Cohen Jeremy, Assistant Professor
Jeremy Cohen
Assistant Professor
CLA
Department of Religious Studies
Area(s) of Interest:
Biography
Jeremy Cohen’s ethnographic research focuses on communities and new religious movements seeking radical-longevity and immortality, including transhumanism, as well as the historical and cultural framework of changing North American relationships to technology and death.
Jeremy Cohen has presented his research at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), the American Academy of Religion (AAR), and the Society for the Anthropology of Religion (SAR), and has given numerous guest lectures on transhumanism, immortality, conspiracy theories, and the ethics of radical-longevity. His research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Jeremy Cohen received his BA in Jewish Studies from Concordia University in 2013, his MA in Religious Studies from Concordia University in 2016, and his PhD from McMaster University in 2021.
Awards & Certificates
2021 - Certificate in Digital Anti-Racism Education
- 2-part virtual training and workshop offered by the Canadian Council of Muslim Women.
2020 - The Mary Margaret Scammell Travel Scholarship
- Travel scholarship via department nomination.
2019 - SSHRC Michael Smith Foreign Travel Supplement
- Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in aid of travel and research.
2019 - SGS Grant in Aid of Travel Research
- Grant from the school of graduate studies, in aid of research and travel.
2018 – SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship
- Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
2017-18 - Departmental Travel Grant
- Departmental Travel Grant for the 2017 American Anthropological Association meeting in Washington, DC.
2017 – Ontario Graduate Scholarship
- Fellowship grant from the Ontario government. Award granted to students with high academic achievements.
Education
B.A Jewish Studies
Concordia University, May, 2013
M.A. Religious Studies
Concordia University, August, 2016
PhD Religious Studies
McMaster University, August, 2021
Teaching
TEACHING, GUEST LECTURES & TA
July 2021- Assistant Professor, McMaster University
- A 2-year CLA position as Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies
- SCAR 2M03 / SCAR 2N03 / SCAR 2SG3 / SCAR 2WW3 / SCAR 2QQ3 / SCAR 3AR3
Winter 2020-Winter 2021 – Sessional Instructor, McMaster University
- SCAR 2M03: Death and Dying, Comparative Views
Nov-Dec 2019 – Visiting Graduate Scholar, UCLA
- Visiting Graduate Scholar, Department of Anthropology, UCLA
2019 – Guest Lecturer, McMaster University
- ANTHROP 3P03: Doing Ethnography, Theory and Research Methods / RELIGST 2N03: Death & Dying: Western Experience – “Ethics of Immortality” / RELIGST 1B03: What on Earth is Religion? – “Transhumanism & Ethnography”
2016-2019 – Teacher’s Assistant, McMaster University
- RELIGST 2N03: Death and Dying, The Western Experience / ANTHROP 3AR3: Culture & Religion / RELIGST 2QQ3: Cults & New Religious Movements / RELIGST 2WW3: Health, Healing and Religion / RELIGST 2NT3: From Jesus to Apocalypse.
2015 – Guest Lecturer
- Reli 378: Death and Dying, “Online Memorials & Post-Religious Funerals”
PROJECTS
2020 – Co-Founder, HARN (Human Augmentation Research Network)
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Interdisciplinary working group for graduate students and young scholars studying human augmentation, science, religion & transhumanism. Website hosted by the Center for Religion and the Human at Indiana University Bloomington, within the Religion, Science and Technology division.
2016-Current – Founder & Editor, TalkDeath.com
- TalkDeath.com is an online resource, blog and multimedia website I co-founded, dedicated to conversations around death and dying.
2017 – ReStoryingCanada.com
- ReStorying Canada: Religion and Public Memory was a three-day interdisciplinary conference and art event. This site is an archive of abstracts, video, and audio from that event, built by me in collaboration with Hillary Kaell, Pamela Klassen and Emma Anderson.
2013 – Public Ethnographic Exhibit
- Ethnography and public exhibit of the Sisters of Charity including recorded interviews, photographs and material documents in Montreal. http://www.hillarykaell.com/grey-nuns.html
Research
PUBLICATIONS
2021 – The Globe & Mail
- Cohen, Jeremy. 2021. “Online learning is worsening the already-uneven educational experience for neurodiverse students.” https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-online-learning-is-worsening-the-already-uneven-educational-experience/
2021 – Publication – Edited Volume, Berghahn Books
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Cohen, Jeremy, 2021. “Immortality and Existential Terror: Learning the Language of Living Forever.” In Beyond the Veil: Reflexive Studies of Death and Dying. Edited by Aubrey Thamann and Kalliopi M Christodoulaki. Berghahn Books.
