As a teacher and researcher in Religion, I operate in an interdisciplinary space. This is a space from which I began: I joined Stirling in September 2003 after studies in English (BA) and Theology (MTh), both within Canada, a PhD at the Centre For the Study of Literature, Theology and the Arts in Glasgow, and a position as the Carolyn Grant Fay Visiting Associate Professor in Religion and Literature at the University of Houston in Texas. At each of these steps I have advanced interdisciplinary lines of enquiry which, though starting from religious or ethical questions, necessarily run through other disciplines, discourses and modes of expression: philosophy, the arts (literature, drama, painting, music), hermeneutics, critical theory, ethics, sociology, and science. This approach is encapsulated in the Critical Religion framework that we have developed here at Stirling, an internationally recognized research paradigm that informs all my teaching and scholarship. I am also the General Secretary of the International Society of Religion, Literature and Culture, a network of global scholars seeking to interrogate the limits and possibilities of religion through multiple discourses, in order to better address ethically and critically the pressing concerns of our complex world.
My research explores the intersection of religion with other conceptual and creative modes of enquiry. I am interested not only in how we think under the concept of religion, but in how we think the concept itself. “Religion” for me has a prismatic effect, in that what we channel through it becomes refracted into a spectrum of ethics, concerns, interests, discourses, ideas and creativities. Literature has been a constant in this regard: questions of textuality and interpretation, and the spaces opened up by the creativity of language, are central to my thinking (Oxford Handbook of English Literature & Theology, 2007). An emphasis on hermeneutical ethics is also a mark of my work, particularly as it raises philosophical issues in which text and theory collide. The spaces created here are necessarily interdisciplinary, and I have been thinking and writing from these spaces since the start.
My earlier work looked at the way religion and creative expression have been forged together within the modern philosophical context laid down by Kant (Poetics of Critique, Ashgate, 2003). I later extended this context to Hegel (Hegel and the Art of Negation, 2014). From this work on German Idealism I have exposed the crucial role that the notions of nothing and negativity have played in developing our modern social and cultural consciousness, particularly around religion and art. My close study of the poet and writer W.H. Auden, for example, constructs a history of ideas around the concept of One as it gives way in Western modernity to the potent concept of Nothing and its figurations (Auden's O: The Loss of One's Sovereignty in the Making of Nothing, 2013).
My present work places these ongoing concerns within the challenges of our global society, in which the progressive claims of secularity can no better hold than the universalising claims of religion. In my volume Sacred Modes of Being in a Postsecular World (2021) I explore with leading figures in religion, theology and the arts how the sacred might still find expression in a world where neither secular nor religious paradigms are stable, and where a poetics might offer a new, more globalising theological mode. Most recently this exploration has culminated in a collaborative monograph in which I and two European colleagues elaborate the features of a musicality constitutive to this mode, a music of theology (as opposed to a theology of music) that plays itself across language, space and silence (The Music of Theology: Language – Space – Silence, 2024). My follow-up single-authored monograph (Out of the Spirit of Music) will interrogate the poetics of this musicality further within the philosophically creative context of Nietzsche and his ethical challenges.
As a founding member of both the Critical Religion Association (criticalreligion.org) and the International Society for Religion, Literature and Culture (isrlc.org), I work in close association with a network of like-minded interdisciplinary scholars across the globe. I also maintain working connections with scholars of Humanities in China, Hong Kong and South Korea. I share a pressing concern with how these global communities in which we operate are being increasingly controlled and homogenized by the technoscientific mechanics of the digital/media revolution. I thus strive in all my research and teaching to bring the values of religious and theological traditions, and their corresponding scholarly disciplines, in line with a constructive critique of systems that challenge on levels both local and global. My research aim is that, in collaborative work with interdisciplinary networks of scholars, through shared projects and writings, a new creative mode of practice and thinking might be forged for the globalized twenty-first century, one that will bear upon the exigent (and existential) concerns we all face.
I thus welcome postgraduate research proposals in the following areas: religion within a globalising society; religion and the digital future; religion and literature; religion and the arts; religion and continental philosophy (German Idealism, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, et al.), religion and critical theory; hermeneutics (Gadamer, Ricoeur, et al.); nothing and negation; and projects that interconnect these areas.
Monograph
The Music of Theology: Language-Space-Silence
Hass A, Martinson M & ten Kate L (2024) The Music of Theology: Language-Space-Silence. 1 ed. Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/The-Music-of-Theology-Language-Space-and-Silence/Hass-Martinson-Kate/p/book/9780367902445
Book Chapter
The Creation of God Being Nothing
Hass A (2024) The Creation of God Being Nothing. In: Feld AN & McGrath SJ (eds.) Unfinished God: The Speculative Philosophical Theology of Ray L. Hart. New Perspectives in Ontology. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, pp. 28-44. https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-unfinished-god.html
Conference Paper (unpublished)
“From One to O: the Venturing of Nothing, ‘Thou Senseless Form’"
Hass A () “From One to O: the Venturing of Nothing, ‘Thou Senseless Form’". An J (Translator).
