Author Archives: Hannah

Announcement: Outstanding Director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Tala

Posted on by
Director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World 
Vacancy Ref: :  039922
 
The University of Edinburgh is seeking to appoint an outstanding Director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World.
 
The HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World (www.alwaleed.ed.ac.uk) is a Centre within the University of Edinburgh, established in 2010, devoted to research, outreach and knowledge transfer, in the field of Islamic Studies. It is part of a network of Centres established by the HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Foundation, currently two in the United States (Harvard and Georgetown), two in the United Kingdom (Edinburgh and Cambridge), and two in the Middle East (the American University of Beirut and the American University in Cairo), which are devoted to the improvement of mutual understanding between the Muslim World and the West. Further details of the Objectives, Staff, and activities of the Edinburgh Alwaleed Centre can be found at www.alwaleed.ed.ac.uk.
 
As Director, and in consultation with Head of College and Head of School and other stakeholders, you will set a strategic vision for the Centre’s development covering research, outreach and impact to raise the Centre’s international profile, build research and teaching partnerships across the University, and creatively engage with a broad range of external individuals and organisations.
 
A successful track record of leadership, strong intellectual credentials, and the ability to command credibility amongst senior figures in academia and beyond is essential. A successful candidate for this position will be appointed, if suitably qualified and as appropriate, to a Chair at the University at the same time.
 
For a confidential discussion, please contact Professor Jeremy Robbins, Head of School, Literatures, Languages and Cultures – Tel: +44 (0)131 650 3638.
 
This is a full time, open ended position based on 35 hours each week. Salary will be negotiable depending on track record and experience.
 
Closing date: 5pm (GMT) Wednesday 14th June 2017.
 
Further information and details on how to apply can be found at the following link:https://www.vacancies.ed.ac.uk/pls/corehrrecruit/erq_jobspec_version_4.jobspec?p_id=039922

Call for Papers: Strong Religion and Mainstream Culture Youth, Education, and Technology

Posted on by

Umeå University, Sweden
9–10 November 2017
Historically, the relationship between strong, conservative religion and modern society has been a complex one. Various means of inclusion and exclusion have been employed by mainstream society, and the religious groups themselves have applied both world-fleeing and world-mastering strategies. In contemporary Europe, the liberal multicultural society is being challenged by polarized religious fundamentalism of both Christian and Islamic foundation. This conference wants to highlight the past and present encounters between strong religion and mainstream society in general, but preferably with respect to youth, education, and technology. Special interest will be paid to young people and their ways of relating to both strong religion and the ideologies and attributes of modernity.

The organizers invite papers that address the theme in various ways. Papers can focus on either general aspects of the main theme or any of the subthemes, and develop both internal and external perspectives on religious communities, in history as well as contemporary culture. Possible aspects include approaches to and use of technology at individual and group levels; ideas and mechanisms of upbringing, socialization and educa-tion; sites of separation and integration such as schools, including attempts at interreligious education and reli-gious dialogue, etc. Empirical cases are encouraged, but theoretical contributions are also welcome.

Keynotes

Dr Wolfram Weisse, Professor of Religious Education at University of Hamburg, Germany
Dr Pauline Cheong, Professor of Communication at Arizona State University, USA

Abstracts

Proposals for papers to be presented at the conference must be submitted no later than 15 June 2017. The requested information includes name, title and institutional affiliation of presenter(s), title of paper, and an ab-stract of the proposed paper of maximum 300 words. Please upload your abstract here.

Important Dates

15 June 2017 Deadline for submission of abstracts
1 July 2017 Notification of acceptance
30 September 2017 Deadline for registration and payment of conference fee

Organizers

The conference is an activity of the European Bible Belt project, funded by the Dutch research council NWO and directed by Professor Fred van Lieburg, Free University, Amsterdam. It will be co-hosted by the Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, and Humlab, Umeå University.

More information

Contact persons: Prof. Daniel Lindmark +46 (0)90 786 6250 daniel.lindmark@umu.seAssoc. Prof. Stefan Gelfgren +46 (0)90 786 5087 stefan.gelfgren@umu.se

Website: http://www.trippus.net/Strongreligion2017

Call for Papers: Approaching Ethnoheterogenesis Membership, Ethnicity, and Social Change in Contemporary Societies

Posted on by
Call for Papers
Approaching Ethnoheterogenesis
Membership, Ethnicity, and Social Change in Contemporary Societies
Organization Prof. Dr. Mathias Bös, PD Dr. Nina Clara Tiesler, Deborah Sielert
Institute of Sociology, Leibniz University of Hannover
Email to: n.tiesler@ish.uni-hannover.de
Venue Hannover; Leibnizhaus
Date THU, 14.12.2017 and FRI, 15.12.2017
 
ABSTRACTS DUE: June 15, 2017 
Keynotes confirmed!
 
