This author delves into the depths of American culture and religion, exploring the unsettling intersections of racism, religious fervor, and seemingly innocuous fictions like zombie apocalypses. Her work is characterized by incisive analysis of gender, labor, and motherhood within academia and beyond. She writes with a keen intellect and broad perspective, often drawing on her own experiences as a mother while examining themes of endings and disasters with unflinching honesty.
Sienna Washington's life takes a pivotal turn when she has a remarkable interview at Richter Financial, a prestigious Fortune 500 company. The opportunity promises to be transformative, potentially leading her to a brighter future and new professional heights. As she navigates this crucial moment, the stakes are high, and her ambitions are set against the backdrop of corporate challenges and personal aspirations.
Modern marches by the Ku Klux Klan may appear as relics of the past or mere acts of bigotry to many Americans. However, Kelly Baker argues that the Klan is deeply entrenched in American mainstream Protestant culture. While most studies view the KKK as a racist organization using religion superficially, Baker asserts that its justifications for hatred stem from a specific brand of Protestantism that resonated with many Americans, employing symbols like burning crosses to exclude Jews and Catholics. Focusing on the Klan's "second incarnation" in the 1920s, Baker illustrates how it rebranded itself as a "fraternal Protestant organization" advocating white supremacy, successfully establishing chapters nationwide. Through extensive research of Klan publications from that era, she uncovers how its leaders manipulated religion, nationalism, gender, and race to adapt their hate-filled ideology to changing times. This analysis reveals the Klan's views on Protestantism, church-state relations, gender roles, and its notorious 1924 anti-Catholic riot at Notre Dame University. Baker draws unsettling parallels between the Klan's rhetoric and contemporary movements, demonstrating that the Klan's message was more adeptly crafted than historians have acknowledged. This perspective highlights ongoing intolerance among some citizens who seek to uphold a mythical white Protestant nation.