Author Archives: Jim

New Book: “The Russian Orthodox Church, 1917-1948 From Decline to Resurrection”

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The Russian Orthodox Church, 1917-1948
From Decline to Resurrection
By Daniela Kalkandjieva
Routledge – 2015
http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138788480/

This book tells the remarkable story of the decline and revival of the Russian Orthodox Church in the first half of the twentieth century and the astonishing U-turn in the attitude of the Soviet Union’s leaders towards the church. In the years after 1917 the Bolsheviks’ anti-religious policies, the loss of the former western territories of the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union’s isolation from the rest of the world and the consequent separation of Russian emigrés from the church were disastrous for the church, which declined very significantly in the 1920s and 1930s. However, when Poland was partitioned in 1939 between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Stalin allowed the Patriarch of Moscow, Sergei, jurisdiction over orthodox congregations in the conquered territories and went on, later, to encourage the church to promote patriotic activities as part of the resistance to the Nazi invasion. He agreed a Concordat with the church in 1943, and continued to encourage the church, especially its claims to jurisdiction over émigré Russian orthodox churches, in the immediate postwar period. Based on extensive original research, the book puts forward a great deal of new information and overturns established thinking on many key points.

Daniela Kalkandjieva is a Researcher at the University of Sofia, Bulgaria

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Phd Scholarship in Ethical Monotheism

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Three-year fully funded PhD studentship in Ethical Monotheism with Prof Stephen Frosh.

Applications are invited for this three-year fully funded PhD scholarship in the Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck, University of London, to begin in October 2015. 

The scholarship is part of a wider project on Ethical Monotheism and is intended for a student who will explore the ethical formation of young people within monotheistic communities in a pluralistic urban setting

For more information and to apply:
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychosocial/news/phd-studentship-in-ethical-monotheism-1

The post Phd Scholarship in Ethical Monotheism appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

CFP: Comparative Approaches to Religion and Violence

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COMPARATIVE APPROACHES TO RELIGION AND VIOLENCE BEYOND TEXTS
CALL FOR PAPERS 2015

For the 2015 conference of the American Academy of Religion in Atlanta Nov 21-24, we seek papers that examine the intersections of religion and violence, with attention to the condition in which religion lends itself to the justification and/or promotion of violence. Papers should demonstrate comparative or theoretical approaches. Below are recommended themes within this framework: 
Comparative Ethics of Violence beyond Texts: We seek studies that trace the way that religious authority becomes enacted outside of traditional scriptural mandates, such as by cultural leaders, rituals, pictures, narratives and media.

If you would like to submit a paper proposal, please contact Torkel Brekke at the University of Oslo (torkel.brekke@ikos.uio.no).

We are proud to announce that the Comparative Approaches to Religion and Violence has joined with the Journal of Religion and Violence. Future submissions to the AAR program unit will be considered for publication in the journal.

The post CFP: Comparative Approaches to Religion and Violence appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

CFP: Conference on “Sacred Literature, Secular Religion

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The Le Moyne College Religion and Literature Forum

Sacred Literature, Secular Religion: A Conference on Cultural Practices
October 1-3, 2015
http://lemoyne.edu/tabid/3464/Default.aspx

Call for Papers:

Charles Taylor recently claimed that we live in “a secular age,” one in which a wide range of religious practices – and ways to opt out of those practices – are available. Today we might follow traditional forms of observance, establish new kinds of worship that are not strictly religious, or reject devotional pursuits altogether. Is Taylor right, or have these options always existed in varying degrees, in various periods and places?

This conference explores how religious and secular concerns overlap and inform modes of belief and forms of pious (and impious) expression. Rather than approach the sacred and the secular in dualistic terms, we seek ways to understand how the categories intersect and criss-cross. Rather than simply map religion onto literature or vice versa, we invite papers that conceptualize and describe the interrelation between the two. We welcome diverse ways of framing and pursuing the conference theme and hence encourage contributions from scholars not only in literary and religious  studies, but also from visual studies, history, philosophy, psychology, archeology, and elsewhere, both within and across religious traditions and in the public sphere.

We welcome papers from graduate and undergraduate students.

Send 300-word proposals to:

  • Jennifer Gurley, Department of English, Le Moyne College (gurleyja@lemoyne.edu) and
  • William Robert, Department of Religion, Syracuse University (wrobert@syr.edu)

Deadline for proposals: March 1, 2015
Notification: April 1, 2015
Conference Schedule

  • Thursday, October 1 at 4 p.m. through Saturday, October 3 at 9 p.m. 

  • Central New York Wine Country Tour (optional) on Sunday, October 4 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The post CFP: Conference on “Sacred Literature, Secular Religion appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Two Fellowships in Jewish Studies

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The Association for Jewish Studies is pleased to offer two fellowships in the social sciences.

