Welcome!

I am Dr. Robert M Geraci, Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College and author of Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics (Oxford University Press, 2010), Virtually Sacred: Myth and Meaning in World of Warcraft and Second Life (Oxford University Press, 2014), Temples of Modernity: Nationalism, Hinduism, and Transhumanism in South Indian Science (Lexington 2018), Futures of Artificial Intelligence: Perspectives from India and the U.S. (Oxford 2022).Futures cover

This site offers links to my work, a minimalist archive of  my online presence, and information for those wishing to retain me as a guest lecturer, public speaker, or consultant (in the videogame industry or perhaps in some new way).

If you’re looking to follow my work, find access to my research articles, or keep connected in a professional network, you can find me on Academia.edu. I’m occasionally on Twitter and LinkedIn (but I accept friend invites there only after I know someone…so send an actual message on LinkedIn or email if you’re hoping to connect).

About

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I’m Texan, but living, teaching, and writing in New York City. I’m pretty sure that everyone loves robots, which is why I’ve written a book about them. People love games too, so I wrote another book.  I’m also interested in the toadstool circles, the ancient temples, the soaring cathedrals of our religious imagination. Likewise, the dark tunnels of mining and rapid transit. I visit mountains, deserts, temples, laboratories, factories, virtual realities…the places where magic enters the world.

Thanks to a Fulbright-Nehru Research Award, I spent 5 months at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, where I interviewed dozens of scientists in academia, industry, and hacker culture. The book is published by Lexington Press (an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield). It offers new insights into contemporary India and into methodology in the study of religion, science, and technology.

In 2018-19, I was back on sabbatical and back in India–once again under the auspices of a Fulbright-Nehru award. I was affiliated with the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and I conducted research for a new project investigating the contemporary culture of traditional handcrafts.

Overall, my interest is in how we use technology to enchant and give meaning to the world. To study this, I use ethnographic fieldwork, methods from science & technology studies (especially actor-network theory), literature (science fiction) studies, and the hodgepodge of methods that all of us in “religion and science studies” put to use. Within the study of religion and science, I am a Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion.

Contact

Email might be more reliable, but feel free to use this form.