What happens when the written words of biblical scripture are transformed into experiential, choreographed environments? To answer this question, anthropologist James Bielo explores a diverse range of practices and places that “materialize the Bible,” including gardens, theme parks, shrines, museums, memorials, exhibitions, theatrical productions, and other forms of replication. Integrating ethnographic, archival, and mass media data, case studies focus primarily on U.S. Christianity from the late 19th-century to the present. Composed as 20 short chapters that may be read in any order, the book is divided into three sections. Section I, “Variations on Replication,” analyzes examples that recontextualize elements from the (actual or imagined) biblical past. Section II, “The Power of Nature,” turns to the natural world associated with Christian scripture and how it is mobilized as a privileged media. Section III, “Choreographing Experience,” examines lived interactions with the affordances of materializing the Bible. Bielo argues that materializing the Bible works as an authorizing practice to intensify intimacies with scripture and circulate potent ideologies. Performed through the sensory experience of bodies, physical technologies, and infrastructures of place, Bielo illustrates how this phenomenon is always, ultimately, about expressions of power.

A comprehensive biblical reference includes a wide range of articles about people, places, customs, events, religious concepts, and philosophical ideas mentioned in the Scriptures.

General Zoology: Investigating the Animal World is an introductory level college biology textbook that provides students with an accessible and engaging look at the fundamentals of zoology. Written for a one-term, undergraduate course of mixed majors and non-majors, this reader-friendly text is concept driven vs. terminology driven. That is, the text is based on the underlying concepts and principles of zoology rather than strict memorization of terminology. Written in a student-centered, conversational style, this educational research-based textbook uniquely connects students and our society to animals from various perspectives—economic, ecologic, medical, and cultural, exploring how the animal world and human realm are intimately intertwined. End-of-chapter questions challenge students to think critically and creatively while incorporating science process skills and zoological principles.