For early career scholars (pre-tenure): Berman Foundation EARLY CAREER FELLOWSHIPS in Support of Research in the Social Scientific Study of the Contemporary American Jewish Community

The Berman Early Career Fellowships – awards of up to $8,000 each for the 2015-2016 academic year – aim to support a new generation of scholars in the field of the social scientific study of the North
American Jewish community. Fellowships will help offset scholars’ expenses in turning their dissertations into monographs or refereed journal articles (i.e. through funding research travel, equipment, materials, and fieldwork, or by subsidizing living expenses during the writing phase of the project).  Applicants must have deposited their dissertations no earlier than January 1, 2010 and no later than August 31, 2015. Further details are available on the AJS website.  Application Deadline: Wednesday, March 25, 2015.

For graduate students: Berman Foundation DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS in Support of Research in the Social Scientific Study of the Contemporary American Jewish Community

The Berman Dissertation Fellowships – two awards of $16,000 each for the 2015-16 academic year – aim to support the development and expansion of the field of the social scientific study of Jewish Americans and the contemporary Jewish-American experience; enhance funding opportunities for up-and-coming scholars; and encourage graduate students in the social sciences to expand their research to include the study of North American Jewry. Preference will be given to applicants seeking support for doctoral research, but requests for funding to support the writing phase of the dissertation will also be considered. Applicants must be PhD candidates at accredited higher educational institutions who have completed their comprehensive exams and received approval for their
dissertation proposals (ABD).  Doctoral students from outside the field of Jewish Studies are encouraged to apply. Further details are available on the AJS website.

Application Deadline: Wednesday, March 25, 2015.
Support for these programs is generously provided by the Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation.

Please contact Amy Weiss, AJS Grants and Communications Coordinator, at aweiss@ajs.cjh.org or 917.606.8249 if you have any questions regarding the application process or fellowship programs.

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CFP: Conference on Challenges and Opportunities: Religious Freedom Development in the Sphere of Law

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Challenges and Opportunities: Religious Freedom Development in the Sphere of Law

Conference, Yerevan, May 14-16, 2015

Call for Papers

This international conference will be dedicated to the challenges and opportunities regarding religious freedom in the experience of Eastern European countries. A quarter of century since the collapse of Soviet Union, there are still many issues in the development of law and legal procedures in the religious sphere as well as their application in practical life in many of the former Soviet Republics.  We anticipate that the academic discussion of these challenges will have practical significance not only for scholars but also for practitioners and lawyers in the development of comprehensive draft laws and other legal tools.

The local organizing committee is pleased to announce a conference on law and religion which will be held in Yerevan, Armenia at the American University of Armenia, Thursday May 14-Saturday, May 16, titled “Challenges and Opportunities: Religious Freedom Development in the Sphere of Law.”  The conference will predominantly focus on legal and policy issues affecting religious freedom in Eastern Europe. 

All scholars interested in the study of Law and Religion (preference shall be given to scholars from Eastern Europe and former Soviet Republics) are invited to submit proposals of no more than 250 words and short bios by 15 March 2015. These can be submitted electronically to hovhannes.hovhannisyan@gmail.com

The language for presentations is English, Russian, or Armenian. A number of speakers will be commissioned for the program.

Travel support may be available for those whose papers are selected.

Participants will present their papers in panel sessions (20 minutes in English) and will afterwards submit an article to for possible inclusion in a publication. The aim of the organizer is to publish a selection of articles presented at the conference.

The post CFP: Conference on Challenges and Opportunities: Religious Freedom Development in the Sphere of Law appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Book Announcement:

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Muslims in the Western Imagination By Sophia Rose Arjana

Oxford University Press, 2015

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/muslims-in-the-western-imagination-9780199324927?cc=us&lang=en#

Throughout history, Muslim men have been depicted as monsters. The portrayal of humans as monsters helps a society delineate who belongs and who, or what, is excluded. Even when symbolic, as in post-9/11 zombie films, Muslim monsters still function to define Muslims as non-human entities. These are not depictions of Muslim men as malevolent human characters, but rather as creatures that occupy the imagination –non-humans that exhibit their wickedness outwardly on the skin. They populate medieval tales, Renaissance paintings, Shakespearean dramas, Gothic horror novels, and Hollywood films. Through an exhaustive survey of medieval, early modern, and contemporary literature, art, and cinema, Muslims in the Western Imagination examines the dehumanizing ways in which Muslim men have been constructed and represented as monsters, and  the impact such representations have on perceptions of Muslims today.

