Author Archives: Janaki

LSE event 28 October

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There will be an LSE event to mark the second edition of Citizenship, Identity the Politics of Multiculturalism: the Rise of Muslim Consciousness.

The panel will comprise Professors Sophie Gillat-Ray, Tariq Modood, Esra Özyürek and Nasar Meer, and take place on 28 October 2015 at 6pm.

http://www.nasarmeer.com/uploads/7/7/4/6/7746984/lse_launch_flyer.pdf

http://www.nasarmeer.com/uploads/7/7/4/6/7746984/citizenship_identity_and_the_politics_of_multiculturalism_pb.pdf

The on-line booking portal is yet to be updated but since places are likely to be limited we kindly ask you to note the date and time, and a further link will be circulated in due course.

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CFP: Religion and Non-Religion in Contemporary Societies

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International Study of Religion in Eastern and Central Europe Association

and

European Sociological Association Research Network 34 (Sociology of Religion)

in cooperation with

Department of Sociology University of Zadar and

Croatian Sociological Association

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

12th ISORECEA conference & ESA RN34 mid-term conference

RELIGION AND NON-RELIGION IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES

Theoretical, Empirical and Methodological Challenges for Research in Central and Eastern Europe and Beyond

Zadar, Croatia, April 21-24, 2016

Both religion and non-religion are subjected to remarkable changes in today’s world. Interplay between historical, cultural, and political occurrences and religion and non-religion challenge theoretical considerations of ongoing processes. Faced with different empirical data around the world secularisation theses have been contested for decades; theoretical debates about religious changes have occupied sociologists of religion. They have sought to better and more accurately understand and explain religious changes in different parts of the globe contemporary. Their points of view differ: privatization thesis, de-privatization thesis, religious economies thesis, religious bricolage, multiple secularities thesis. One angle, non-religion as religious counterpart, has been neglected in sociological research.  Indeed, until the end of the 20th century, it was only Campbell (1971) who gave a comprehensive insight into the sociology of non-religion, while many scholars wrote and published within the strand of the sociology of religion.

Non-religion started to occupy attention of sociologists since the beginning of this century especially in UK and USA influenced by different appearances in Western world: the rise of declared non-religious people, the appearance of so-called a New atheism movement (inspired by books by R. Dawkins, S. Harris, D. Dennett, and C. Hitchens), numerous organizations and associations of non-religious people and their enhanced activities as an alternative to religious conservativism, growing influence of religion in public sphere and fundamentalist expressions of religion connected to terrorism. Researchers mostly based their work on theories of subcultural identities, identity politics and new social movements; yet, some authors also drew on the theory of religious economies. In spite of this strands, non-religion remains theoretically underdeveloped and under-researched. Interesting is the fact that this particularly refers to former communist countries where atheism was enforced as part of the official ideology; more research would have been expected on non-religiosity and atheism there. Independently of the exact geopolitical context, non-religion and in particular the interplay between religion and non-religion in different dimensions seem to be a key for understanding contemporary religious changes.

This international conference would like to encourage scholars from various parts of the world to share their theoretical, empirical and methodological considerations on religion and non-religion and take part in discussion on different related topics, like:

  • Social theory of religion and non-religion
  • Comparative empirical data on religion and non-religion
  • Methodological challenges of research on religion and non-religion
  • Historical development of religion and non-religion
  • Non/religious minority and majority
  • Human rights, religion and non-religion
  • Religion, non-religion and State
  • Religion, non-religion and social inclusion/exclusion
  • Religion and non-religion in the intersectional perspective (involving gender, age, socio-economic aspects, etc.)
  • Religion and non-religion in everyday life
  • Religious and non-religious activism

Please submit a 200-300 words abstract of your presentation by e-mail to: isorecea2016@idi.hr by November 15, 2015.

If you are interested in a specific topic related to the study of religion and/or non-religion, we encourage you to organize a session/panel. In this case, please submit a 300-400 words proposal with full session details (names and affiliation of contributors, titles of their presentations) by November 15, 2015 to the same email address.

Key dates

Submission of paper and session/panel proposals – November 15, 2015.
Notification of acceptance and opening of the registration – December 15, 2015.
The final date of the registration for the conference – January 31, 2016.

Final program – February 20, 2016.

 

Fees
Membership fees

Please note that in order to present a paper you need to be a member of ISORECEA for the years 2016-2017 or a member of ESA in the year 2016.

