Faculty spotlight

Dr. Matt Sutton wins prestigious Guggenheim

 

Sutton, whose work explores the relationships among American religion, culture, and politics, was just named a 2016 Guggenheim Fellow.

Characterized as “midcareer” awards, Guggenheim Fellowships are “intended for men and women who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.” These are among the most competitive and prestigious fellowships that a scholar in the humanities can receive.

Sutton is using the fellowship to support work on his current project, a book tentatively titled FDR’s Army of Faith: Religion and Espionage in World War II, which will be published by Basic Books.

The book will explore the roles that missionaries and religious activists played in espionage and covert operations during the war.

Sutton’s most recent book, American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism (Harvard University Press) continues to get excellent reviews. The New Yorker opined, “The history Sutton assembles is rich, and the connections are startling” while the London Sunday Times called the book a “valuable, timely and often entertaining account.”

In addition to the usual academic journals, Sutton also earned excellent reviews in the United States in the Wall Street Journal, Bookforum, and Raritan; in the U.K. in the Times Literary Supplement and Guardian; in Ireland in the Irish Times; as well as in magazines in Finland and Sweden, among many others.

As the current presidential season unfolds, it’s clear that Sutton’s work is continuing to be both academically rigorous and relevant.

Dr. Sutton recently  published an article in The Seattle Times titled “Why Hillary Clinton needs Jesus.”

To see the entire article, click here.