Nothing Could Be Further From the Truth; Reed M.N. Weep

Author

Reed M.N. Weep [+–]

A Midwestern University

Reed M. N. Weep was a cultural critic of astounding profundity. A professor of religion at a large midwestern university, in addition to the columns collected here, Weep was the author of a number of very influential book reviews. He was last seen in 2011 leaving the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature in San Francisco to check out the Haight.

Edited by

Alumno Sinllanto [+–]

Independent scholar

Alumno Sinllanto was the not only the most outstanding of Reed Weep’s students, but also the only one. He completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees at a large midwestern university, and is now waiting to hear from several prestigious doctoral programs. In the meantime, the amazing self-produced YouTube videos of Sinllanto playing the spoons have been viewed by tens of fans, that’s “tens,” with a “t.”

This collection brings together some of the columns written by Reed M.N. Weep, published from 1997 to his disappearance in 2011 in the Bulletin for the Study of Religion and its precursor, the Bulletin of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion. The columns satirize the academic discipline of religious studies, contemporary university life, and popular culture. There is little here that rises to the level of Truth (with a capital T). Instead the emphasis is on humor, and trutH (with a capital H). This book includes introductions by Russell McCutcheon, Craig Prentiss, Scott Elliott, Craig Martin, and Weep’s student, Alumno Sinllanto.

Preliminaries

FROM THE PUBLISHER TO THE READER [+–] ix

Janet S. Joyce

Equinox Publishing Ltd.

View Website

This collection brings together some of the columns written by Reed M. N. Weep and published beginning in 1997 to his disappearance in 2011 in the Bulletin for the Study of Religion and its precursor, the Bulletin of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion. The columns satirize the academic discipline of religious studies, contemporary university life, and popular culture. There is little here that rises to the level of Truth (with a capital T). Instead the emphasis is on humor, trutH (with a capital H). The book includes introductions by Russell McCutcheon, Craig Prentiss, Scott Elliott, Craig Martin, and Weep’s student, Alumno Sinllanto.

Introduction

REED M. N. WEEP: THE MAN, THE LEGEND, THE COLUMNIST [+–] xi-xv

Alumno Sinllanto

Independent scholar

Here Reed Weep’s most prominent student, Alumno Sinllanto, introduces us to the man behind the columns—an inspirational teacher, an aspirational author, an emotional wreck. The “Introduction” will inspire the reader to dive into these columns, or to go outside for a cigarette break.

Reminiscences of the Editors

HE PACKED A PUNCH [+–] 1-4

Russell T. McCutcheon

University of Alabama

Russell T. McCutcheon is Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama. His major publications include Manufacutring Religion (Oxford University Press, 1997), The Guide to the Study of Religion (Bloomsbury, 2000), Critics not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion (State University of New York Press, 2001) and The Discipline of Religion: Structure, Meaning, Rhetoric (Routledge, 2003).

HITTING ROCK BOTTOM WITH REED M. N. WEEP [+–] 4-7

Craig Prentiss

Rockhurst University

Craig R. Prentiss is a Professor of Religious Studies at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the author of Staging Faith: Religion and African American Theater from the Harlem Renaissance to World War II (NYU 2014), and editor of Religion and the Creation of Race and Ethnicity: An Introduction (NYU 2003).

WHO WAS WEEP? THE REVIEWER [+–] 7-9

Scott S. Elliott

Department of Philosophy and Religion
Adrian College

BRILLIANT OBSESSIVE: A REED WEEP COMEDY [+–] 9-12

Craig Martin

St. Thomas Aquinas College

Craig Martin, Ph.D., is Professor of Religious Studies at St. Thomas Aquinas College. He writes on discourse analysis and ideology critique; his most recent books include Capitalizing Religion: Ideology and the Opiate of the Bourgeoisie (Bloomsbury, 2014) and A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion, 2nd Edition (Routledge, 2017).

The Columns – 1

THE MCCUTCHEON DECADE, 1997-2001: IT SURE SEEMED LIKE TEN YEARS [+–] 15-62

Reed M.N. Weep

A Midwestern University

The first section of Nothing Could Be Further From the Truth includes columns that were published during the decade when Russell T. McCutcheon was editor of the Bulletin, from 1997 to 2001. From them we learn everything from the department secretary is the master of the universe to religion is a sorry excuse for a major. It’s a chapter that could only be described as cybernetic. 1.2 How to Write a Book Note 1.3 The Cost of Messiahship 1.4 The Groups Are Where It’s At: A Guide to the Annual Meeting 1.5 The Department Secretary: Master of the Universe 1.6 Next on Oprah: Lives Ruined by Student Evaluations 1.7 Higher Education among the Nacirema 1.8 The Bible in Bean Town: A Guide to the SBL Annual Meeting 1.9 Letters to the Editor 1.10 Letter to the Editor 1.11 A Sorry Excuse for a Major: Religion 1.12 Video Vignettes for the Concerned Teacher 1.13 Minutes of the May Meeting of the Faculty Senate 1.14 A Letter from Fidelio 1.15 The Torpedo Rec 1.16 Retiring, But Not Shy