The conference fees are as follows (in EURO):

For members of ISORECEA

List of Countries*

A

B

C

Regular members

80

60

40

Students and unemployed

30

18

12

Retired

40

30

20

* This is according to the Table of Economies used by the International Sociological Association:
http://www.isa-sociology.org/table_c.htm

For members of ESA

List of countries*

Band 1

Band 2

Country falling under A or B category of ISA**

Country falling under C category of ISA**

Regular members

80

60

40

Early career scholars***

60

60

40

Students and unemployed

30

18

12

Retired

40

30

20

* Band 1 and Band 2 are defined by ESA at: http://www.europeansociology.org/member/

** This is according to the Table of Economies used by the International Sociological Association:
http://www.isa-sociology.org/table_c.htm

*** As defined by ESA at: http://www.europeansociology.org/membership.html

For those who are not members of ISORECEA or ESA*

List of Countries**

A

B

C

Regular participants

160

120

80

Students and unemployed

80

60

40

Retired

80

60

40

Conference fee paid on the spot

25% higher (each category)

* Only those who do not present a paper can participate in the conference as non-members.

** This is according to the Table of Economies used by the International Sociological Association:
http://www.isa-sociology.org/table_c.htm

 

Those accepted for the conference will be asked to pay their fees through the PayPal system at the ISORECEA website. For the information on how to become a member of ISORECEA or ESA, or renew the membership, please visit these organisations’ websites: http://isorecea.net/ or http://www.europeansociology.org/. The information about accommodation and the conference venue will be given in the second half of December 2015. In case of any earlier questions, please send an email to: isorecea2016@idi.hr.

Miklós Tomka Award

The ISORECEA Board has established the Miklós Tomka Award to honour Miklós Tomka, the internationally acknowledged and widely esteemed scholar of religion specializing in the Central and Eastern European region, who died unexpectedly in 2010.

The Award is granted based on a competitive basis for the best conference paper submitted to the award committee. The paper should refer to the conference theme. The competition is open to early career scholars, with a special focus on PhD students. The Award comprises:

– The publication of the paper in the ISORECEA on-line journal Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe;

– Exemption from the conference fee;

– Covering accommodation costs at the conference.

Early career scholars interested in entering the competition are invited to submit their full papers to the email address isorecea2016@idi.hr by January 10, 2016. The winner will be announced by January 31, 2016, which is the final date for registration for being on the program of the conference.

Papers submitted for the Award should be between 5,000 and 7,000 words long and should strictly follow the rules applying to papers submitted to the ISORECEA journal Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe. For details see: http://www.rascee.net/index.php/rascee/about/submissions#authorGuidelines

We are looking forward to receiving your papers!

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10 PhD scholarships and 10 non scholarship places at the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne

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Starting April 1st, 2016, the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne, the Graduate School of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Cologne, offers 10 PhD scholarships and 10 non scholarship places over a period of three years.
The Graduate School – successful in the excellence initiative – wants to facilitate the completion of the doctorate through a structured program and intensive individual mentorship within an interdisciplinary environment. In doing so the Graduate School follows a concept of the Humanities beyond the dichotomy between the so-called cultural sciences and the humanities. Of special significance are hermeneutical and historico contextual knowledge models, which comprise the genesis and invention of knowledge, as well as the processes of reception and transculturation and their anthropological and ethical conditions.
Please send applications until October 23th, 2015 (application receipt) to:
a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne
University of Cologne
Dr. Artemis Klidis-Honecker
Albertus Magnus Platz
50923 Köln
Germany
For further information on a.r.t.e.s. and the application procedure see www.artes.uni-koeln.de.
For more information, please visit http://artes.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de or contact artes-application@uni-koeln.de.

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Fully funded PhD Studentship – Social Science or Humanities approaches to Science and Religion in Society

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Fully funded PhD Studentship – Social Science or Humanities approaches to Science and Religion in Society

