschaft: On Islam and European Identity, is included: IPJ22
Very nice article on my latest work at Olivet College by Taylor Gorr
The full story is here:
St. Thomas More & American Politics – Lecture series by Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert
The Rudolf J. Siebert lecture series entitled “St. Thomas More & American Politics” has been added to the Rudolf J. Siebert Audio-Visual Archive. These lectures were delivered from January to March of 2009, and examine St. Thomas More’s most famous work “Utopia,” and how it relates to the political landscape of 2009, especially the global financial meltdown of neoliberal capitalism, as well as the election of Barack Obama, and the role of religion within these occurrences.
St. Thomas More lecture series by Rudolf J. Siebert
Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert Retires from Western Michigan University
Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert, critical theorist, mentor, and dear friend has retired from teaching at Western Michigan University after 54 years. Since he came to WMU in 1965, he has educated thousands of students throughout the world in the Critical Theory of Religion and Society. Rooted in the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School, as developed by Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin, Herbert Marcuse, Erich Fromm, Jürgen Habermas, and others, the Critical Theory of Religion and Society continues to view the world through a dialectical lens, as it cross-pollinates other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Critical Theory of Religion and Society is a future-oriented remembrance of human suffering, misery, and oppression, with the practical intent to bring about a more reconciled, peaceful, and justice-filled future society. WMU will honor Dr. Siebert with a conference on November 16th, 2019, entitled “Critical Theory and the Study of Religion: Conference in Honor of Rudolf J. Siebert.” It will be held at the Fetzer Center at WMU and is open to the public.
If you would like to send him a retirement letter, his email is: rudolf.siebert@wmich.edu
See the WMU’s article about Dr. Siebert’s retirement below:
Rudolf J. Siebert Retires from WMU
Also see the Rudolf J. Siebert Audio-Visual Archive:
Rudolf J. Siebert Audio-Visual Archive
Here’s the link to Dr. Siebert’s personal webpage:
Dr. Siebert’s 92nd Birthday Speech:
Mlive article on Rudolf J. Siebert and his retirement:
Rudolf J. Siebert, a German soldier during WWII, made theory of peace his life’s work
WMU Article on Siebert’s Retirement and November 16, 2019 Conference:
Retirement Speech from Dr. Siebert’s Retirement Open House celebration – 12/27/2019
WMU’s Article and Video on Dr. Siebert’s biography and work:
dustinjbyrd
Dustin J. Byrd, Ph.D. 