Fred Appel

I publish books in the fields of religious studies and social-cultural anthropology, and in history as it pertains to these fields. My aim is to publish imaginative books with interdisciplinary reach that are conversation changers in their respective fields, whether they are written for scholars, students, or general readers.

In religion, I am particularly interested in projects that explore the intersection of religion and politics, and books in Jewish studies, biblical studies, Islamic studies, the history of Christianity, American religion, and the philosophy of religion. Recent and forthcoming books include Kate Bowler’s The Preacher’s Wife, Shahab Ahmed’s What Is Islam?, and Barry Scott Wimpfheimer’s The Talmud: A Biography. In anthropology, I am interested in historically informed ethnography, books that extend classic ethnographic questions and methods into the study of digital culture and technology, and projects that enhance our understanding of religious communities around the world. Some recent and forthcoming examples are Matthew Engelke’s How to Think Like an Anthropologist, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing’s The Mushroom at the End of the World, and Anya Bernstein’s The Future of Immortality.