Call for Applications for Home/EU Studentship to commence 1 February 2016
Applications are invited for one fully-funded PhD Studentship for three years (full-time) for UK or EU students within the Centre for Science, Knowledge, and Belief in Society, at Newman University. CSKBS is a multidisciplinary Research Centre whose work spans a diverse range of disciplines including social sciences, history, philosophy, and psychology. The Studentship includes a subsistence grant in line with the recommendations of the UK research Councils (currently £14,057 p.a. for 2015-16) with all fees paid.
The successful candidate will also be eligible for an hourly paid research assistant role within the broader multidisciplinary Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum project team. This will be designed to allow the successful candidate to develop a range of research skills. This work is paid over and above the subsistence grant.
In addition, dependent on the successful submission of a PhD thesis within three years of commencement, the university will offer a one-year postdoctoral follow-on research position to the successful PhD candidate. This is designed to enable successful PhD students to be retained and develop further as an early career professional in this field of research. This is therefore 3+1 year PhD-to-post-doctoral role.
We welcome applications with proposals for PhD research projects in distinct and multidisciplinary areas related to the wider project’s research themes. We will be happy to discuss project ideas that focus on contemporary debates surrounding ‘science and religion’, particularly in the following areas:

  1. Social Sciences and/or Humanities approaches to media, social media and public space discourse surrounding evolutionary science and religion, spirituality or belief. This could among other areas focus on specific organisations, groups or communities or be undertaken at a broader societal level. The candidate should have a background in a relevant area of social sciences or humanities including the social studies of science, and/or of religion, science technology studies, science communication, media studies, anthropology or a field related to sociology.
  1. Quantitative or mixed methods approaches to public perceptions and attitudes concerning the relationship between science and faith. This studentship will link into a strand of research with a focus on developing and commissioning a representative quantitative polling of public attitudes to provide a more in-depth understanding of public perceptions of the relationship between evolutionary science and belief in Canada and the The candidate should have a background in a relevant discipline, e.g. social science or human geography, with good quantitative data analysis skills.

Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum project:

This innovative and unique research project currently employs 15 people working across four intersecting approaches: qualitative social science field research; oral history, historical and media discourse analysis; social psychology experimental research; and a large scale quantitative survey of public perceptions, attitudes and identity formation in the UK and Canada. Newman University lead this 3-year research project funded by the Templeton Religion Trust in partnership with York University (Canada) and National Life Stories at the British Library and British Science Association. The research team is led by Principal Investigators Dr Fern Elsdon-Baker (Newman) and Prof. Bernard Lightman (York, Canada), and Co-Investigator Dr Carola Leicht (University of Kent).
More details about the project and the research team can be found here: http://www.sciencereligionspectrum.org.
Research project related questions can be directed to Dr Fern Elsdon-Baker
F.Elsdon-Baker@staff.newman.ac.uk.
Applicants are expected to possess a Master’s Degree with Distinction, or with Merit including a Distinction in the Dissertation, from a UK University, or an equivalent qualification.
Alongside the standard application form candidates for this PhD Studentship are asked in the first instance to submit a research project proposal (between 3000-4000 words) highlighting how their PhD project will contribute through an open minded approach to the wider understanding of a perceived clash between science and religion.
The key criteria for selection and appointment will be:

  • Record of academic excellence of the candidate;
  • Availability of supervisory expertise and capacity;
  • Quality of project proposal;
  • Research skills and training;

Further information and the application form are available on: http://www.newman.ac.uk/studentships/867?1=o.
Newman University supports world-leading and internationally recognised research across a broad range of disciplines. Please note that Newman University offers its PhDs in partnership with Liverpool Hope University (who are the awarding institution), by whose regulations successful applicants will be bound: http://www.hope.ac.uk/research/postgraduateresearch/.

Timescale

  • Deadline for applications: Friday 23 October 2015
  • Interviews: week commencing Monday 2 November 2015
  • Commencement of Studentship: Monday 1 February 2016

Apply here: http://academicpositions.eu/ad/newman-university/2015/fully-funded-phd-studentship-social-science-humanities-approaches-science-religion-society/65270/

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2 PhDs in Buddhist Studies at LMU München

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Two PhD scholarships are being offered by the Doctoral Program in Buddhist Studies at LMU München.
They are still accepting applications; the deadline is October 18. You can find more information on the homepage:
http://www.en.buddhismus-studien.uni-muenchen.de/currentissues/phd_scholarships_2016/index.html

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Call for panels and Papers: Populism as movement and rhetoric (Jyväskylä, Finland 17-19 March 2016)

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CALL FOR PANELS AND PAPERS

Populism as movement and rhetoric

International conference

Jyväskylä, Finland on 17–19 March 2016

Venue: University of Jyväskylä, Seminarium (S)

Period for applying until October 7th 2015

In Finland as elsewhere in Europe, rapid social change, multicultural challenges, social inequality, and the way different kinds of threat are disseminated by the media for public imagination, have given rise to populist protests and appeals to cultural values usually combining anti-elite and anti-immigrant nationalism with nationally and locally bounded demands of social justice. In the conference, the populist movement and populist rhetoric are in the focus. We invite papers that study populism as a phenomenon with multiple sources and multiple agendas. Issues of nationality, Europeanness, ethnicity, gender, and environmental issues can be explored against the backdrop of the new public sphere and the intermingling of the private and the public in it.

