"Theorizing Religion" did the AMNH "Asian Peoples" galleries one better today. After we shared our generally very critical appraisals of the layout, contents and language of the gallery - indeed its very appearance in a museum of natural history! - I said: Suppose they said "We hear you. This exhibition is an embarrassment. We're taking it down. Give us some ideas for what we could do with that space to offer a better understanding of religion."
Folding in what we had deemed most powerful about the less problematic Northwest Coast Hall as well as themes from our class discussions on what's excluded in definitions of "world religions" and even "religion," one group kept the architecture of the existing gallery but transformed it in a most marvelous way!
