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Whitney Phillips

@whitneyphillips.bsky.social

Assistant Prof of Information Politics and Ethics at the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication. I write about quasi-religion & politics at http://populardemonology.substack.com

554 Followers  |  116 Following  |  31 Posts  |  Joined: 15.04.2025  |  1.9844

Latest posts by whitneyphillips.bsky.social on Bluesky

That is a dynamic we talk about in the book yes!

19.08.2025 13:40 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I'd be so curious to hear more about your experiences but don't want to put you on the spot! For now, again, this is so appreciated, thank you for reading and posting about the book!

19.08.2025 13:39 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh thank you Chris! I'm just seeing this message and the responses -- I actually just submitted the full follow-up manuscript to the press, which is why I wasn't checking inboxes/notifications due to overwhelmed editing brain, what a nice surprise to see this! I'm so glad the book resonated

19.08.2025 13:39 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Awesome, thank you!! I'd love to know what you think!

10.08.2025 00:23 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It was so great talking with you, thanks Hagen!! (also the @adriandaub.bsky.social book you recommended was so unbelievably helpful!!) (that should also be a thank you aimed at Adrian himself, I have scribbled excited notes from cover to cover!)

21.07.2025 19:48 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I got to have a great conversation recently about Evangelical political influence and the strange global flows of anti-liberal demonology, thanks @ausnahmsweise.net! (the audio interview is in English)

21.07.2025 19:45 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

*Things like trollish style WERE

11.07.2025 14:06 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah there were a couple times in this where things like trollish style was being framed as nascent/emergent within conservatism and I caught myself saying "...New?" Michael Bluth style ("...Her?")

11.07.2025 14:05 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

That's really cool! Send me an email to UO address and we can schedule something!!

04.07.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh goodness do I have thoughts on that! That conversation is also part of this book, related to the popularization of demonology. I'd be happy to chat about it sometime if you wanted!

03.07.2025 23:40 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh interesting! Our follow-up book (which will be finished this summer) looks at what happens when demonology becomes POPULAR i.e. jumps those walls and starts traipsing through everybody's gardens which is...disorienting to think and write about. What's your dissertation topic?

03.07.2025 22:36 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Hey thank you! What was the focus of the comp list?

03.07.2025 20:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Hey awesome! I'd love to know what you think about it

03.07.2025 19:57 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The Shadow Gospel When people talk about the chaotic, increasingly precarious political landscape in the United States, they often blame polarization and the culture wars. In ...

If anybody is puzzled why Mike Johnson's celebratory BBB speech included references to scripture, the radical woke leftists, "common sense," trans people, and why we need to fight the godlessness of Communism/Marxism, have I got a book for you: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255227...

03.07.2025 19:34 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

Oh awesome, thanks for ordering! (and for your patience with the mixup!)-- I'd love to know what you think!!

01.05.2025 21:17 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Well, it depends on what you/a person thinks threatens those things. Not every use of those terms is demonological; it is when the threats are attributed to a nebulous definition of "liberal" that is actually a bunch of disconnected things lumped together and made to seem partisan

28.04.2025 14:31 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The piece also highlights how corrosive *demonological* Christianity ("Revelation Lite," where the point is to fight the liberal devil and that's it) is to theological Christianity and how corrosive *demonological* conservatism (same thing, devil devil everywhere) is to ideological conservatism

28.04.2025 13:44 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
How Demonology Won the 2024 Election The rise of a β€œshadow gospel” reveals how deeply the language of demons and deliverance has shaped American politics.

An excerpt from my new book w @markbrockway.bsky.social that highlights the three different modes of demonological thinking. For example pro-family, pro-speech, pro-America talk sounds positive/common sense but is ultimately pointing to the liberal devil thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-demonolo...

28.04.2025 13:44 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1

But no rush/pressure, only if something seems immediately relevant or easy to link. I'm always curious about how people are engaging with/framing these issues around the globe -- we're facing similar challenges and sometimes the approaches are similar, sometimes very different. Always interesting!

22.04.2025 14:08 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh that's really cool! Thank you, I'd be interested to know what kinds of conversations you're having/what those discussions focus on, how they translate into educational contexts, what the fights are about, etc. Do you have any recommendations of folks to follow or things to read?

22.04.2025 14:08 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Tack fΓΆr delningen! (Jag pratar inte svenska men det gΓΆr ΓΆversΓ€ttningsappen!)

22.04.2025 11:33 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Hi I've been meaning to reach out!!! Thank you, how are you doing? I cannot wait to read yours!!!!

16.04.2025 22:25 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh that's really cool to hear, thank you! What kinds of things have you explored?

15.04.2025 17:55 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

It is you who are lovely and smart! Big big hug to you & thanks

15.04.2025 17:38 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Ooh thanks for the intro!! Lots of fun with the devil here

15.04.2025 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you!!! And nice to see you here (I'm new as of today)

15.04.2025 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Eek thank you!! What a wild project this was, I really didn't set out to write a book about the semi-secular devil, or about the legacy of Cold War anticommunism, but here we are

15.04.2025 13:55 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

The other very important point to note is that the book has little red devil horns on the spine

15.04.2025 13:35 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

In addition to upending conventional accounts of political polarization, the politics of resentment, and the culture wars, the book provides a novel framework for understanding DEI panic, attacks on trans existence, and the attempted gutting of the federal government and higher education.

15.04.2025 13:35 β€” πŸ‘ 21    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

What emerged–promoted intensely by rightwing and Evangelical media–was a pervasive anti-liberal demonology that detailed the alleged threats liberals pose to conservatives, the family, God, and America (at least, particular kinds of conservatives, families, Christianity & understandings of America)

15.04.2025 13:35 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

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