 

Keynote speakers:

Yannis Stavrakakis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Ruth Wodak, professor emerita, Lancaster University

Eoin Devereux, University of Limerick,

Mikko Lehtonen, University of Tampere

 

Coordinators of the conference: PhD Urpo Kovala and PhD Tuija Saresma, Department of Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.

Conference secretary: Irma Hirsjärvi populistrhetoric2016@jyu.fi  Tel +358 40 8053518

Possible topics of the panels and presentations include, but are not limited to:

  • abusive empowerment in the rhetoric of protest
  • articulations of religion in populist agendas
  • from protest to power: populism in the margin and in the centre
  • cultural expressions of populism; cultural populism
  • politics and culture of populism
  • populist discourse
  • populist movements
  • populist rhetoric
  • populism and the ‘people’

 

Participation

Submissions for panel sessions
The deadline for proposals for panel sessions is October 7th 2015. The proposal has to include the title and a general description of the panel as well as the names of the individual contributors and the titles of their presentations. The maximum length is 300 words, excluding possible references.

 

Submissions for individual paper presentations
Individual paper presentations are organized in parallel sessions with 30 minute slots that include discussion time. The deadline for individual paper proposals is October 7th 2015. The maximum length is 300 words, excluding possible references. The acceptance will be notified in two weeks after the deadline

If you wish to participate without presenting a paper, please contact the conference secretary.

Submissions and registration https://www.jyu.fi/en/congress/populistrhetoric2016 (will open 22.9.2015)

Fees, scholarships and grants

Early bird fee is 140 euro (students 40 euro) until February 14th. Lunches, refreshments and conference dinner are included. Further information about travel and accommodation in Jyväskylä can be found in the conference website https://www.jyu.fi/en/congress/populistrhetoric2016

A number of scholarships and grants for PhD students and those coming from the low income countries and are in need of financial support will be provided. They consist in a reduction of the participation fee and include all meals. Please note that the deadline for applying for a scholarship or grant is October 7th. The application process and criteria are explained in greater detail on the website: https://www.jyu.fi/en/congress/populistrhetoric2016

Practical information

The conference takes place in the city of Jyväskylä (http://visit.jyvaskyla.fi/en). It is organized by the research project Populism as Movement and Rhetoric, funded by the Academy of Finland (2014–2016) together with the Department of Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä (https://www.jyu.fi/en)

About the research project: https://www.jyu.fi/hum/laitokset/taiku/opiskelu/nykykulttuuri/tutkimus/projektit/populismi

Email:populistrhetoric2016@jyu.fi

 

Facebook: Populism as movement and rhetorics

 

Web page: https://populismasmovementandrhetoric.wordpress.com/

 

Twitter: during the conference #populistculture

The post Call for panels and Papers: Populism as movement and rhetoric (Jyväskylä, Finland 17-19 March 2016) appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Job Openings: Method Specialists

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ADVANCED METHODOLOGIES CLUSTER HIRE CLA POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

The Departments of Anthropology, Political Science, Sociology, and the Brian Lamb School of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University (http://www.cla.purdue.edu/) are conducting a cluster hire for three positions at the Assistant or Associate Professor ranks, with initial positions starting in the fall of 2016. This search is part of a larger hiring initiative with departments in the College of Health and Human Sciences (http://www.purdue.edu/hhs/), seeking a total of six tenure-track or tenured faculty members (three in each College) to expand campus-wide expertise in social, behavioral, and health science statistics and research methodology. For information about the cluster see:  https://www.cla.purdue.edu/research/clusterhire/index.html.

