The Apocalypse of Satchel Cloud: an exegesis and draft novel excerpt exploring research and narrative for epistemic gain

Abstract

This unified multimodal artefact–exegesis doctoral submission triangulates between different perspectives in cross-disciplinary research and also invokes narrative to explore human approaches to knowing, taking particular interest in what goes wrong and why in religious, political and social settings involving apocalyptic rapture theory, literalistic biblicism and anti-evolutionary creationism. The project’s thesis is that knowledge is real and possible, but that its attainment may be more difficult, emotional and ethically laden and less certain than is commonly supposed. Moreover, while intellectual, moral and affective agreement are not always possible (and cannot be forced), a synthesis of commitments to common ground and common goods in the public sphere, free and open higher education, with recognition of classical rhetorical, poetic and aesthetic appeals will result in more caring, coherent and resilient epistemologies, religious sub-cultures and social fabrics.