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About Brennan
Brennan Keegan (she/her) is an associate professor of religious studies at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, where she teaches courses on American religious history, Native American religious traditions, and religion and the environment. She received her PhD from Duke University in 2018 and worked at Randolph College before coming to Charleston in 2020. She recently completed her term as President of the AAR Southeast Region and now serves as the co-chair of the steering committee for the Native American Traditions Unit.
What is your area of expertise or field of study?
As an ethnographer and oral historian, my research explores Native American religious traditions, the politics of recognition, and religious freedom in place. That is, I am endlessly interested in the ways that religious lives emerge with and in particular spaces and places. My research historically looked to my home region, the American West, but since moving to Charleston, South Carolina in 2020, I have worked closely with Lowcountry Tribes, such as the Edisto Natchez-Kusso. The Edisto are predominately members of the International Pentecostal Holiness movement and are working to gain federal recognition. Working with southeastern Tribes has pushed and pulled at my preconceived notions of the field in really wonderful ways.
Why did you get involved with AAR, and how is your work aligned?
My first AAR meeting was at the regional level (at that time SECSOR) when I was a PhD student at Duke University, in 2014. I am now an active member in the national Annual Meeting as co-chair of the steering committee for the Native American Traditions Unit. The Annual Meeting is often the only time where I see many of my co-thinkers in my subfield, and I am always eager to learn about new books and new research projects as I bop around panels and roundtables. I’m especially proud of how the AAR-SE regional meeting amplifies student voices, and I hope to continue serving in regional leadership to ensure that this remains a priority.
What is your favorite AAR member benefit, and how has it helped your career?
As a graduate student, I was the lucky recipient of a number of travel grants to attend both regional and national meetings. Without that funding I would not have been able to participate in so many wonderful panels, workshops, and conversations, as well as attend AAR-based interviews when I was on the job market.
What is one piece of advice you’d give to a first-time Annual Meeting attendee?
Don’t do too much! Give yourself time to walk around the city, to see friends, and to rest. The national meeting can be really overwhelming but also an amazing opportunity to connect with people in your field. Go to the business meetings of the units you are particularly interested in and get to know the steering committee members, volunteer to serve, and stay connected – these relationships are pivotal as you start research projects and job marketing.
What book is on your nightstand that you’re reading or intend to read in the future?
I am a consummate nerd and read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy. Right now, I’m looking forward to starting the second Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Ninniman – dark humor about the end of the world at its best.
More academically, I have a stack of work by my Young Scholar in American Religion cohort I have embarrassingly still not read but am thrilled to have on hand for summer break – Dana Logan’s Awkward Rituals: Sensations of Governance in Protestant America and Suzanna Krivulskaya’s Disgraced: How Sex Scandals Transformed American Protestantism.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love to read fiction and have challenged myself to read 52 novels this year. I also watch a lot of movies and tv, preferably cuddled up with my 12-year-old pit mix Dottie. When I am not exhausted from schoolwork, I am a big runner and hiker and am always looking for new trails to explore.
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