The successful candidates for these positions will be expected to contribute to the research and teaching programs of the departments in which they affiliate, and to collaborate with others within the cluster and across the university in interdisciplinary and extramurally-funded research. Candidates will also be expected to contribute to an anticipated multi-college, shared graduate training platform, including a graduate certification program in advanced quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

The College of Liberal Arts at Purdue includes ten academic units across the social sciences, humanities and arts and is home to or closely affiliated with a wide range of interdisciplinary programs and research centers, including: Center on Aging and the Life Course, C-SPAN Archives, Center on Religion and Chinese Society, Center for Research on Diversity and Inclusion, Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, and Center  for the Environment. Successful candidates should have a Ph.D. in one of the social science disciplines participating in the cluster hiring initiative, a strong publication  record (for Associate-level applicants) or the promise of a strong publication record (for Assistant Professors), a research program with high likelihood of external funding, and the potential for teaching and mentoring excellence. Faculty responsibilities will include maintaining a productive research program, directing graduate student research, and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in methodology in their home department as well as cross-listed courses. We are particularly interested in candidates with a substantive area of research and who have demonstrated expertise in innovative quantitative or qualitative techniques. We welcome applicants with expertise in the analysis of large or untraditional data, experimental design and causal inference, textual analysis, and network analysis, among other areas.

A background check will be required for employment in this position. Reviewing of applications will begin on November 1, 2015, and continue until the positions are filled. Please send a cover letter outlining qualifications, vita, research and teaching statements, a writing sample, and the names of three academic references via email in PDF format to: cla_adr@purdue.edu. Questions regarding the position may be  directed to Professor James A. McCann, College of Liberal Arts Cluster Hire Search Chair, Department of Political Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907

 

(mccannj@purdue.edu).

 

Purdue University is an EEO/AA employer fully committed to achieving a diverse workforce. All individuals, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.

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Conference: The Unfinished Project of the Arab Spring – Why “Middle East Exceptionalism” is Still Wrong

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

The Unfinished Project of the Arab Spring: Why “Middle East Exceptionalism” is Still Wrong

University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
September 25-27, 2015

Conference website: https://upasconference.wordpress.com/

Keynote Speakers: 
https://upasconference.wordpress.com/keynotes/
* Tariq Ali: Recolonizing the Arab World 
* John Espositio: Islam and Democracy after the Arab Spring 
* Amina Wadud: Reformist Islam, Gender and the Question of         Authority 
* Karima Bennoune: The Struggle against Fundamentalism after the Revolutions of 2011: Your Fatwa Still does not Apply Here 
Conference Full Program: 
https://upasconference.wordpress.com/conference-program-2/

There is no registration fee; All Welcome 

Mojtaba Mahdavi, PhD
Conference Chair

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Call for Papers: Art Approaching Science and Religion, Turku 11-13 May 2016

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CALL FOR PAPERS

Art Approaching Science and Religion
11-13 May 2016 at Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland

Symposium website: http://www.amoslab.fi/?page_id=214

The symposium aims at bringing together the fields of art, science and
religion. How can science and religion be explored from the perspective
of the arts? Themes to be discussed will unwind from and be elaborated
on contemporary notions of beauty, ornament, and public art. The public
and aesthetic space offer not only timeless objects of appreciation,
aesthetic value and use, but also habits and rituals. The aim is to
bring out different images of how aesthetics, as a historical and
contemporary tradition, is formed together with strands of artist
research, art criticism, art history as well as the humanities,
philosophy, and religious studies.

Keynote Speakers (12 May 2016):
Kent C. Bloomer, Chief Designer, Professor, Yale School of Architecture, USA
Melissa Raphael, Professor of Jewish Theology, University of
Gloucestershire, UK
Serafim Seppälä, Professor of Systematic Theology and Patristics,
University of Eastern Finland
Mark C. Taylor, Professor of Religion, Columbia University, USA

Call for Papers for the Roundtable seminar on 13 May 2016 is now open:

http://www.abo.fi/forskning/en/News/Item/item/10299

Proposals are welcome on the interconnectedness of art, science and
religion, including (but not restricted to) the following themes:

  • Truth claims in philosophy, art, science, and religion.
  • Art criticism, art history, and artist research.
  • Commerce and communication.
  • Technology and tradition.
  • Artefacts in science and religion.
  • Power and politics of beauty.

*Deadline: 15 November 2015***

Arranged by:
AmosLAB/Amos Anderson Laboratory for Artful Making: www.amoslab.fi
<http://www.amoslab.fi>
The Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History:
www.abo.fi/donnerinstitute <http://www.abo.fi/donnerinstitute>

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Job Opening: Tenure-track assistant professorship in the History of Religions, University of Copenhagen

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Six-year tenure-track assistant professorship in the History of Religions at the Department of Cross-Cultural and regional Studies, University of Copenhagen.

Deadline for application is 1 October 2015. The full job ad can be found at:

http://jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabelige-stillinger/?show=751804.

Please share the information with suitable candidates.

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