Roundtable Session In-person November Annual Meeting 2025

How to Teach “Impossibly”: Thinking about Comparison With, Against, and Through Jeff Kripal's Work

Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)

In the second edition of Comparing Religions, Jeffrey Kripal speaks to the theme of “impossibility,” arguing that supernatural or paranormal events actually “happen all the time, … despite our models and frameworks to the contrary” (Kripal 2024: xxiii).  In this often-assigned religious studies textbook, Kripal further expresses the hope that scholars in the academy will literally “fall off” of their “(mental) scaffolding,” thereby expanding their religious studies theorizing to encompass such phenomena and orientations. This roundtable takes on the challenge that Kripal presents as it relates to the often daunting and—to some—“impossible” task of bringing comparative religious studies to the undergraduate classroom. From critically examining Buddhist *siddhi* to reimagining comparative teaching through Kripal’s anti-reductive framework, presenters engage with the notion of the “impossible,” exploring tensions between skepticism and belief, and considering how to interrogate this theme in different educational environments and in response to diverse student motivations.

Audiovisual Requirements
LCD Projector and Screen
Play Audio from Laptop Computer
Comments
First choice to be submitted to the Comparative Studies in Religion Unit for consideration.
Tags
# Comparative Religions
#Comparative Pedagogy
#Jeffrey Kripal
#Impossibility