Book Chapter
Hass A (2023) Nothing. In: Rajan T & Whistler D (eds.) The Palgrave Handbook of German Idealism and Poststructuralism. 1 ed. Palgrave Handbooks in German Idealism. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 343-360. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27345-2
Edited Book
Sacred Modes of Being in a Postsecular World
Hass AW (ed.) (2021) Sacred Modes of Being in a Postsecular World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009047944
Book Chapter
Creatio qua Nihil: Negation from the Generative to the Performative
Hass A (2021) Creatio qua Nihil: Negation from the Generative to the Performative. In: Dalferth IU & Kimball TW (eds.) The Meaning and Power of Negativity: Claremont Studies in the Philosophy of Religion, Conference 2017. Religion in Philosophy and Theology, 10. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/en/book/the-meaning-and-power-of-negativity-9783161601354?no_cache=1
Book Chapter
Hass AW (2021) The Sacred Opening. In: Hass A (ed.) Sacred Modes of Being in a Postsecular World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 15-30. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009047944.002
Book Chapter
Hass AW (2021) Introduction. In: Hass AW (ed.) Sacred Modes of Being in a Postsecular World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009047944.001
Book Chapter
Hass A (2020) What is the University For?. In: Barbato M, Nadadur Kannan R & Montgomery C (eds.) Critical Religion Reader. Ontario: Studio Dreamshare Press, pp. 237-246. https://studiodreamsharepress.com/books/
Book Chapter
Hass A (2020) Profits of Doom. In: Barbato M, Nadadur Kannan R & Montgomery C (eds.) Critical Religion Reader. Studio Dreamshare Press, pp. 142-154. https://studiodreamsharepress.com/books/
Article
The Gravity of Mystical Ascent
Hass AW (2020) The Gravity of Mystical Ascent. Space and Culture, 23 (4), pp. 343-356. https://doi.org/10.1177/1206331219864274
Article
The Yes of Nietzsche and Hegel in Altizer
Hass A (2020) The Yes of Nietzsche and Hegel in Altizer. Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory, 19 (1), pp. 17-33. https://jcrt.org/archives/19.1/Hass.pdf
Website Content
Jasper A, Hass A, Saade B, Darroch F & Gao Z (2019) Religion Under Fire. The Critical Religion Association - Critical Approaches to the Study of Religion [Website content] 05.05.2019.
Book Chapter
Hegel and the Negation of the Apophatic
Hass AW (2017) Hegel and the Negation of the Apophatic. In: Brown N & Simmons A (eds.) Contemporary Debates in Negative Theology and Philosophy. Palgrave Frontiers in Philosophy of Religion. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 131-161. http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9783319658995; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65900-8_9
Book Chapter
Hass AW (2017) Mediation. In: Whistler D (ed.) The Edinburgh Critical History of Nineteenth-Century Christian Theology. The Edinburgh Critical History of Christian Theology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-edinburgh-critical-history-of-nineteenth-century-christian-theology-hb.html
Book Chapter
Translation as Trans-Literal: Radical Formations in Contemporary Chinese Art
Hass AW (2016) Translation as Trans-Literal: Radical Formations in Contemporary Chinese Art. In: Jasper D, Youzhuang G & Hai W (eds.) A Poetics of Translation: Between Chinese and English Literature. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, pp. 215-237. http://www.baylorpress.com/Book/55/466/A_Poetics_of_Translation.html
Book Chapter
Hass A (2015) Modern Literature. In: Beal T (ed.) The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and the Arts. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref:obso/9780199846511.001.0001/acref-9780199846511-e-109?rskey=G7L22y&result=110
Authored Book
Hass AW (2014) Hegel and the Art of Negation. London: IB Tauris. http://www.ibtauris.com/Books/Humanities/Philosophy/History%20of%20Western%20philosophy/Western%20philosophy%20c%201600%20to%20c%201900/Hegel%20and%20the%20Art%20of%20Negation.aspx?menuitem={DFF51E2F-C0BA-4928-ACC4-415188DCDEE8}
Article
Negative Hermeneutics and 'Scriptural Reasoning'
Hass AW (2014) Negative Hermeneutics and 'Scriptural Reasoning' [否定的诠释学与经文辩读]. Journal for the Study of Christian Culture, (31), pp. 82-97. http://en.oversea.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?QueryID=3&CurRec=6&dbCode=CCJD&filename=JDWH201401006&dbname=CCJDLAST2
Book Chapter
Hass AW (2014) Becoming. In: Peterson D & Zbaraschuk G (eds.) Resurrecting the Death of God: The Origins, Influence, and Return of Radical Theology. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, pp. 155-172. http://www.sunypress.edu/p-5849-resurrecting-the-death-of-god.aspx
Book Chapter
Hass AW (2013) The Poetics of O (as Nothing). In: Price D & Johnson R (eds.) The Movement of Nothingness: Trust in the Emptiness of Time. Aurora, CO: The Davies Group, pp. 167-182. http://www.thedaviesgrouppublishers.com/pricenothingness.htm
Authored Book
Auden's O: The Loss of One's Sovereignty in the Making of Nothing
Hass AW (2013) Auden's O: The Loss of One's Sovereignty in the Making of Nothing. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. http://www.sunypress.edu/p-5741-audens-o.aspx
Book Chapter
Hegel Beyond the Ideal of Idealism
Hass AW (2013) Hegel Beyond the Ideal of Idealism. In: Jasper D & Wright D (eds.) Theological Reflection and the Pursuit of Ideals: Theology, Human Flourishing and Freedom. Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 131-146. http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409452393
Article
The Theoretical Community (Or, is There a Theory in his Journal?)
