Author Archives: Jim

Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies (Islam in Asia/Asian Religious Traditions), University of Glasgow

Posted on by

Job purpose: To undertake high-quality research and research supervision, to make an active and high level contribution in the School of Critical Studies in the College of Arts to teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level in Islamic Studies and/or Asian Traditions, and to undertake administration as requested by the Head of School.

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Permanent

Deadline for application: 31 August 2017.

Information: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BDH613/lecturer-in-theology-and-religious-studies-islam-in-asia-asian-religious-traditions/

Celebratory Conference: ‘Reimagining Difference: Being, thinking and practicing beyond essentialism’.

Posted on by

The Centre for Religion, Conflict and the Public Domain at the University of Groningen is celebrating its five-year anniversary this year.

To mark the occasion, the Centre has organised an interdisciplinary conference 13-15 September 2017 – including journalism, anthropology, sociology, International relations, philosophy, gender studies, religious studies – with scholars, policymakers and practitioners from South Africa, Australia, the US, Zimbabwe, Denmark, Norway, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands on the theme of ‘Reimagining Difference:  Being, thinking and practicing beyond essentialism’.

Speakers include:

  • Prof Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Northwestern University
  • Prof Ezra Chitando, University of Zimbabwe;
  • Dr Marie Juul Petersen, Danish Institute for Human Rights;
  • Dr Nadia Fadil, KU Leuven
  • Dr Luca Mavelli, University of Kent;
  • Ms Merete Bilde, European External Action Service;
  • Dr Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, University College London;
  • Professor Ebenezer Obadare, Kansas University;
  • Dr Lisa LeRoux, Stellenbosch University;
  • Mr Klaus De-Rijk, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Dr John Rees, University of Notre Dame Sydney;
  • Dr Atalia Omer, University of Notre Dame, South Bend.
  • Dr Maria de Lourdes Peroni, University of Ghent
  • Dr Helge Arsheim, University of Oslo
  • Mr Tim Dixon, Purpose Europe

There are two free public events:

  • Wednesday 13 September 6-8pm ‘Thinking Differently about Religion, Politics and Power’ – Keynote Address from Prof Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Northwestern University, with response from Merete Bilde, Policy Advisor at the European External Action Service
  • Friday 15 September – 11:30am-1:30pm ‘Religion, Secularism and the Politics of Difference’ – Panel Discussion featuring Prof Yolande Jansen (UvA), Elisa di Benedetto, (International Association for Religion Journalists), Gabrielle Bustamante (The Hague University for Applied Sciences) and Joram Tarusarira (University of Groningen)

Registration for the whole conference is 60 euros including lunches, 30 euros for students. Partial registration is also available if you are unable to attend the full three days. You can register via this link: https://www.eventure-online.com/eventure/login.form?Pe2fad366-eab4-404d-b727-bb16eb2c8b5c

Event details are also available at the Centre’s Facebook Page.

Celebratory Conference: ‘Reimagining Difference: Being, thinking and practicing beyond essentialism’.

Posted on by

The Centre for Religion, Conflict and the Public Domain at the University of Groningen is celebrating its five-year anniversary this year.

To mark the occasion, the Centre has organised an interdisciplinary conference 13-15 September 2017 – including journalism, anthropology, sociology, International relations, philosophy, gender studies, religious studies – with scholars, policymakers and practitioners from South Africa, Australia, the US, Zimbabwe, Denmark, Norway, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands on the theme of ‘Reimagining Difference:  Being, thinking and practicing beyond essentialism’.

Speakers include:

  • Prof Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Northwestern University
  • Prof Ezra Chitando, University of Zimbabwe;
  • Dr Marie Juul Petersen, Danish Institute for Human Rights;
  • Dr Nadia Fadil, KU Leuven
  • Dr Luca Mavelli, University of Kent;
  • Ms Merete Bilde, European External Action Service;
  • Dr Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, University College London;
  • Professor Ebenezer Obadare, Kansas University;
  • Dr Lisa LeRoux, Stellenbosch University;
  • Mr Klaus De-Rijk, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Dr John Rees, University of Notre Dame Sydney;
  • Dr Atalia Omer, University of Notre Dame, South Bend.
  • Dr Maria de Lourdes Peroni, University of Ghent
  • Dr Helge Arsheim, University of Oslo
  • Mr Tim Dixon, Purpose Europe