The Columns – 2

THE PRENTISS DECADE, 2002-2004: I COULD HAVE SWORN IT WAS TEN YEARS [+–] 65-93

Reed M.N. Weep

A Midwestern University

In the second section, including columns published during the decade when Craig Prentiss was editor from 2002 to 2004, Reed M. N. Weep manages to be even more annoying than in the first. Just try reading “The War and the State of the Union in Esperanto”—it’s the very definition of annoying. On the other hand, Weep does point out that the Dalai Lama wears a comfy looking bathrobe. Ah, the Dalai Lama. Doesn’t just saying that make you feel better? 2.1 The New Testament Mystery Solved 2.2 The Students of Generation A´: A Major Disappointment 2.3 President Bush, Meet Emperor Meiji Reed Weep 2.4 The View from the Head: An Interview with Hyrum N. Rollment, Reed M. N. Weep’s Department Chair 2.5 The War and the State of the Union in Esperanto 2.6 Teaching for the New Millennium 2.7 The Origins of Religion Revealed 2.8 The World Religions: Hinduism 2.9 The World Religions: Buddhism 2.10 The World Religions: Christianity

The Columns – 3

THE ELLIOTT DECADE, 2005-2008: IT WAS A SHORT DECADE [+–] 95-110

Reed M.N. Weep

A Midwestern University

Things go from bad to worse in the third section of Nothing, which is composed of columns published during the decade when Scott S. Elliott was editor of the Bulletin from 2005 to 2008. The column “Desert” is at once a trenchant comment on U. S. foreign policy, and evidence that Weep doesn’t realize that no one cares what he thinks about U. S. foreign policy. 3.1 The World Religions: Islam 3.2 Meeting with the Special Assistant to the Provost 3.3 Managing Stress 3.4 True That 3.5 Desert 3.6 ESTPPPMFC

The Columns – 4

THE MARTIN DECADE, 2008-2011: OK, SO MAYBE IT WASN’T EXACTLY TEN YEARS [+–] 113-141

Reed M.N. Weep

A Midwestern University

Nothing Could Be Further From the Truth mercifully concludes with the fourth section,comprising columns published from 2008 to 2011 during the decade when Craig Martin was editor. About Weep’s stab at being an opera librettist here, the less said, the better. On the other hand, there is no gainsaying his conclusion that assessment is a journey to nowhere. 4.1 The Candidates’ Religion 4.2 Death of a Professor 4.3 The Commencement Address I Wish I Could Give, If They’d Ask Me (Which They Won’t) 4.4 Bloom’s Taxidermy 4.5 Banner Roll Out 4.6 To Betty Purdy, Department Secretary, Upon Her Retirement 4.7 Opera Mundi 4.8 Assessment Is a Journey, Or the Last Column I Will Ever Write about Assessment 4.9 Among the Orsians: The Revolutionary Discovery of a New Religion 4.10 Keeping Up With the Kollege Professors: The Pitch 4.11 Announcement: Reed M. N. Weep Retirement

End Matter

Original Publication Information [+–]

Alumno Sinllanto

Independent scholar

This collection brings together some of the columns written by Reed M.N. Weep, published from 1997 to his disappearance in 2011 in the Bulletin for the Study of Religion and its precursor, the Bulletin of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion . The columns satirize the academic discipline of religious studies, contemporary university life, and popular culture. There is little here that rises to the level of Truth (with a capital T). Instead the emphasis is on humor, and trutH (with a capital H). This book includes introductions by Russell McCutcheon, Craig Prentiss, Scott Elliott, Craig Martin, and Weep’s student, Alumno Sinllanto.

Reviews

At last the long-awaited codification of the wisdom and wit of the eponymous, intrepid Reed Weep. A must-read for all who regularly take tweed and paper to academic conferences and for those who dream of one day doing so. All fans of David Lodge will find a peer in Weep’s tales of the academy.
Willi Braun (who owns no tweed but a parka), University of Alberta

If, as Baudrillard once wrote, the secret of theory is that truth does not exist, Reed M. N. Weep puts the secret of religious studies on display for all to see. Well hidden in plain sight, Weep's dispatches are the purloined letter of the discipline.
Matthew Waggoner, Albertus Magnus College

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Books and Journals in Humanities, Social Science and Performing Arts

Nothing Could Be Further From the Truth

Collected Columns of Reed M.N. Weep, 1997–2011

Reed M.N. Weep [+–]

A Midwestern University

Alumno Sinllanto [+–]

Independent scholar

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