The study of societal change and ethnic relations has been a core pursuit in Sociology, both in the past and in the present, especially – though not exclusively – in historical contexts marked by heightened migration. This conference aims to refine the theoretical understanding of social and cultural processes regarding the formation of ethnicities and ethnic diversity (Yancey et al 1976, Bös 2010). 
The specific contribution of this conference goes to the research context of migrants and migrant descendants; wherein conceptual debates on self-perceptions, modes of belonging, group formation, and collective subjectivities continue to be at the core of theoretical considerations (Cohen 1974, Glazer and Moynihan 1975, Banton 2008). Importantly, the conference also goes beyond this context: studying the genesis and continuously shifting social forms of ethnicities is heuristically important in that it can help us clarify processes of socio-, cultural-, and political change in society at large (Bell 1975, Bös 2011, Banton 2011). 
Researching the emergence of ethnicities has a long tradition in diverse social sciences and in the humanities. The term ethnogenesis originally described constitutive processes of ethnic groups, their possible fissions, de-ethnization, expansion, or new formations over time and space (Singer 1962, Voss 2008). From the mid-1970s onward, in American Sociology, ethnogenesis was also used to grasp societal assimilation, integration, and change caused by ethnic diversification (Greeley 1974), as such describing socio-cultural change among both minority and majority groupings and in society at large.
However, it appears that current analytical concepts and frameworks to describe the genesis of ethnicities and societal change through ethnic diversification are too limited to grasp these complex and multi-dimensional formative processes (Barth 1969, Fardon 1987, Thompson 2011, Bös 2015). These concepts (e.g., assimilation, identity, integration, diversity, inclusion, multi-ethnic societies, etc.) often represent normative self-descriptions by civil society rather than analytical categories of heuristic value. Therefore, we propose the concept of Ethnoheterogenesis (EHG) as a starting point to discuss multidimensional models of specific forms of societization (Vergesellschaftung), which involve ethnic framing and affiliations of individuals, groupings, and macro groups (Tiesler 2015). Rather than reducing such formative processes to linear models, new concepts such a Ethnoheterogenesis explicitly address the dialectic of homogenization and heterogenization in the genesis of ethnicities, as well as the normality of de-ethnization and multiple options regarding ethnic affiliation (Waters 1990). 
The aim of the conference is to further develop EHG or other new alternatives as analytical categories for processes of socio-cultural change in complex settings of transnationally constituted societies that can be coined ethnoheterogeneous (Claussen 2013). We invite international scholars for a critical discussion in favor of further theorizing. Conceptual papers and empirical studies referring to the following themes are welcome:
  1. 1. What changes in ethnic framing, ethnic affiliation, and multiplicity of memberships/belongings can be observed in current times of heightened mobility and how can they be analyzed?
  • – What can be said about ethnicity as a resource for individualization, collectivization, and community building or potential counterhegemonic cultures?
  • – What forms of “past presencing” can be reconstructed in the processes of ethno(hetero)genesis?
  • – What does the analysis of the genesis and changes of ethnic framing and multiplicity of memberships add to the broader field of sociology (i.e., Sociology of Migration, Global Sociology, and Sociology of the Nation State)?
  1. 2. How are the processes of (de-)ethnization interwoven with social inequality (economic, legal, political, etc.)?
  • – What role do institutions such as the family, neighborhoods, work, or communities play in this context?
  • – How should we think about the genesis of ethnicities in intersection with and relation to different categories of social inequality, and most importantly race, gender, class, and/or generation?
  1. 3. How does ethnicity function as an element in the structuring of (world) society?
  • – What can be said about the (changing) role of the nation in the emergence of ethnicities and membership roles?
  • – What is the role of spatial configuration, such as transnationalism, in the genesis of ethnicities?
  • – What insights can be gained from related fields such as diaspora or transnational studies?
 