There are two free public events:

  • Wednesday 13 September 6-8pm ‘Thinking Differently about Religion, Politics and Power’ – Keynote Address from Prof Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Northwestern University, with response from Merete Bilde, Policy Advisor at the European External Action Service
  • Friday 15 September – 11:30am-1:30pm ‘Religion, Secularism and the Politics of Difference’ – Panel Discussion featuring Prof Yolande Jansen (UvA), Elisa di Benedetto, (International Association for Religion Journalists), Gabrielle Bustamante (The Hague University for Applied Sciences) and Joram Tarusarira (University of Groningen)

Registration for the whole conference is 60 euros including lunches, 30 euros for students. Partial registration is also available if you are unable to attend the full three days. You can register via this link: https://www.eventure-online.com/eventure/login.form?Pe2fad366-eab4-404d-b727-bb16eb2c8b5c

Event details are also available at the Centre’s Facebook Page.

New Book: Deep Equality in an Era of Religious Diversity

Posted on by

by Lori G. Beaman

Oxford University Press

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/deep-equality-in-an-era-of-religious-diversity-9780198803485?cc=ca&lang=en&#

While religious conflict receives plenty of attention, the everyday negotiation of religious diversity does not. Questions of how to accommodate religious minorities and of the limits of tolerance resonate in a variety of contexts and have become central preoccupations for many Western democracies. What might we see if we turned our attention to the positive narratives and success stories of the everyday working out of religious difference? Rather than “tolerance” and “accommodation,” and through the stories of ordinary people, this book traces deep equality, which is found in the respect, humor, and friendship of seemingly mundane interactions. Deep Equality in an Era of Religious Diversity shows that the telling of such stories can create an alternative narrative to that of diversity as a problem to be solved. It explores the non-event, or micro-processes of interaction that constitute the foundation for deep equality and the conditions under which deep equality emerges, exists, and sometimes flourishes.
Through a systematic search for and examination of such narratives, Lori G. Beaman demonstrates the possibility of uncovering, revealing, and recovering deep equality–a recovery that is vital to living in an increasingly diverse society. In achieving deep equality, identities are fluid, shifting in importance and structure as social interaction unfolds. Rigid identity imaginings, especially religious identities, block our vision to the complexities of social life and press us into corners that trap us in identities that we often ourselves do not recognize, want, or know how to escape. Although the focus of this study is deep equality and its existence and persistence in relation to religious difference, deep equality is located beyond the realm of religion. Beaman draws from the work of those whose primary focus is not in fact religion, and who are doing their own ‘deep equality’ work in other domains, illustrating especially why equality matters. By retelling and exploring stories of negotiation it is possible to reshape our social imaginary to better facilitate what works, which varies from place to place and time to time.

Call for Papers: “Religious? Secular? Re-thinking Islam and Space in Europe”

Posted on by

University of Cambridge, 30th November – 1st December 2017

Call for Papers
We invite scholars to present their work for a two-day inter-disciplinary workshop, “Religious? Secular? Re-thinking Islam and Space in Europe”.

