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About Alda
Alda Balthrop-Lewis is an associate professor of religion at Florida State University, where she studies ethics: the norms, principles, relationships, and practices that people use in trying to live well. In Thoreau’s Religion (Cambridge, 2021), she focused this work on environmental ethics. Her research has been published in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, the Journal of Religious Ethics, and the Journal for the Academic Study of Religion. She serves as an associate editor for the journal Environmental Humanities and as co-editor (with Jonathan Tran) of the AAR book series, Reflection and Theory in the Study of Religion. She is always delighted to hear from potential authors, as well as anyone interested in FSU’s MA or PhD programs.
What is your area of expertise or field of study?
I work in religious ethics, focusing on environmental ethics. My first book – Thoreau’s Religion – shows how Henry David Thoreau’s religious practice connects ecology and politics, linking his more-than-human investments with abolition and labor justice. Most of my work takes this form: reading old books and thinking about what they say about how people should live. I also have ethnographic interests along with questions about how our fields of study have taken the shape that they have.
Why did you get involved with AAR and how is your work aligned?
Attending AAR as a student helped me to connect with a diverse community working in a range of methdologies. As a scholar working in constructive studies, my expertise in religious studies centers on ethics, philosophy, and theology. I also follow scholarship in literary studies, philosophy, history, anthropology, cultural studies, and environmental humanities. Because the AAR is so diverse, it has helped me expand my work into these areas while staying connected to my core interests.
What is your favorite AAR member benefit, and how has it helped your career? This might include access to our travel grants, award programs, and/or various research tools; opportunities to promote your scholarship through our official channels; networking and mentoring; career training through Beyond the Professoriate; and discounts on travel, transportation, and office supplies.
The Annual Meeting is the best. I enjoy reading the program each year and learning all the things I wish I could know something about. Since the Annual Meeting is where all my religious studies people are, it feels like home!
As I have developed as a scholar, I have also grown to appreciate the many initiatives the AAR supports alongside the annual meeting. Since 2022, I have been co-editor (with Jonathan Tran) of “Reflection and Theory in the Study of Religion,” a book series sponsored by the AAR and published by Oxford University Press. I really enjoy learning what other people are working on, and I’m delighted to support members on their way to placing their research with a suitable press. (So please get in touch if you have a book idea to discuss!)
The AAR also plays an important role in supporting humanities research. I am also about to head off to do archival research for my next book, funded by an AAR research grant. The book is about the place of contemplation in political life, focusing on some 20th century Thoreauvians. It’s organized around the Trappist monk Thomas Merton and the reading he did about the politics of the 1960s. Getting to be in the archives will be really exciting.
What is one piece of advice you’d give to a first-time Annual Meeting attendee?
With so much going on, it’s easy to get overwhelmed – consider scheduling naps! Make a few appointments ahead of time with people you are excited to meet, or just friends you know you want to check in with. In the best case, it’s orienting and motivating to be with people who share interests and aims.
What book is on your nightstand that you’re reading or intend to read in the future?
I am reading a novel by William Melvin Kelley, A Drop of Patience. It’s about a blind musician, and the narration focuses on sound and tactile details. The narration is not exactly from the main character’s perspective, but there are nearly no visual details included in it, which I am finding super interesting.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
After spending the last 10 years in Australia, I just moved to the Religion Department at Florida State University. Since the seasons are backward in the Northern Hemisphere, I’m still trying to figure out what my hobbies look like here, but I’ve enjoyed participating in cultural events like the Sopchoppy Worm Gruntin’ Festival. Since Tallahassee is home to the Florida Legislature, it has been good to get involved in lawmaking on environmental issues – including some recent successes! I also sometimes run extremely slowly on wooded trails.