Infinity Goes Up On Trial (+)
A focus on ideas central to the depth of Bob Dylan’s music, art, and writing in a broader social, cultural, and political context. Discussing these concepts with scholars, artists, educators, activists, and myriad experts, we explore how Dylan’s ideas reflect and encompass all aspects of human existence.
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Erin Callahan
Erin Callahan teaches English at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, where she has been a faculty member since 2007. She completed her Ph.D. in Modern History and Literature at Drew University in 2014, writing her dissertation on Bob Dylan’s identity construction and the American voice.
Erin is a regular contributor to The Dylantantes Substack and is co-editor of “The Politics and Power of Bob Dylan’s Live Performances: Play a Song for Me” with Court Carney, a collection of essays about Dylan’s live performances that was published by Routledge in 2023.
She has presented on Bob Dylan at many conferences, including ACA/PCA, “Bob Dylan in the 21st Century” in Arras, France, and The World of Bob Dylan, in Tulsa, Oklahoma 2019 and 2023.
Bob Dylan’s conversion to Christianity and his subsequent Gospel albums have long delighted and puzzled his fans. However, the themes he explored through a theological lens can be found in his earliest compositions. In this episode, Celucien L. Joseph, Ph.D., theologian, literary scholar, and chair of the English department at San Jacinto College, discusses his current work on Christianity, Vodou, and Secularism, and his thoughts on themes of justice, redemption, and grace in Dylan’s work.
Dr. Joseph earned his B.A. from The Baptist College of Florida. He holds an M.A. in French language and literature from the University of Louisville (Louisville, KY). In addition, he holds an Advanced Master of Divinity (M.Div) in Biblical and Theological Studies, from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a Master of Theology (Th.M.) in New Testament, from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth, TX). He received his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from the University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX), where he studied Literary Studies with an emphasis in African American Intellectual History, Caribbean Culture and Literature, and African American Literature. Professor Joseph’s second Ph.D. in Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics is from the University of Pretoria (Pretoria, South Africa). He has done additional studies in Religious Studies and the Humanities at the University of Louisville. A prolific scholar and writer, Dr. Joseph has published over three-dozen articles and over a dozen books that have advanced scholarship on Christianity and Vodou. He continues to be a leading voice in the field.
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