This workshop offers a much-needed opportunity to evaluate questions of space within the study of Islam in Europe. It will take place at the University of Cambridge on 30th November – 1st December, bringing together established academic speakers and postgraduate researchers.
The workshop will be inter-disciplinary in character, connecting fields such as religious studies, geography, politics, anthropology, and architecture. We will look to tackle the subject both in breadth (in terms of content and concepts under discussion) and depth (with particular, but not exclusive, interests in German and UK contexts).
Confirmed keynote speakers are Professor Kim Knott (Lancaster University), Professor Riem Spielhaus (University of Göttingen), and Dr Marian Burchardt (University of Leipzig).
Overview
From identity-framed accounts of territory to contests over mosque construction, questions associated with Islam and space underlie major academic and public sphere debates in contemporary Europe (Fadil 2013; Hopkins and Gale 2008; DeHanas and Zacharias 2011; Baker 2017). The extent of these enquiries is broad, affecting scholarly topics such as place, networks, and the dynamics of identity, as well as familiar policy issues such as values, migration, and political participation (Amir-Moazami 2018; Knott 2005; Minkenberg 2014; Walters 2010). Most recently, both the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and supporters of Brexit have made the presence of Muslims in Europe a key point of their rhetoric. At the same time, ever more sophisticated studies of “local Islams” try to point out the differences of Muslim life worlds varying not only depending on national and ethnic backgrounds, but also with regards to spatially refined levels of analysis such as neighbourhoods, networks, or single mosques (Schiffauer 2014).
The premise of this workshop is that the place of “space” within the study of Islam in Europe has lacked systematic examination. We are therefore looking to bring together researchers tackling questions of space in this field from a range of disciplinary and thematic perspectives, in order to explore challenges and suggest solutions for theoretical, conceptual, and methodological debates associated with the topic.
Proposals
We invite proposals that engage with one or more of the following questions:
– What theories, concepts and methods are most useful in order to investigate the intersections of Islam, secularism/secularity and different dimensions of space in Europe?
– What are the benefits and limitations of utilising space as an analytical lens in the study of Islam and Muslims in Europe?
– How does space connect with other topics associated with the study of Islam in Europe, such as conversion, the state, ethnicity, or the family?
– How should researchers analyse the spatial implications of major scholarly challenges such as debates over Islamic exceptionalism, or the contestation of binaries (e.g., “religious”/”secular”, “public”/”private”)?
– How do particular research contexts require the use of different space-related concepts, such as territory, network, scale, dispositif, or assemblage?
– How can researchers navigate methodological challenges in the study of Islam and space in Europe?
– Why might symbolic and material contestations and/or collaborations be framed in terms of notions of space, and is space an adequate analytical tool in these instances?
– How should we study the role(s) of governmentality in spaces marked as “religious” and “non-religious” (e.g., spheres, publics)?
– How can a critical evaluation of the categories of “Islam”, “Religion”, “Secularism”, and/or “Europe” inform the study of space?
– What can material and sensory approaches (e.g., architecture, media, and orality) to the study of Islam and space reveal?
– How do insights gained within Gender Studies and Postcolonial Theory with regard to agency, power and (subversive) knowledge production relate to a space-sensitive analysis of Islam in Europe?
Format

The format will involve distributing workshop papers (c. 2500-3000 words) two weeks ahead of the workshop (16th November), in order to ensure in-depth engagement with every contribution. Following the workshop, participants will be invited to submit developed papers for a special issue of a leading journal.


To Apply…
To apply, please send an abstract (max 400 words) and biography (max 200 words) to islam.space.workshop@gmail.com. Abstracts from postgraduate students and early career researchers are especially welcome, and there will be some expenses available towards speakers’ accommodation and travel. The closing date for proposals is 17th September, with decisions communicated by 25th September.
Sponsors
We are most grateful for the sponsorship of DAAD Cambridge Research Hub for German Studies (www.daad.cam.ac.uk) and Cambridge Institute on Religion and International Studies (http://ciris.org.uk/).

Organising Committee

Adela Taleb (Institute for European Ethnology, Humboldt University Berlin), Tobias Müller (Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge), Chris Moses (Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge).

For any queries, please contact us at: islam.space.workshop@gmail.com.

Call for Papers: Women, Abortion, & Religioins

Posted on by

CALL FOR PAPERS

WOMEN, ABORTION AND RELIGIONS: DEBATES ON SEXUAL POLITICS, SUBJECTIVITIES AND RELIGIOUS FIELD. (PERIOD 2017-2018)

The Program on Gender Studies (PEG by its acronym in Spanish)- San Marcos National University and Flora Tristan Center of Peruvian Women are pleased to invite scholars and activists to submit articles for our editorial project Women, abortion and religions: debates on sexual policy, subjectivities and religious field.