2020 – Publication – Religions
- Cohen, Jeremy. 2020. “Frozen Bodies and Future Imaginaries: Assisted Dying, Cryonics, and a Good Death.” Religions. 11: 584.
2020- TheConversation.com
- “Cell tower vandals and re-open protestors — why some people believe in coronavirus conspiracies.” https://theconversation.com/cell-tower-vandals-and-re-open-protestors-why-some-people-believe-in-coronavirus-conspiracies-138192
2020 - TheConversation.com
- “Coronavirus ‘cures’ for $170 and other hoaxes: Why some people believe them.” https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-cures-for-170-and-other-hoaxes-why-some-people-believe-them-133756
2019 – Publication – Journal of Anthropology and Aging
- Cohen, Jeremy, 2019. Review of Stafford, Philip B. The Global Age-Friendly Community Movement: A Critical Appraisal. 2019: New York: Berghahn Books. pp. 272
2017 – Publication – Journal of Religion & Culture
- Cohen, Jeremy, 2017. “Privileging the Lens: Framing Islamic Violence and the Creation of Authoritative Discourses” in, Journal of Religion and Culture, vol. 27, no.1 pp. 35-50
2016 – Book Review – Journal of Religion & Culture
- Cohen, Jeremy, review of Partridge, Christopher. 2015. “Mortality and Music: Popular Music and the Awareness of Death” Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 240 in, Journal of Religion and Culture, vol. 26, no.1 pp. 94-97
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
November 2022 – American Academy of Religion (AAR)
- Paper: Fear of a Transhuman Future: Metaverse, Neuralink, and the New World Order.
- Paper: The Fountain of Perpetual Youth is Within: The Metaphysical Origins of Contemporary Immortality Narratives.
- Roundtable: Working and Teaching Outside the Academy: A Roundtable on Death, Dying, and Beyond Landscapes
June 2022 – RAI2022: Anthropology, AI and the Future of Human Society
- Paper: The Fountain of Perpetual Youth is Within: The Metaphysical Origins of Contemporary Immortality Narratives.
November 2021– American Academy of Religion (AAR)
- Roundtable: Death / La Muerte / La Mort: An Experiment in North American Communication.
November 2020 – American Academy of Religion (AAR)
- Paper: Creating Future Bodies: The Biosocial Imaginaries of Cryonics and Medical Aid in Dying.
2019 – American Academy of Religion (AAR)
- Paper: "Live Long Enough to Live Forever: Performance, Power, and the Creation of Immortal Bodies"
2019 – Society for the Anthropology of Religion (SAR)
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Paper: "How to Live Forever: Competing Discourses and Practices Within Radical Life-Extension Communities"
2018 - American Anthropological Association (AAA)
- Panel chair: “Resistance, Resilience, and Adaptation: Anthropological Re-Imaginaries of Dying, Burial, Ritual, and Bereavement, Session II'
- Paper: "Live Long Enough to Live Forever: Hope, Healing and Technological Progress at a Conference on Radical-Longevity"
2017 – Re-Storying Canada: Reconsidering Religion & Public Memory
- Paper: “Ghosts in the Machine: Engaging with the Dead in the 21st Century”
2017 –Crossing Over: Interdisciplinary Conference on Death
- Paper: “Digital Artifacts & Death: Understanding Post-Mortem Communication”
MEDIA INTERVIEWS
2022 –Inverse Magazine
- Ward, Peter. “The Cults That Survive Even When the Prophecy Fails.” - https://www.inverse.com/culture/cult-survival-tactic
2022 –The Price of Immortality
- Interviewed and featured in journalist Peter Ward’s 2022 book, The Price of Immortality.
2022 – The Ernest Becker Foundation
- “Let’s Talk About Death: An Interview with Mandy Benoualid and Jeremy Cohen” -https://ernestbecker.org/this-mortal-life/death-acceptance/mandy-benoualid-and-jeremycohen/
2020 – 900CHML Global News Radio
- Interview on Scott Ridley Show about Coronavirus conspiracies.
2020 – Hamilton Spectator, Postmedia
- Clarke, Katrina. “Conspiracy theories abound during the COVID-19 pandemic. Why?” https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2020/04/27/conspiracy-theories-abound-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-why.html
2018 – When You Die Podcast
- “Death Salon with Mandy Benoualid and Jeremy Cohen from TalkDeath.com”