Hass AW (2012) The Theoretical Community (Or, is There a Theory in his Journal?). Literature and Theology, 26 (3), pp. 289-304. https://doi.org/10.1093/litthe/frs032
Other
25th Anniversary Special Issue
Hass A (Editor) (2012) 25th Anniversary Special Issue. Literature and Theology, 26 (3), pp. 249-359. https://academic.oup.com/litthe/issue/26/3
Article
Artist Bound: The Enslavement of Art to the Hegelian Other
Hass AW (2011) Artist Bound: The Enslavement of Art to the Hegelian Other. Literature and Theology, 25 (4), pp. 379-392. https://doi.org/10.1093/litthe/frr046
Book Chapter
Hass AW (2011) Discipline Beyond Disciplines. In: Walton H (ed.) Literature and Theology: New Interdisciplinary Spaces. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, pp. 19-36. http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409400110
Website Content
Hass A (2010) Response to W. David Hall’s “The Primacy of Rhetoric: Ernesto Grassi’s Recovery of Humanism and the Possibilities for Philosophy and Religious Studies”. [online forum] 01.07.2010.
Article
Intending Metaphors: Living and Working 'Religion and Literature'
Hass AW (2009) Intending Metaphors: Living and Working 'Religion and Literature'. Religion and Literature, 41 (2). http://religionandlit.nd.edu/issues/archives/40-1-spr-2008---44-3-aut-2012/
Article
Fitzgerald T, Hass AW, Jasper A, Darroch F, Roberts R, King R & Carette J (2007) A case of misrepresentation: James L. Cox and Steven J. Sutcliffe, "Religious studies in Scotland: A persistent tension with divinity" [Religion 36 (1) (March 2006) 1e28]: A response from Religion at Stirling. Religion, 37 (4), pp. 333-337.
Book Chapter
The Future Of English Literature And Theology
Hass AW (2007) The Future Of English Literature And Theology. In: Hass A, Jasper D & Jay E (eds.) Oxford Handbook of English Literature and Theology. Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 841-858. http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199271979.do; http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199544486.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199544486
Edited Book
Oxford Handbook of English Literature & Theology
Hass AW, Jasper D & Jay E (eds.) (2007) Oxford Handbook of English Literature & Theology. Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199271979.do; http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199544486.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199544486
Other
Challenge of Pluralism: The Power of Interpretation
Hass A (Editor) & Jasper D (Editor) (2005) Challenge of Pluralism: The Power of Interpretation. Literature and Theology, 19 (3), pp. 197-293. https://academic.oup.com/litthe/issue/19/3
Book Chapter
Seeing Through a Glass Face to Face
Hass A (2004) Seeing Through a Glass Face to Face. In: Newlands G (ed.) Believing in the Text. Religions and Discourse, 18. Bern: Peter Lang, pp. 57-74. https://www.peterlang.com/document/1096808
Book Chapter
Hass A (2003) Literature, World. In: Houlden L (ed.) Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 2. 1st ed. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, pp. 551-564. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/jesus-in-history-thought-and-culture-9798216175216/
Authored Book
Poetics of Critique: The Interdisciplinarity of Textuality
Hass AW (2003) Poetics of Critique: The Interdisciplinarity of Textuality. Routledge Revivals. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. https://www.routledge.com/Poetics-of-Critique-The-Interdisciplinarity-of-Textuality/Hass/p/book/9781138709959
Book Chapter
Hass A (2002) Reading in the Modern Wake. In: Middleton DJN (ed.) God, Literature and Process Thought. Aldershot: Routledge, pp. 13-28. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781351009928-3/reading-modern-wake-andrew-hass?context=ubx&refId=8604142b-1d81-49c3-a78f-9de1b5d2d7e6
Edited Book
Self/Same/Other: Re-visioning the Subject in Literature and Theology
Walton H & Hass AW (eds.) (2000) Self/Same/Other: Re-visioning the Subject in Literature and Theology. Playing the Texts, 5. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/selfsameother-9781841270197/
Book Chapter
Hass A (2000) The Nostalgia of Adieux. In: Walton H & Hass A (eds.) Self/Same/Other: Re-visioning the Subject in Literature and Theology. Playing the Texts, 5. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, pp. 34-44. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/selfsameother-9780567021830/
Article
God and the Novelists: 5. Graham Greene
Hass AW (1998) God and the Novelists: 5. Graham Greene. The Expository Times, 110 (3), pp. 68-72. https://doi.org/10.1177/001452469811000302
Other
Kuschel K (1996) Presence Of God?: Towards the Possibility of a Theological Aesthetic in an Analysis of George Steiner. Hass A (Translator) Literature and Theology [Translation of a journal article]. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1093/litthe/10.1.1