The study is the first to present a genealogy of these creatures, from the demons and giants of the Middle Ages to the hunchbacks with filed teeth that are featured in the 2007 film 300, arguing that constructions of Muslim monsters constitute a recurring theme, first formulated in medieval Christian thought. Sophia Rose Arjana shows how Muslim monsters are often related to Jewish monsters, and more broadly to Christian anti-Semitism and anxieties surrounding African and other foreign bodies, which involves both religious bigotry and fears surrounding bodily difference. Arjana argues persuasively that these dehumanizing constructions are deeply embedded in Western consciousness, existing today as internalized beliefs and practices that contribute to the culture of violence–both rhetorical and physical–against Muslims.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction: Islam in the Western Imagination
  • Chapter 1: The Muslim Monster
  • Chapter 2: Medieval Muslim Monsters
  • Chapter 3: Turkish Monsters
  • Chapter 4: The Monsters of Orientalism
  • Chapter 5: Muslim Monsters in the Americas
  • Chapter 6: The Monsters of September 11th

The post Book Announcement: appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

CFP: Conference on “Radicalisation and Islamophobia: Roots, Relationships and Implications in Religiously Diverse Societies”

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SECOND AUSTRALASIAN CONFERENCE ON ISLAM (ACI’2)

“Radicalisation and Islamophobia: Roots, Relationships and Implications in Religiously Diverse Societies”

26–27 November 2015 – Sydney, Australia

Abstract submission date: 30 March 2015

While the themes of radicalisation and Islamophobia have been broadly addressed, to date there has been little or no investigation into the relationship between the two. Is radicalisation a response to Islamophobia? Or is Islamophobia a peripheral issue in light of the serious threat posed by radicalisation? Despite seeming to be independent from one another, there is a counter-intuitive link between radicalisation and Islamophobia as each serves to perpetuate its own radical narrative and generalisations. While radicalisation of Muslims causes fear and anxiety in the broader society, Islamophobia can be a source of excessive legal measures, discrimination of Muslims and vilification of Islam. Such Islamophobia feeding attempts are used by radical ideologues to justify their extreme narrative and recruit power which in turn increases Islamophobia.

This conference aims to explore how radicalisation and Islamophobia feed one another and work hand in hand to pull society towards polar extremes. By tackling these issues from political, sociological, psychological and theological angles, this conference aims to explore the root causes of radicalisation and in particular the significant impact of Islamophobia to that process. The 2nd Australasian Conference on Islam invites abstracts for original and critical research papers addressing the theme Radicalisation and Islamophobia: Roots,Relationships and Implications in Religiously Diverse Societies.

  • Topics of interest for abstract submission include, but are not limited to:
  • Relationship between radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • Impact of radicalisation and Islamophobia on religiously diverse societies
  • Exploring and contesting the legitimacy of the theological roots of radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • Social roots of youth radicalisation in Western societies
  • Roots of Islamophobia and its link to religious radicalisation within other religious communities
  • Impact of social media on extremism, radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • Alternative discourses/initiatives/movements to extremism, radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • Case studies from countries, social groups and faith based movements as alternatives to radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • Effects of Islamophobia on Muslims living in the West
  • The empirical evaluation of counter-terrorism policy, counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation through theoretical and practical cases
  • Gender dimensions of radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • The cultural construction and consumption of the radical and Islamophobic discourse
  • Strategies and attempts to resist ‘radicalisation’, ‘de-radicalisation’ and ‘counter-radicalisation’ and the surrounding discourses
  • Strategies and attempts to resist Islamophobia and incompatibility theories
  • Rigorous evaluations of the local contexts fuelling radicalisation and Islamophobia

Abstracts of no more than 300 words must be submitted together with the contributor’s short biography (no more than 200 words) by 30 March 2015.

If an abstract is accepted for the conference, a full draft paper must be submitted by 25 September 2015.

Submit abstracts should be submitted to Dr Derya Iner diner@csu.edu.au and copied to info@isra.org.au . Abstracts should be in Word format with the following information in this order:
a) author(s) name; b) affiliation; c) email address; d) title of abstract; e) body of abstract; f) author’s biography.

Email subject should be titled: Australasian Conference on Islam. Use plain text (Times New Roman, 12 point, double spaced) and abstain from using footnotes and any special formatting, characters or emphasis (such as bold, italics or underline).

We will acknowledge receipt and respond to all abstracts submitted. If you do not receive a reply within a week, assume we did not receive your abstract. We suggest to then look for an alternative electronic route or resend.

Select papers will be published in peer-reviewed publications.

Organising chairpersons:

Conference Website: http://ausconfislam.net/ (note that it is currently
under construction)

The post CFP: Conference on “Radicalisation and Islamophobia: Roots, Relationships and Implications in Religiously Diverse Societies” appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

PhD Scholarship, Cognitive Science of Religion

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The Aarhus Graduate School of Arts has recently publicized a call inviting applications for a 3-year PhD scholarship in the Cognitive Science of Religion within the framework of the Aarhus-Belfast joint
degree agreement.

Here is the link: http://talent.au.dk/phd/arts/open-calls/phd-call-147/

Please circulate the call to students and colleagues.

Best wishes,
Armin W. Geertz
Prof., Dr.Phil.
Director of Religion, Cognition and Culture Research Unit (RCC)
Chairman of the Interacting Minds Centre

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