Presentation

Over the last decades, we are more aware on abortion as a social complex issue with a field developed by a group of historical, cultural and politic processes, existing within global and local dynamics, as poverty, inequality, public health, secrecy, legality/illegality and also, without any doubt, religion thus establishing the characteristics of its practice, penalization and decriminalization. We consider that abortion as a social issue is a symptom of the infrastructure of sexual policy, that is, of the mechanisms through which sexual difference is developed in all societies. Therefore, to analyze the dynamics of abortion in contemporary societies is crucial to establish a genealogical exercise regarding the views and responses of women towards the place “assigned” to them, to their bodies and undoubtedly to their contribution on the development of citizenship. The abortion and women relationship displays a multitude of strengths, always starting and ending in their own bodies.

Several research studies point out religions have been one of those privileged fields for such processes. Evidently, from the post secular debate, religions have not stopped influencing neither the history of governmentality nor the construction of concrete forms of subjectivity, particularly related to abortion. This publishing aims at reflecting, analyzing and questioning these relations.

Religions can be analyzed as a place of control or also action (or both at the same time) related to the construction of women (spiritual, politic, cultural, human rights) demands. In this regard, studying the religious phenomenon from an intersectional gender perspective is a way to track the situation of women today, especially through the analysis of circumstances surrounding their abortions. Therefore, we are particularly interested in inquiring about those historical, political and social processes where religions support or oppose abortion and their effects in the lives of women. We look for papers with a profound investigation on one of these aspects (or both) based on the analysis of historical, ethnographic, legal material, among others. We focused on the existing interaction among different religious traditions (such as, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, indigenous world views, among others) and said phenomenon.

This invitation seeks papers with an analysis on the role religions play in the history of governmentality regarding abortion. That is, we aim at studying the mechanisms, strategies, representations (among others), developed by religious fields and capitals existing within processes of influence and intervention of the religious discourse in States and also in the international policy (multilateral organisms, international cooperation) within the contemporary world.

This invitation also aims at analyzing the construction of corporalities, subjectivities and identities of women who experienced abortions, related to religious fields and capitals. In particular, their spiritual and/or religious or atheist practices, their experiences and perceptions. Within this framework, papers on world views/theologies, rites, mysticism, moral and memory can be included. We are also interested in exploring articles with a reflection on religious groups and collectives linked negatively or positively with abortion.

Beyond the post secular debate, the encounter with religions within the international scenario leads us to think on policies dynamics and new subjective constructions where religions are introduced as an important device on social analysis. In this regard, we are deeply interested in inquiring about the work of women or women movements (for example, Islamic, Catholic, Christian,

Jew women or with alternative beliefs) who have underwent abortion within their own spiritual traditions and ritualized practices, within each and every cultural and social context where traditions result transformed by their own demands.

Goals

The goals of this publishing aim at:

  1. Building a comparative and systematic perspective of the relation between religious discourses and abortion within contemporary societies.

  2. Analyzing the construction of subjectivities on women with abortion stories related to the religious phenomenon within local and regional specific contexts.

  3. Studying the historical, social and cultural dynamics where religious traditions play an important role on the promotion or rejection of abortion in contemporary societies.

  4. Reflecting on spiritual productions (practices, rituals, perceptions, among others) developed by women with abortion stories in different regions of the whole world in or out of religious traditions, with particular emphasis on the South-South dialogue.

Topics

Papers should include these thematic lines, although they are not restricted to:

  1. Religious traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Shintoism, Taoism, indigenous world views, among others), abortion and women within contemporary societies.

  • Local stories on the relation between abortion and women with different religious traditions.

  • Mechanisms, strategies and representations created by religious leaders or religious discourses existing or affecting the penalization or legalization of abortion within States or the international policy.

  • Spiritual practices of women on abortion in contemporary societies, in particular dialogues and resistances regarding their own religious traditions.

  • Analysis on any aspect regarding spiritual practices (such as divinity and rituality) from a feminist theological perspective.

  • Feminist theological production on abortion and women on each religious tradition.

  • Ability of women and groups of women to take action within the context of spiritual production regarding abortion.

  • Spiritual expressions related to non confessional practices, secularism, atheism and other contemporary spiritual manifestations on abortion.

  • Intersection among religious practices with sexuality, gender, race and social class within the women movement.

  • Relationship among spiritual production, ethical discourses and supporting practices from women, with particular emphasis on the South-South dialogue.

