R. Scott Appleby and the Power of Framing

What makes R. Scott Appleby's work so powerful is its ability to frame ideas and issues in simple, but compelling, ways. As a scholar and aspiring theorist of ethnicity and nationalism, I found there was little differentiation in the literature of the varied ties that bind individuals to identity groups. Language, race, and religion were treated as undifferentiated motivators under the rubric of "ethnicity." Different aspects of identity were not parsed and therefore were not considered as critical in explaining political, violent behavior. Appleby's understanding of religion was crucial to me as I tried to understand and unpack powerful political events around the world. It led me to understand that religious actors think and behave differently than nationalist actors, with real-world consequences, sometimes bad, sometimes good. Armed with this understanding, I was able to better research different identities to find out when they might contribute to peace or violence.