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
  • • Nadje Al-Ali, Professor,  Centre for Gender Studies, SOAS
Queering Ethnoheterogenesis in transnational perspective: (De) ethnicising Muslim migrants
  • • Thomas D. Hall, Prof. Emeritus, Department of History, DePauw University
Ethnoheterogenesis: Insights, Questions, and Speculations from an Ancient World-Systems Perspective.
 
We are looking forward to proposals for lectures and/or workshops. The abstracts (one page long) should include the question, empirical/theoretical background, hypothesis, and brief personal details. Please send your proposals or abstracts to: n.tiesler@ish.uni-hannover.de
ABSTRACTS DUE: June 15, 2017 
A small contribution to the reimbursement of travel expenses is available to the speakers.

Publication Announcement: Nordisk judaistik/Scandinavian Jewish Studies Vol. 28/1 (June, 2017)

Posted on by

Dear Colleagues,

We are happy to announce the publication of Nordisk judaistik/Scandinavian Jewish Studies Vol. 28/1 (June, 2017)

Theme: Ethics and Aesthetics of Holocaust Memory
Guest Editors: Professor Claudia Welz and Associate Professor Inge Birgitte Siegumfeldt

Available at: https://ojs.abo.fi/nj

Nordisk judaistik/Scandinavian Jewish Studies aims at promoting Jewish studies in Scandinavia by publishing scholarly articles, surveys and documents, by reviewing recent literature, and compiling bibliographies. The contributions are published in one of the Scandinavian languages, or in English, German or French, with an abstract in English. The journal is strictly academic and does not pursue any special religious, political or cultural policy. It is published open access online.

Thanks for the continuing interest in our work,

Karin Hedner Zetterholm & Ruth Illman
Editors

Nordisk judaistik/Scandinavian Jewish Studies Vol 28, Issue 1

Table of Contents

Editorial
Ethics and aesthetics of Holocaust memory 1-3
Claudia Welz & Inge Birgitte Siegumfeldt

Articles
Landscape, boundaries, and the limits of representation 4-21
Miriam Volmert

The aesthetics and ethics of performative Holocaust memory in Poland 22-37
Diana Isidora Popescu

The reconfiguration of the European Archive in contemporary German-Jewish migrant-literature 38-54
Jessica Ortner

‘Lightning flashes of my burning memory’ 55-66
Claudia Benthien

Presence and absence of the belated witness in two short stories by Mavis Gallant 67-76
Joseph Ballan

Essay
Memory, shame and dignity 77-85
Göran Rosenberg

Call for Papers: Race, Power and Mobilities

Posted on by

ETMU Days, October 26–27, 2017

University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Race, Power and Mobilities

Welcome!

The 14th ETMU Days of 2017 will take place in Jyväskylä. This year’s theme “Race, Power, and Mobilities” hopes to break taboos around the word “race” with the intention of reclaiming it and drawing attention to processes of racialization, power, and movement as well as their intersections. On the one hand, in the Nordic countries previous studies on (im)migration and ethnicity, have mainly neglected or ignored questions of power. On the other hand, whiteness and critical race scholars have commonly analyzed power and racialization processes without foregrounding issues of mobilities. Therefore, we believe that in the study of migration and mobility there is an urgent need of scholarship that unites critical analyses of power and hierarchical structures with a focus on racialization.

The conference theme will be explored and illuminated by our invited keynote speakers:

  • Kaarina Nikunen, University of Tampere, Finland
  • Tobias Hübinette, Karlstad Universitet, Sweden
  • Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham, UK

In addition, as another highlight of the 2017 ETMU Days, an invited panel organized in collaboration with the anti-racist RASTER research network will discuss practices and consequences of racialization.

We specifically invite working groups who examine social hierarchies and categories such as ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, language, geographical location, or physical dis/ability within the context of race, power, and mobilities.

We further welcome examinations of how descriptions of migration and ethnic relations are produced performatively. This includes, for instance, practices of racialization in media, education, work life, individual experiences, discourses or societal structures that are analyzed through the lenses of difference and power.

We look forward to a multidisciplinary event with much-needed discussions, for example on the status of refugees seeking asylum and undocumented migrants, legislations and policies, artistic mobility and cultural representations, racialized hate speech, and global impacts of migration.

The main languages of the ETMU Days are English, Finnish, Swedish and Finnish Sign Language. All keynotes will be presented in English. We encourage participants to use multilingual and visual resources in their presentations in order to enable multilingual and multidisciplinary discussions.

