The Estonian Society for the Study of Religions

announces a call for papers for the conference

Religion and Nation(alism):
Entanglements, Tensions, Conflicts

University of Tartu, Estonia, 10-11 November 2016

http://www.eaus.ee/en/conference-2016/

Recent developments throughout the world have shown that the connections between ethnic and religious identity have not lost their actuality. The relationships between religion and nationalism are multifaceted and interactive; their dynamics is influenced by social and political conditions. The politisation of religion may support ethnic and national unity, whereas religion may lead to particular forms of political activism. The concurrence of ethnic and religious identity (or the lack of it!) may result in nation building or the shaping of an ideology of the ‘chosen people’. Moreover, religious identities may offer possibilities for the formation of communities that cross national borders.

Studying the role that religion plays in these complex relationships will offer us insights into the formation, development or disintegration of certain groups and their choices, both in individual and public spheres. Thus, we welcome scholars from all fields of study (anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, folkloristics, history, political and religious studies, etc.) who study the connections between (ir)religion and nationalism or group identities. Particularly interesting aspects include:

• diachronic and contemporary aspects of the relationships between nationalism and religion
• regional aspects of religion and nation(alism)
• ideological entanglements of religion and nation(alism)
• religious tensions and conflicts between ethnic groups both past and present
• the relationships between (ir)religion, nationalism and group identity
• discursive intersections of religion and nationalism with gender, sexuality, race, class, culture and history
• the religious aspects of secular nationalism and secular sources of the public authority of religious institutions and traditions
• migration and religion, expatriate relationships with nation(alism) and religion
• conspiracy theories about the religious background of migrants
• neo-pagan and esoteric movements in the context of nation building

The language of the conference will be English, the length of papers 20 minutes. A conference fee of 80€ will be applied for meals and materials; participants are expected to pay for their own travel and accommodation.

Please submit your abstract of 250-300 words to the conference e-mail address: conference2016@eaus.ee before 31.05.2016. Pre-arranged panels will also be considered. Notification of acceptance, and the opening of registration, not later than: 01.07.2016.

For inquiries please contact the Secretary of the conference, Piret Koosa (piret.koosa@gmail.com). Current information about the conference can be found at our home page http://www.eaus.ee/en/conference-2016/

The conference is being organised by the Estonian Society for the Study of Religions in cooperation with the University of Tartu (School of Theology and Religious Studies, Institute of Cultural Research and Arts) and the Estonian Literary Museum.

Organising committee: Madis Arukask, Alar Kilp, Piret Koosa, Katre Koppel, Mare Kõiva, Jaan Lahe, Atko Remmel, Ülo Valk, Ergo-Hart Västrik

Tradition is the New Radical – Remapping Masculinities and Femininities in Theology
KEY NOTE SPEAKERS: TINA BEATTIE, VICTOR SEIDLER AND LINN MARIE TONSTAD | 12–14 DECEMBER 2016 | CENTRE FOR THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES | LUND UNIVERSITY
Over the past two decades a strong trend in theology has been the retrieval of patristic and medieval traditions, often for radical purposes. Whereas much (above all Protestant) theology during modernity sought to be progressive by means of distancing itself from tradition, recent currents within both Anglican and Catholic theology seek progress through the retrieval of hidden, forgotten or suppressed aspects of the tradition. Examples range from Sarah Coakley’s daring retrieval of ascetic practices for feminist purposes to Gerald Loughlin’s gathering of radical analyses of the biblical tradition in his monumental Queer Theology: Rethinking the Western Body.
This conference will explore the remapping of masculinities and femininities that these developments have generated in contemporary theology. On the one hand, the aim is to further enhance the radical analyses of the biblical tradition in order to continue along the emancipatory track set out by feminist and queer theologians in the past decades. On the other hand, the aim is also to investigate possible flipsides of this fascination with tradition. In focusing our attention on liberating symbols and practices in the past, is there a risk that we lose sight of existing gender stereotypes on a concrete societal and ecclesial level? Are conservative patterns regarding gender and sexuality sometimes even being reproduced under the guise of seemingly radical historical metaphors?
CALL FOR PAPERS
We invite papers with a clear relevance for the conference theme as described above. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent by June 15 to:
johanna.gustafsson_lundberg@ctr.lu.se and
jayne.svenungsson@ctr.lu.se
Abstracts are to be headed with the applicant’s name, professional affiliation, and title of proposed paper.