About
Adam DJ Brett earned his Ph.D. in religion from Syracuse University. He is an Operations Manager and International Research Associate with the American Indian Law Alliance (AILA). Additionally, he is the grant & event coordinator for the Doctrine of Discovery Project at Syracuse University with Professor Philip P. Arnold, who is the Principal Investigator. The project is funded in part by the Henry Luce Grant “200 Years of Johnson v. McIntosh.” Professionally Adam has worked as a web developer for over a decade. He enjoys projects that allow him to integrate the academic study of religion with contemporary issues and web development.
His academic interests are the religion, media and culture with attention to mass media and the diffuse influence of U.S. Protestant Fundamentalism on media, culture, business, and politics during the early 20th century. He is also interested in the efforts of Indigenous nations and peoples to oppose the usage of a 15th century papal bull, the Doctrine of Discovery, to justify U.S. property laws that dispossess the lands of Indigenous nations and communities (upheld by the Supreme Court as recently as 2005 in Sherrill v. Oneida. Both projects allow him to anchor his work within the sub-disciplines of critical theories of religion and American religious history with careful attention to discourses of identity and power (via Michel Foucault).
With the American Indian Law Alliance, Adam facilitates conferences discussions, and panels. Adam is an integral part of AILA’s with the Global Indigenous Women’s Gathering, Global Indigenous Peoples Caucus, and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. He is dedicated to forwarding the advancement of sovereignty and self-determination for Indigenous nations and peoples.
Areas of interest
- American Religion/American Religious History
- Indigenous Religious
- Fundamentalisms
- Religion, Media, and Technology
- Comics and Graphic Novels
Courses taught
- Religion and Science Fiction
- Religion and Sports
- Religions of the World
- Introduction to the Study of Religion
- New Testament
- Western Religion
- Religion and Society