ETMU Days also organises a pre-conference seminar for doctoral students on October 25, 2017. More information about the pre-conference on our website before summer.

Submission Guidelines for Working Groups

We are inviting prospective working group convenors to submit a 300–400 words abstract for a working group theme to etmu2017@gmail.com. Prospective working group leaders are free to suggest relevant questions and topics to be discussed, not limited to the examples mentioned above. The convenors will be contacted by the June 16, 2017 and call for papers will be published on July 1, 2017.

Important dates and practicalities

  • Extended deadline for working group submissions 12 June, 2017
  • Length of working group abstracts: 300–400 words (including references)
  • The notification of acceptance of working groups June 16, 2017
  • Working group abstracts should be sent to etmu2017@gmail.com

 

Call for papers starts July 1, 2017

  • Call for papers ends August 31, 2017
  • The notification of acceptance of papers, September 15, 2017
  • Abstracts for working groups should be sent directly to convener(s) of the working groups

 

  • Registration starts September 15, 2017

 

  • Pre-conference for Ph.D. students October 25, 2017
  • ETMU Days October 26–27, 2017

 

For any enquiries regarding ETMU Days, please contact: etmu2017@gmail.com

For fees, registration, updated news, please check our website: http://etmudays.etmu.fi/

The 2017 website will be launched later in May

We are on Twitter: @ETMU2017, #ETMU2017

 

We look forward to seeing you at ETMU Days!

 

Sincerely,

 

Local organising committee

Sari Pöyhönen & Tuija Saresma (co-chairs), Minna Nerg (secretary), Johanna Ennser-Kananen, Outi Fingerroos, David Hoffman, Karina Horsti, Katarzyna Kärkkäinen, Päivi Pirkkalainen, Miikka Pyykkönen, Maiju Strömmer, Sonya Sahradyan and Sanna-Mari Vierimaa.

 

ETMU-päivät 26.–27.10.2017

Jyväskylän yliopisto

Rotu, valta ja liikkuvuus

 

Tervetuloa!

 

Vuoden 2017 ETMU-päivät pidetään Jyväskylässä teemalla Rotu, valta ja liikkuvuus. Nostamme tabuksikin muuttuneen sanan ETMU-päivien teemaksi, sillä haluamme kiinnittää huomiota rodullistamisen prosesseihin sekä rodullistamisen, vallan ja liikkuvuuden kombinaatioihin. Kun pohjoismaisessa muuttoliiketutkimuksessa on tutkittu esimerkiksi maahanmuuttoa ja etnisyyttä, kysymykset vallasta ovat saattaneet jäädä vähemmälle huomiolle. Valkoisuuden ja kriittisen rotuteorian tutkijat taas ovat analysoineet tarkkanäköisesti vallan ja rodullistamisen prosesseja, mutta liikkuvuuden näkökulma on ollut taka-alalla. Valta, hierarkkiset erot ja rodullistaminen liittyvät kuitenkin kiinteästi liikkuvuuden tutkimukseen. Näihin teemoihin pureutuvat ETMU-päivien kutsutut puhujat

  • Kaarina Nikunen, Tampereen yliopisto
  • Tobias Hübinette, Karlstad Universitet, Ruotsi
  • Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham, Iso-Britannia

 

Rodullistamisen käytänteitä ja seurauksia käsitellään myös paneelissa, jonka järjestämme yhdessä antirasistisen RASTER-tutkimusverkoston kanssa.

Kutsumme ETMU-päiville työryhmiä, joissa rotua, valtaa ja liikkuvuutta tarkastellaan yhteydessä muihin hierarkkisiin eroihin ja sosiaalisiin kategorioihin, kuten etnisyyteen, sukupuoleen, seksuaalisuuteen, uskontoon, kieleen, maantieteelliseen sijaintiin tai ruumiilliseen kyvykkyyteen. Toivotamme myös tervetulleeksi analysoimaan sitä, miten muuttoliikettä ja etnisiä suhteita koskevia kuvauksia ja tietoa tuotetaan performatiivisesti. Esimerkiksi mediassa, koulutuksessa ja työelämässä yksittäisten kokemusten, diskurssien ja yhteiskunnan rakenteiden tasoilla tapahtuvia rodullistamisen käytäntöjä voi analysoida erojen ja vallan näkökulmasta.

