Blurb:

Simmons reflects on her training in English to argue for the centrality of critical theory to interrogate power dynamics, specifically the ways in which race, gender, sexuality, capital are constructed. She then juxtaposes this with the study of identity formation in the academic study of religion. The latter, unlike the former, is predicated upon a rejection of post-structuralist critique so as to take stock of “lived experiences” of marginalized groups. What accounts for this inversion, she suggest, is the relationship between scholars and their object of study.