Daniel Vaca
@danielvaca.bsky.social
1.4K followers 350 following 35 posts
assoc. prof. @ Brown University | author of *Evangelicals Incorporated: Books and the Business of Religion in America* (Harvard, 2019) | writing about religion + inequity + taxes + visions of the common good | danielvaca.com
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
danielvaca.bsky.social
Finally joining the exodus from twitter, so an about me: I'm a historian of religion and culture in the US. My first book was about the evangelical media industry (basically: how does commercial media generate religious constituencies?; or, why did Rupert Murdoch own the NIV bible AND Fox News?).
danielvaca.bsky.social
A course like theory/method is a course about the field as it is, but also as it can or even should be. Or so I hope.
danielvaca.bsky.social
Part of why I'm asking around is because this also comes at a time when it's clear that we need to be thinking pretty hard about what the humanities in general and RS in particular are for (now and for the future), and helping our students think through that with us and for themselves.
danielvaca.bsky.social
On the history of the field angle: when I taught this before, I tried to make it about how major questions were posed/thought about across time, with older+recent examples. I'd be happy to share about my experience last time, and to learn from others. 2 /
danielvaca.bsky.social
Religious Studies folks: I'm teaching theory/method for grad students this fall, and I'd love to hear/share ideas about what we should read together. This is Pt. 1 of a 2-part sequence; it's also supposed to develop a sense of the history of RS as a field. Any thoughts? 1/
Reposted by Daniel Vaca
epi.org
Today is tax day 🤓

Did you know that undocumented immigrant workers pay $100 billion/yr in taxes? This money goes toward social safety net programs like Social Security & Medicare—programs they can't even benefit from.

Learn more in @dcosta.bsky.social's new FAQ: www.epi.org/publication/...
Immigration FAQ
Get answers to the most frequently asked questions about immigration such as, How many immigrants live in the United States? What are the immigration statuses? Where do immigrants in the U.S. come fro...
www.epi.org
Reposted by Daniel Vaca
kawulf.bsky.social
Several thoughts about this very helpful interview on NYT w Chris Eisgruber, president of Princeton, about existential attacks on higher ed, how and what solidarity among American universities looks like. And why it's worth the listen. (Also a dopey headline.) 1/ www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/p...
The University President Willing to Fight Trump
Christopher L. Eisgruber of Princeton University talks about the administration’s move to freeze billions of dollars in funding to higher education institutions.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Daniel Vaca
catesby.bsky.social
“Disappeared” is how Argentines and Chileans talk about the citizens kidnapped by military regimes of 80s and 90s. Today Mexicans use it to refer to those who vanish in the cartel war. “Disappear” is a verb, noun & adj: When ppl are disappeared, they become los desaparecidos—the disappeared
melbuer.bsky.social
We gotta find better ways to describe these arrests, man. "Detained" ain't cutting it. Getting your car window busted out and getting dragged away isn't "detained." Getting stopped on the street and disappeared for writing an OpEd isn't getting "detained." The language needs to match the action here
danielvaca.bsky.social
And if you’re looking for a chair or respondent, I’m happy to help out!
danielvaca.bsky.social
Feel free to reach out (I just joined the steering committee this year) if you want to talk through any ideas.
danielvaca.bsky.social
The steering committee also set up this doc as a space for sharing ideas and making connections w others. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
North American Religions, paper proposal networking!
docs.google.com
danielvaca.bsky.social
If you’re interested in attending/presenting at the annual American Academy of Religion conference in Boston this November, check out the CFP for North American Religions! A lot of generative topics to pitch work around. (Unrelated panels and papers also welcome.)
danielvaca.bsky.social
Sending condolences to you and the Calvin community, Kristin.
danielvaca.bsky.social
I put this over on discord, too late for this recording, but hoping you all can enlighten us sometime: What is the actual process that would lead to a change with PGMOL, or create some other structure? We hear all the time that PGMOL is crap and not good enough. But can it actually change? How?
danielvaca.bsky.social
This weekend a friend nominated Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” I mean, incarnation theology is in the title! Can’t stop imagining this as the highlight of a church Xmas pageant. “Don’t be a drag; just be a king!”
danielvaca.bsky.social
Thought experiment: what pop songs would make good churchy Christmas songs (with minor tweaks)?
danielvaca.bsky.social
Basically, the process I went with: pick a dozen or so topics or themes you think are cool/generative/important, select work you're excited for students to think with, and then maybe (depending on level/time/etc) show them how that connects to older work.
danielvaca.bsky.social
For grad students (and maybe even more for undergrads!): while some people prioritize "the classics," I prefer focusing on newer work with bits of classics as supplementary material, so students can see how scholars past+present are still dealing with particular issues/problems.
danielvaca.bsky.social
For grad students or undergrads? I've taught this for grad students; for undergrads, I offer a lot of theory, but in service of particular topics.
danielvaca.bsky.social
If you’re at AAR, come learn about @laurahelmuth.bsky.social’s incredible and inspiring book FIRE DREAMS! CC-20B. Huge all-star panel of respondents.
danielvaca.bsky.social
For anyone who cares: I’ll be on panels about @janinegiordano.bsky.social’s excellent book (Gospel of Church) and on one about Matt Sutton’s AAR article about “evangelicalism” and how it’s not a concept that names the thing it is now (and never really was).
danielvaca.bsky.social
Looking forward to the USIH conference this weekend! Hope to see many of you there. Congrats to @benjaminepark.bsky.social and @econroykrutz.bsky.social for putting together such a great program!
benjaminepark.bsky.social
I’m *stoked* for the USIH conference this week—never have I been more in need to gather with other overspecialized history nerds. The papers and camaraderie will be balm to the soul.

Also, it’s been a genuine pleasure to work with @sarageorgini.bsky.social and @econroykrutz.bsky.social.
sarageorgini.bsky.social
🦉🗃️We welcome all to our @susih.bsky.social annual meeting this week in #Boston! Special thanks to #USIH2024 co-chairs extraordinaire @benjaminepark.bsky.social @econroykrutz.bsky.social #USIH program & info: s-usih.org/conference/2...
danielvaca.bsky.social
The Onion! But what they will do with InfoWars's supplements business?: "We plan to . . . boil the contents down into a single candy bar–sized omnivitamin that one executive (I will not name names) may eat in order to increase his power and perhaps become immortal." Next up: The Trump Organization?
Here’s Why I Decided To Buy ‘InfoWars’
Today we celebrate a new addition to the Global Tetrahedron LLC family of brands. And let me say, I really do see it as a family. Much like family members, our brands are abstract nodes of wealth, int...
theonion.com
Reposted by Daniel Vaca
brchastain.social
My book looks at how evangelicals created an alternate set of institutions & media, starting in the 19th century, which led to the consumer culture we have today. I draw upon the work of people like @danielvaca.bsky.social & @tgloege.bsky.social