 

Toivomme ETMU-päivien virittävän monitieteistä keskustelua esimerkiksi turvapaikanhakijoiden ja paperittomien asemasta, lainsäädännöstä, liikkuvuuden taiteellisista ja kulttuurisista representaatioista, rodullistavasta vihapuheesta ja muuttoliikkeen globaaleista vaikutuksista.

 

ETMU-päivien viralliset kielet ovat englanti, suomi, ruotsi ja suomalainen viittomakieli. Kaikki keynote-esitelmät pidetään englanniksi. Kannustamme esiintyjiä käyttämään monikielisiä ja visuaalisia keinoja, jotta monitieteinen ja monikielinen keskustelu olisi mahdollista.

 

ETMU-päivät järjestää seminaarin jatko-opiskelijoille 25.10.2017. Lisätietoa seminaarista ETMU-päivien verkkosivuilla ennen kesää.

 

Kutsu työryhmille

 

Kutsumme työryhmien vetäjiä tarjoamaan 300–400 sanan abstraktin työryhmästä osoitteeseen etmu2017@gmail.com. Työryhmän vetäjät voivat ehdottaa aiheita, jotka ovat konferenssin teeman kannalta relevantteja tai jotka muutoin liittyvät etnisten suhteiden ja kansainvälisen muuttoliikkeen tutkimukseen. Työryhmän hyväksymisestä ilmoitetaan vetäjille 16.6.2017 mennessä, ja esitelmäkutsu työryhmiin julkaistaan 1.7.2017.

 

Tärkeät päivämäärät ja ohjeet:

 

  • Työryhmäesitysten viimeistä lähetyspäivää jatkettu 12.6.2017 saakka
  • Työryhmäesitysten pituus 300–400 sanaa (mukaan lukien viitteet)
  • Työryhmäesitykset lähetetään osoitteeseen etmu2017@gmail.com
  • Työryhmien vetäjille ilmoitetaan hyväksymisestä 16.6.2017

 

  • Abstraktikutsu työryhmiin julkaistaan 1.7.2017
  • Abstraktikutsu työryhmiin päättyy 31.8.2017
  • Abstraktien tarjoajille ilmoitetaan hyväksymisestä 15.9.2017
  • Abstraktit lähetetään suoraan työryhmän vetäjälle

 

  • Rekisteröityminen alkaa 15.9.2017

 

  • Jatko-opiskelijoiden seminaari 25.9.2017
  • ETMU-päivät 26.–27.10.2017

 

Kaikissa ETMU-päiviä koskevissa kysymyksissä ota yhteyttä: etmu2017@gmail.com

Maksut, rekisteröityminen, uutiset, ETMU-päivien verkkosivut: http://etmudays.etmu.fi/(avataan myöhemmin toukokuussa)

Olemme myös Twitterissä: @ETMU2017, #ETMU2017

 

Tervetuloa ETMU-päiville!

 

Toivottaa

 

Jyväskylän järjestelytoimikunta

Sari Pöyhönen & Tuija Saresma (puheenjohtajat), Minna Nerg (sihteeri), Johanna Ennser-Kananen, Outi Fingerroos, David Hoffman, Karina Horsti, Katarzyna Kärkkäinen, Päivi Pirkkalainen, Miikka Pyykkönen, Maiju Strömmer, Sonya Sahradyan ja Sanna-Mari Vierimaa.

Workshop: Forced migration

Posted on by

Forced migration is not a new phenomenon. Today we are witness to a situation where forced migration puts many people in terrible and life-threatening conditions, with severe consequences for several generations. Proportionally a big number of refugees from the Middle East have an ethno-religious minority background, such as Assyrians (including the different branches), Armenians, Mandaeans, and Yazidis.

 

This workshop aims to bring researchers, practitioners, community stakeholders and policymakers together in order to

  • develop an interdisciplinary discussion and knowledge exchange about the ‘untold’, mainly ignored experiences of minority refugee populations with departure from the case of Assyrian, Armenian, Yazidi and Mandaean refugees;
  • form a highly needed international network among researchers working on these and similar topics;
  • establish dialogue channels between the scientific community, practitioners, community organizations and policy makers.

