Kristy Nabhan-Warren

Associate Vice President for Research Professor and V.O. and Elizabeth Kahl Figge Chair, Catholic Studies Departments of Religious Studies

Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies

History

Nabhan-Warren's newest book is Meatpacking America: How Migration, Work and Faith Unite and Divide the Heartland (UNC (Press, September 2021). Based on seven years of fieldwork in rural Iowa, Meatpacking America is a finely grained ethnography as well as historically situated study of lived religion in the hog and corn producing state of Iowa. Kristy makes the argument that if we want to understand the intersectionalities of migration, work, and religion in the United States today, then we must focus on states like Iowa and the broader midwestern Cornbelt. She makes a case for studying small towns and rural places, as scholars have long privileged urban locales. Moreover, if we want to truly understand the complex dynamics of religion, scholars must explore places long overlooked as religious sites, like slaughterhouses and farm fields. Since the book came out in September 2021, it has been a wonderful whirlwind of Zoom talks, book festivals, and podcasts, and Kristy has been giving Zoom talks to students and faculty at a wide range of colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad (Sweden) and has several in-person talks planned for 2022-2023.

Radio interviews:

Radio interviews:
September 14 ,2021 WNUR Chicago Radio interview “This is Hell,” https://soundcloud.com/this-is-hell/tih20210914