Reviews
"Each chapter brings Ellison into conversation with other thinkers to show a religious lineage to his thinking while also tackling a chronological period or particular theme...Harriss offers an intriguing way to rethink what religion looks like--even when it's invisible--in America."- Publishers Weekly, "In this wide-ranging analysis, incorporating everything from biblical texts to Puritan sermons, from the Harlem Renaissance to mid-century political theologians to contemporary debates, M. Cooper Harris excavates the 'lower frequencies' of Ralph Ellison's central metaphor of invisibility. He shows how Ellison injects race into contemporary discussions of secularism, and in the process illuminates much not just about Invisible Man, but about how race orders the American cosmos."-Paul Harvey,author of Christianity and Race in the American South: A History, Harriss offers a deeper interpretation by exploring the religious implications of Ellison's characterization of race as invisible and its theological significance for a secular age., "Centering on Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, this book may be read as a case study into what opens up when one refuses the opposition between the sacred and the secular, between religion and the profane, when approaching black cultural productions. Black social life moves in the break(down) of these divisions, enacting intramural practices of an alternative sociality. The importance of this text lies in its taking up of such matters by way of Ralph Ellison's work. Inviting a consideration of America as a settler-colonial project of religious and secular, if not theological, purity, Ellison is cast as forging an underground 'invisible theology' of an unseen blackness that works through and against the grain of America's "original sin": race/ism. Not to be missed, this text joins the fray of an emergent conversation regarding black social life's 'paratheological' conditions"-J. Kameron Carter,Duke University Divinity School, Centering on Ralph Ellisons Invisible Man, this book may be read as a case study into what opens up when one refuses the opposition between the sacred and the secular, between religion and the profane, when approaching black cultural productions. Black social life moves in the break(down) of these divisions, enacting intramural practices of an alternative sociality. The importance of this text lies in its taking up of such matters by way of Ralph Ellisons work. Inviting a consideration of America as a settler-colonial project of religious and secular, if not theological, purity, Ellison is cast as forging an underground 'invisible theology' of an unseen blackness that works through and against the grain of Americas original sin: race/ism. Not to be missed, this text joins the fray of an emergent conversation regarding black social life's 'paratheological' conditions, "Harriss's book is an impressive accomplishment reflecting careful thought, patient research, and well-crafted writing. It deserves a wide audience among teachers, students, and fans of Ellison, as well as others who hope for more sophisticated political discussions about history, identity, and race."- Christian Century, "In this wide-ranging analysis, incorporating everything from biblical texts to Puritan sermons, from the Harlem Renaissance to mid-century political theologians to contemporary debates, M. Cooper Harriss excavates the 'lower frequencies' of Ralph Ellison's central metaphor of invisibility. He shows how Ellison injects race into contemporary discussions of secularism, and in the process illuminates much not just about Invisible Man, but about how race orders the American cosmos."-Paul Harvey,author of Christianity and Race in the American South: A History, "Harriss offers a deeper interpretation by exploring the religious implications of Ellison's characterization of race as invisible and its theological significance for a secular age." - Catholic Library World, Each chapter brings Ellison into conversation with other thinkers to show a religious lineage to his thinking while also tackling a chronological period or particular theme...Harriss offers an intriguing way to rethink what religion looks like--even when it's invisible--in America., In this wide-ranging analysis, incorporating everything from biblical texts to Puritan sermons, from the Harlem Renaissance to mid-century political theologians to contemporary debates, M. Cooper Harriss excavates the 'lower frequencies' of Ralph Ellison's central metaphor of invisibility. He shows how Ellison injects race into contemporary discussions of secularism, and in the process illuminates much not just about Invisible Man, but about how race orders the American cosmos., HarrisssRalph Ellisons Invisible Theologyprovides a suggestive, learned, and accessible entrance into Ellisons life and work which creatively appraises the theological significance of Ellisons thought while also contributing to conversations on race, religion, and secularism as well as religion and literature., Harrisss book is an impressive accomplishment reflecting careful thought, patient research, and well-crafted writing. It deserves a wide audience among teachers, students, and fans of Ellison, as well as others who hope for more sophisticated political discussions about history, identity, and race., "Harriss's Ralph Ellison's Invisible Theology provides a suggestive, learned, and accessible entrance into Ellison's life and work which creatively appraises the theological significance of Ellison's thought while also contributing to conversations on race, religion, and secularism as well as religion and literature."- Reading Religion