 

The organizers invite researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to present their latest studies and partake in discussions on these or similar themes, delaminated to vulnerable refugee populations:

  • Traumatic experiences, memory, and uprootedness
  • Dealing with displacement, pre- and post-migration
  • Fear of extinction
  • Resilience and coping mechanisms
  • Processes of reconciliation and liberation from past experiences and trauma
  • The idea of “return to home”

Those interested are asked to send their abstract of about 500 words to Dr. Önver Cetrez at onver.cetrez@teol.uu.se no later than August 1, 2017. Attached is the longer cfp description.

Book Announcement: Religions, Nations, and Transnationalism in Multiple Modernities

Posted on by

Religions, Nations, and Transnationalism in Multiple Modernities

Editors: Michel, Patrick, Possamai, Adam, Turner, Bryan S. (Eds.)

https://images.springer.com/sgw/books/medium/9781137592385.jpg

This edited book explores the impact of globalisation on the relationship between religion and politics, religion and nation, religion and nationalism, and the impact that transnationalism has on religious groups. In a post-Westphalian and transnational world, with increased international communication and transportation, a plethora of new religious recompositions religions now take part in a network society that cuts across borders. This collection, through its analysis of historical and contemporary case studies, explores the growth of both national and transnational religious movements and their dealings with the various versions of modernity that they encounter. It considers trends of religious revitalisation and secularisation, and processes of nationalism and transnationalism through the prism of the theory of multiple modernities, acknowledging both its pluralist world view but also the argument that its definition of modernity is often so inclusive as to lose coherence. Providing a cutting edge take on 21st century religion and globalization, this volume is a key read for all scholars of religion, secularisation and transnationalism.

http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137592385#otherversion=9781137580115

Announcement: Academic Khōjā Studies Listserv

Posted on by

The Western Indian Ocean Studies Program at Florida International University in Miami is pleased to announce the launch of its academic Khōjā Studies Listserv. Khōjā Studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that connects religious studies, diaspora studies, and postcolonial studies to South Asian and African area studies within the framework of the Western Indian Ocean to answer historical questions of aesthetics, authority, identity, and the circulation of ideas across the littoral.

The listserv is particularly sensitive to providing full-text and PDFs of articles for scholars in the Global South and providing a platform for the expression of emic perspectives of the communities researched. Most importantly, what drives the listserv is intellectual curiosity that crosses disciplinary boundaries.

To sign up, please visit https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/khojastudies

For more information on Western Indian Ocean Studies at FIU, please visit http://khoja.fiu.edu/

Call for Papers: Parenthood in Transition: Borderlands, Transnational Mobility and Welfare Society in the Nordic Countries

Posted on by
We invite interested researchers to submit an abstract for an edited book concerning transitions and change connected to parenthood inside and across the Nordic borders at a historical time when the ideal of free movement across borders in the Nordic countries has been dismantled. The book ties in discussions on transnational parenthood of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers as well as minority parenthood of the indigenous Sámi communities living in the Arctic transnational area of Sápmi. The book also concerns transitions in the Finnish and European Roma families, lives of families living on both sides of Finnish and Norwegian border with Russia, and ‘old migrants’ such as Finns in Sweden. The book will analyse parenthood from two perspectives: 1. How do welfare state and its services construct norms for respectable parenthood and shape the ways in which parenthood is enacted? 2. How do minority parents themselves negotiate the meanings and requirements attached to parenthood and organize their transnational everyday lives?

The economic crisis has created tensions for the modern welfare state, which has been the center of Nordic policies since the late 1970s. The current restructuring of the welfare state has been guided by neoliberal policies and has thus resulted to growing social exclusion and uncertainty. This reform may have consequences for the service provision for newly arrived migrants. Nordic countries are often perceived as being the examples of successful equality policies and outsiders in colonial processes. However, in this book, it is understood that Nordic countries continue to take part in processes of othering and the values of equality can be used to build up narratives, which exclude those who do not fit into these ideals. This can result in processes of racialization being denied and made invisible. This kind of welfare state nationalism is typical in Nordic countries, and it shapes the ways in which racism and stigmatization occur. Racialized and ethicized parents’ everyday encounters with welfare services such as in social work, daycare, schools, and healthcare can also be influenced by these discourses. Furthermore, despite the similarities, Nordic countries are also very different in terms of migration histories, policies and societal discourses on migrants.

