List of Burleigh lectures at the University of Agder, August-November 2019

"How God's Warriors Captured Washington"

An hour-long lecture detailing the people and institutions that remodeled Washington DC into a hotbed of religiosity, in which all Presidents and political leaders are now expected to show up at a "National Prayer Breakfast" annually, federal judges are selected by an Opus Dei cult Catholic, an Evangelical Christian billionaire family, has built the biggest museum in Washington called the "Bible Museum," one block from the national mall, and how this regressive movement will affect real lives. Her talk introduces the zealous individuals who worked quietly behind the scenes, crafting organizations and power networks over the last several decades to take over Washington with the goal of battering the Constitutional separation of Church and State for once and for all.

(Sept. 14 and Oct. 12 Lorsdag University Lectures, Kristiansand and Flekkfjord)

"The Lying Pen of Scribes" Brown Bag Lectures

A four part brown bag lunch series, lectures, followed by Q and A discussions, exploring various ways the white evangelical Christian political movement in America has compromised basic Christian principles of mercy charity and love, aligned itself with an anti-democratic, authoritarian political movement and often corrupt private individuals and political leaders. (Aug-Nov 2019)

1: "Fakes, Forgers, Con Men and Collectors"

A discussion about how the Hobby Lobby Green family collected, planned, built and then filled the National Bible Museum with fakes and illicit objects, lighting up the illicit Middle Eastern antiquities market along the way, all in the pursuit of sharing proof for faith -- within a few blocks of the U.S. Capitol.

2: "Unholy Business Revisited"

An update on the close ties between antiquities dealers and scholars in the high-end Biblical antiquities world, from the James Ossuary and the Jehoash Inscription to new revelations regarding forged Dead Sea Scrolls fragments.

3. "Money, Money, Money, Money!"

An introduction to the principles in and expansion of "The Prosperity Gospel" and to the megachurch millionaire pastors and televangelists who advise the President and his evangelical cabinet members, and an exploration into how these men and women have inserted their creed directly into Congress, the White House, and Washington DC generally, embedded deep inside the power centers of the Capitol, dictating policy on social welfare, education, and even foreign policy.

4. "Christian Zionism and American foreign policy"

How and why did Iran become the next Iraq? A discussion of the long and strange alliance between Evangelical Christian Zionists (who believe Jews will all convert) and the Israeli ultra-right, culminating in finally seizing full power through Donald Trump, who, under the influence of his son in law, a long time Netanyahu ally, and other deep-pockets Israelis like Sheldon Adelson, moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, effectively ended American leadership on finding an equitable solution for Palestinians and secular Israelis.

"Flag and Statues: The Fight over Symbols of a Racist Past"

(Sept. 4 Abuses and Uses of History class for Christa Santini Wirth)

"The 'Discovery' of Egypt"

(Sept. 5 Migrations class for Christa Santini Wirth)

"The effectiveness of white identity politics."

(Sept. 25 Contemporary American and British politics and society, for Jan Erik Mustad )

"Big data and Facebook surveillance as new political strategies using 'Fake News'"

(Sept. 11 English culture, literature and didactics, with Jan Erik Mustad)

"Religious Extremism: Roots and Solutions"

(Oct. 9 Religious radicalisation, extremism and violence with Pål Ketil Botvar)

"The challenges of "Fake News" for Journalism"

(Sept. 25 Kristiansand Katedralskole)

"Tracing Streams of Scientific Misinformation in the News Media"

(Nov. 1 UiA Media and Communications Seminar, Lillesand)

"Sorting the true from the false: sources of fake news and real information"

(Nov. 20-21 PhD Course in Research Communication with Årstein Justnes & Josephine Munch Rasmussen)

"Trump and American politics"

(Oct. 15 Faedrelandsvennen, Kristiansand)

"After Hours: Election Night 2016"

(Nov. 12, Speakeasy event, Public Theater, NYC)

"The Challenges for Journalism in the "Fake News" era"

(Nov. 20 UiA Scholars at Risk conference)

"The Fascinating Fascist Wife: A Taxonomy"

(Nov. 22 UiA Library)