By: Jonathan Lee on March 31, 2022
Consuming Religion, written by Vincent Miller, discusses and explores how consumer culture impacts our religious life and perspectives. He presents the idea of “commodification of culture” to argue “how consumer culture changes our relationship with religious beliefs, narratives, and symbols.”[1] This book deals with psychology and economy to argue that religious items have been abstracted…
By: Roy Gruber on March 31, 2022
I do not think I will ever view a cut of chicken at the grocery store the same way again. Beyond the price, the process of that product’s journey to the shelf did not occur to me. As someone born and raised in a consumer culture, consumption comes as naturally as breathing. Vincent Miller…
By: Troy Rappold on March 31, 2022
In Vincent Miller’s 2008 book, “Consuming Religion” a critical distinction is made in the beginning of the introduction: “This is not a book about religion against consumer culture; it is a book about the fate of religion in consumer culture” (p. 1). There are plenty of books written about the former but this insightful work…
By: Andy Hale on March 31, 2022
Sit down into Doc Brown’s DeLorean or Bill and Ted’s phonebooth to speed back to the 1990s. There you’d find a husky middle school boy, a little insecure about his weight, who wanted nothing more than to dance with Dusty Lawrence, the girl of his dreams, at the school dance. Now, would he ever dance…
By: Kayli Hillebrand on March 30, 2022
This week we explored Consuming Religion by Vincent Miller, focusing on the disconnect between religious belief and practice and the corresponding narrative by Jason Clark’s Evangelicalism and Capitalism. While I could find little about Miller in the way of a biography, he is an academic that is currently at the University of Dayton serving as…
By: Eric Basye on March 30, 2022
Certainly, the purity of true religion and faith could never be distorted by the variants of the dominant culture, or could it? Vincent J. Miller, a professor of Theology at Georgetown University, wrote Consuming Religion to reveal the unavoidable impact consumerism has had among the people and structures of faith. Giving a nod to Bebbington…
By: Mary Kamau on March 20, 2022
Peter Northouse is a Professor of communication in Western Michigan University who is highly esteemed for his work in Leadership studies and communications. Northouse has written the book, Leadership: Theory and Practice, which is both rich in the theory of leadership but also a practical guide on the practice of leadership.[1] Northouse has written on…
By: Henry Gwani on March 20, 2022
Northouse’s excellent analysis of leadership in every generation since Aristotle highlights the critical nature of this subject[1]. Indeed, from the beginning of time, long before Aristotle came on the scene, God demonstrates leadership by initiating creation, modelling character, facilitating change, and influencing many individuals and groups for good. Inspired by God, several individuals continued this…
By: Denise Johnson on March 18, 2022
What is leadership exactly? Are leaders made or born?[1] Is leadership leader centered, follower focused or product driven? Does morality [2] and ethics [3] play are role in how leaders lead? Do men make better leaders than women? [4] If so, is just perspectives or are there actual traits and behaviors [5] that contribute to…
By: Elmarie Parker on March 18, 2022
Peter G. Northouse, professor emeritus of leadership, interpersonal, and organizational communication, wrote “Leadership: Theory and Practice” for students of leadership in the academy and an array of workplaces.[1] His book is classified under Social Sciences as a Sociology text focused on Leadership. But that classification seems too common to describe what Northouse seeks to accomplish…
By: Roy Gruber on March 17, 2022
I must admit: I hate country music. I dislike the sound and find the lyrics sappy and sad. I grew up on Led Zeppelin and Bruce Springsteen. However, I gained much respect for country icon Dolly Parton this last week. She received a nomination for induction into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame and declined it.…
By: Michael Simmons on March 17, 2022
Peter Northouse’s book Leadership: Theory and Practice is what is says, a relatively deep dive into leadership theory and types, while offering real-world approaches and case studies to engage theory at a practical level. In his 7th edition, Northouse also offers assessments throughout his book for deeper reflection and self-awareness. He writes, “At its heart, leadership…
By: Troy Rappold on March 17, 2022
In Peter G. Northouse’s 1997 book, “Leadership: Theory and Practice,” a wide variety of leadership styles are analyzed for their merits. After each style is evaluated, a determination is made on which style is best in particular situations. Each chapter could stand alone, discussing a single leadership style and its best application. It is a…
By: Jonathan Lee on March 17, 2022
Leadership: Theory and Practice, 8th edition by Peter G. Northhouse presents many different leadership theories and models to offer leaders and organizations to practically apply different theoretical leadership models. Each chapter summarizes and discusses different leadership theories by presenting a “definition, a model, and the latest research and applications of emerging approach to leadership.”[1] In…
By: Andy Hale on March 17, 2022
Peter Northouse argues that leadership is intuitively challenging to define, like the words peace and love. After examining the myriad of ways it has been expressed over the centuries, he finally lands on: Leadership is the process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. [1] It’s evident from Northouse’s examination of leadership throughout history, its many forms…
By: Kayli Hillebrand on March 16, 2022
If you know me at all, you know I appreciate the practical applications. Peter Northouse’s Leadership: Theory & Practice has immediately become one of my new favorite books on leadership – one that I know I will be utilizing for years to come. Northouse, an academic with extensive experience in the field of communication, has…
By: Eric Basye on March 16, 2022
This past week I was conversing with an older mentor when he commented on the vacuum of leadership we have in our nation, and in particular, the state of Montana. It isn’t the first time I have heard this lament, and truth be told, I also have observed this lack of leadership across many sectors…
By: Mary Kamau on March 13, 2022
Dr Pragya Agarwal is a behavioral and data scientist and a freelance journalist, and has a PhD from the University of Nottingham. Agarwal shows us in her book, Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias that intrinsic or unconscious bias is learned and can therefore be unlearned.[1] According to her well researched and cogent book, unintentional or unconscious…
By: Jonathan Lee on March 11, 2022
Pragya Agarwal, the author of Sway, is a freelance writer, behavioral and data scientist, and the founder of a research think-tank, The 50 Percent Project. She focuses on women’s rights around the world, and she writes widely on the subjects of bias and prejudice, motherhood, gender, racial inequality, and mental health. This book, Sway, categorized…
By: Denise Johnson on March 11, 2022
The emotionally charged world in which we live today seems like it is primed for Pragya Agarwal’s book Sway: Unravelling unconscious bias. [1] Nearly every day there is some reference to racism, sexism, homophobia, or the discrimination of someone. The political rhetoric of the day is to point fingers and blame someone for another group’s…