We seek chapters that will provide unique perspectives to the discussions of Nordic minority parenthood.  As the aim is to include a number of chapters that provide comparative analysis between different countries, we also encourage scholars to co-author articles with colleagues whose research focuses on another Nordic country. As editors we may also match abstracts on similar subjects to create Nordic co-authoring partners. Please let us know if you are ready for joint writing with another Nordic author.

Prospective authors are invited to submit an abstract proposal on or before 15th of September 2017, together with:
 
• Name, institutional details and contact information
• Short bio note with the most relevant publications
• Title of proposed chapter
• Abstract of 300–500 words, detailing (in this specific order):research question(s), theory/concepts, data, methods, and expected results
• A note on the possibility for joint writing based on the editors’ suggestions

Abstracts should be sent to: johanna.hiitola[at]chydenius.fi

Authors will be notified by the editors by 15th of October about further steps. Funding will be applied to arrange a meeting with the authors, where draft chapters will be discussed.

Full chapter (7000-8000 words) submissions by September 15, 2018.

Routledge is tentatively interested in publishing the edited volume.All manuscripts undergo both editorial review process and a peerreview process.

Editors:
Dr. Kati Turtiainen, Social Work (University of Jyväskylä, Kokkola 
University Consortium Chydenius, Finland)
Dr. Johanna Hiitola, Gender Studies/Social Work (University of 
Jyväskylä, Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius, Finland)
Dr. Marja Tiilikainen (Migration Institute of Finland)
Dr. Sabine Gruber, Social Work (Linköping University, Sweden)

Inquiries:
Johanna Hiitola (johanna.hiitola[at]chydenius.fi)

Call for Papers: ANU Religion Conference 2018

Posted on by

Sacred Sites/Sacred Stories: Global Perspectives

05-07 April 2018, ANU College of Asia & the Pacific,
The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Abstract Deadline: 15 October 2017

http://www.anu.edu.au/events/sacred-sitessacred-stories-global-perspectives

The study of sacred sites is a prominent feature in a number of disciplines. Sacred sites and stories and pilgrimage are the theme of the conference. Topics of enquiry range from the role of sacred sites in religious traditions, through to how sacred sites form part of the development of modern tourist industries, the role of sacred sites in international relations and the ways in which sacred sites can be the focus for disputes. At a time when many sacred sites and their stories face challenges due to economic development, environmental change and the impact of mass pilgrimage and tourism the conference offers an opportunity for wide-ranging discussions of the past, present and future of sacred sites and stories and their significance in the world today.

The conference will have the following panels:
•    Pilgrimage and Tourism
•    Historical Perspectives
•    Visual Arts and Architecture
•    Indigenous Traditions
•    Competition and Contestation

We welcome proposals for paper presentations that address the theme of one of these panels. Individual papers that are relevant to the main theme but are not aligned with any of the proposed panel streams will also be considered for presentation.

•    Panel Proposals. While proposals for individual papers are welcome, applicants are also encouraged to collaborate with peers to propose panels of 3-4 papers that converge on a particular theme.

In view of the major role that Australia and the Asia Pacific region plays in national and international discussions about sacred sites and sacred stories we particularly welcome panels on Asian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Pacific perspectives on sacred sites. We also welcome papers covering a range of time frames, from pre-history to the contemporary era, and from all traditions and locations.

If you are interested, please send your abstract (150 words), including a note of which stream your proposal addresses, and bio (80 words) to the following email (davidwj_kim@yahoo.co.uk). The conference fee is AU$350, but for masters students, doctoral candidates and early career researchers who do not have full-time positions the fee will be AU$250. The conference cost includes registration fee, conference dinner and refreshments. The two best papers submitted by HDR students will be awarded (AU$500 each). To be considered for this award, the full paper must be submitted at least one month before the conference (by 07 March 2018). There will be a limited number of bursaries available for some accepted masters students, doctoral candidates and early career researchers. Please note that those selected to receive bursaries will be informed of this before the conference but the bursaries will not be dispersed until the papers have been presented at the conference. In addition, selected papers may be considered for publication in a book volume.

Contacts:
Dr David W. Kim (Australian National University)
Email: davidwj_kim@yahoo.co.uk

Dr Peter Friedlander (Australian National University)
Email: peter.friedlander@anu.edu.au

A/Prof McComas Taylor (Australian National University)
Email: mccomas.taylor@anu.edu.au

Dr Barbara Nelson (Australian National University)
Email: barbara.nelson@anu.edu.au