    • Relevant information To participate send an abstract with a maximum of 350 words until November 30th 2017 to Martin Jaime (mjaimeb@pucp.pe) and Fátima Valdivia (valdiviadelrio@gmail.com), academic editors of this compilation. Please include any questions or doubts.

    Once proposals are accepted you will receive a written notification. All articles will follow the APA (American Psychiatry Association) style and should have 8 000 to 10 000 words, without bibliography. All papers will be peer-reviewed by double blind pairs. Articles can be written either in English or in Spanish. Complete articles must be sent until June 30th 2018 to Martin Jaime and Fátima Valdivia, academic editors of this compilation, to the following e-mail addresses: mjaimeb@pucp.pe and valdiviadelrio@gmail.com

    Senior scholar position at Notre Dame in the study of global religion. Application deadline: August 25

    Posted on by

    The Keough School of Global Affairs invites applications for a senior faculty position in the study of global religion, with a focus on how the world’s religions contribute to integral human development, broadly understood to encompass peacebuilding, human rights, health care, education and other social goods. The successful candidate will also serve as the inaugural director of the Rafat and Zoreen Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion.

    The mission of the Ansari Institute is to engage the world’s religions in collaborative efforts to reduce poverty, mediate conflict, build peace, promote human rights and in other ways advance integral human development. Reflecting the values of Notre Dame as a leading faith-based university, the Ansari Institute is dedicated to research and scholarship that will inform public education about religions’ roles in human development and shape critical, constructive engagement with religious actors.

    More information here.

    Assistant Professor of Religion and Society, Boston University

    Posted on by

    BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY invites applications for a full-time tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor, to begin in Fall 2018. The candidate should be a scholar working at the intersections of religion, theology, and the social sciences, with methodological competencies in areas such as qualitative methods, ethnography, and lived religion. A PhD or ThD in an appropriate discipline is required, and the candidate must have potential for a strong record of publications in their chosen field. An additional seminary degree (e.g., MDiv, MTS, MAR) is highly desirable. Areas of expertise are open, but candidates who address congregational or community studies, human diversity in local and global contexts, sexuality, ecology, social transformation, and/or political and ethical engagement are particularly encouraged to apply. Candidates must be competent to teach master’s level theology students. They must be able to teach social science research methods and guide students through research protocols. Responsibilities include teaching and advising doctoral students in areas such as practical theology, congregational studies, ethics, religious leadership, and church and society. The School has committed to the formation of intercultural competence and social justice in all aspects of our learning community, and we seek candidates who are eager and skilled in providing leadership to realize these goals.

    Workshop: Global Dynamics of Shia Marriages

    Posted on by

    An international exploratory workshop, 24-25 August 2017, University of Amsterdam

    Organized by Annelies Moors (AISSR, UvA) and Yafa Shanneik (University of Birmingham), this workshop brings together researchers working on Iran, Oman, Lebanon, Pakistan, Indonesia, Ghana, the UK, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It focuses on various strands of Twelver Shia Islam – defined by doctrinal differences and sources of clerical authority, legal and ethical practices, rituals and everyday lived experience – and investigates how different forms of Shia marriage are debated and concluded.

    For more information see http://aissr.uva.nl/content/events/workshops/2017/08/global-dynamics-of-shia-marriages.html

    Job Opening: Anthropology of Islam

    Posted on by

    The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Groningen, seeks to appoint an an anthropologist or a scholar from a closely related discipline with expertise in the field of Contemporary Islam (0.8 fte) for a period of 5 years.

    The candidate should have a competence in the fields of Islam in relation to migration and identity also with regard to the MENA region in order to be able to teach courses on these themes. Language of instruction is English.

    Beside these teaching related competences the faculty is looking for a scholar whose research lies preferably in the field of contemporary Islam in Asia so as to contribute to the Centre for the Study of Religion and Culture in Asia (see www.rug.nl/research/centre-religion-culture-asia) of the faculty.

    Early career scholars are explicitly encouraged to apply. For more information, see:

    http://www.rug.nl/about-us/work-with-us/job-opportunities/overview?details=00347-02S0005NUP&cat=wp