Author Archives: Jim

Call for Papers: Exploring Religious Narratives of AIDS in Africa and the African Diaspora

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Biographies in Times of Crisis: Exploring Religious Narratives of AIDS in Africa and the African Diaspora
Call for papers for a conference hosted by the Religion, Identity and Memory Research Group, Faculty of Religious Studies, University of Groningen & the International Research Network on AIDS and Religion in Africa (IRNARA)

Convenors:
Brenda Bartelink, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Rijk van Dijk, African Studies Centre, the Netherlands
Marjo Buitelaar, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Kim Knibbe, University of Groningen, the Netherlands

Introduction
The contemporary history of AIDS in Africa demonstrates how, over the course of a few decades, the lives of people and institutions have been drawn into the social trajectory of the disease. It has not merely reshaped the lives of those directly affected and their families, peers and friends but has also informed changes in certain institutions in African societies. Personal and institutional biographies have been reformulated as the epidemic has taken its course and personal meanings of religion have changed to cope with (the consequences of) HIV/AIDS. In addition, religious institutions have become part of the fight against the pandemic. In the programmes set up for treatment, care and awareness, new ideas concerning the disciplining of personal, social and institutional behaviour have emerged.

Focus
The role of religion in personal and institutional biographies of AIDS needs to be explored in more detail. At a personal level, more insight is required into how religion provides people with narrative models to respond to crises. Religio-biographies (Jacobson 2006) have been seen to play a role in meaning making and coping with HIV/AIDS in many African societies. However there are questions about when, how and for what reasons people use religious narrative models in shaping their responses to HIV/AIDS. How do religious narrative models play a role in coping with HIV/AIDS and how do they influence biographical choices regarding intimacy, sexuality, reproduction and relationships?
Personal and institutional biographies intersect and influence each other in responses to HIV/AIDS in Africa. For example, people living with HIV/AIDS are increasingly becoming involved in activist and institutional responses to HIV/AIDS. More insight into this interrelationship is necessary. How are religio-biographies of professionals in churches influencing organizational policies and counselling practices? And how are (religious) institutions seeking to influence or change religio-biographies on HIV and/or the epidemic? Memorial rituals and the (re-)writing of memory narratives are examples of how the histories of people dying from AIDS can be retained posthumously. Furthermore, personal and institutional biographies of religion and HIV/AIDS have become intertwined in a powerful discourse with wide ramifications for African public domains, healthcare and global/international support.

Deeper insight into the complex entanglement of discipline and agency is necessary for a better understanding of the role of religion in personal and institutional biographies of HIV/AIDS and how these influence each other. In the process, particular forms and styles of `narrative disciplining’ take place. People have `learned’ how to phrase the story of their (AIDS-affected) lives, how to formulate their behavioural choices and options, and how to respond to the requirements that a range of institutions are promoting in an attempt to curtail the epidemic. Some of these narratives and life histories are becoming well known worldwide. As these stories have become part of international fund-raising, policy-making and decision-taking, they have turned some of the people affected with AIDS into so-called `AIDS celebrities’. At the same time, biographies also signal agency on the part of individuals and institutions and provide a space to demonstrate how, in the course of engagements with AIDS, resistance can emerge under certain circumstances and for particular reasons. Narrativity can thus also be seen as a form of resistance and contestation. In the light of recent discussions on agency and its conception in a secular, liberal framework (Mahmood 2005), agency and the agentive power in religious self-narratives and life-story telling in the context of HIV/AIDS should be critically assessed.
The biographies of persons and institutions should not be perceived solely as formalized narratives highlighting the success of disciplining modes in the areas of sexuality, reproduction and relationships. Nor should agency be seen only in terms of resistance to certain forms of disciplining. As self-narratives have become a part of the personal and institutional responses to HIV/AIDS, for example in the counselling process, the agentic power in narrativity itself needs further analysis. This conference proposes exploring personal and institutional biographies in terms of their power (over individual and institutional lives), the ideologies and moralities they espouse, and the practices through which they are formulated.

The conference invites papers that address the following issues:

1. Understanding AIDS through biographies
2. Continuity and crisis in the rewriting of narratives of the self
3. Socio-religious biographies of the self and their contestation
4. Memory, voice and silence in embodied biographies
5. Diaspora, AIDS and strangerhood

Practical Information
The conference will be held at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands on 13, 14 and 15 December 2012. Abstracts (max. 300 words) should be submitted to the convenors for selection by 15 May. The selected speakers will be notified by 15 June and a conference programme, including the keynote speakers, will be announced in due course. The conference fee is € 40. For further information, go to www.irnara.org

Brenda Bartelink
Rijk van Dijk
aidsbiography@rug.nl

Research Studentships at Open University

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The Open University announces a competition for two research studentships on any topic within the subject range of the Faculty of Arts. The Religious Studies department is keen to receive proposals in the areas of staff expertise and interests: http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/research-degrees/religious_studies.htm

For the funding scheme and application information , please see http://www3.open.ac.uk/employment/job-details.asp?id=6101&ref=ext Initial enquires can be sent to Dr Graham Harvey (g.harvey@open.ac.uk). These should set out a proposed topic/title, methods, sources (e.g. archives, groups, locations), an indicative bibliography of relevant academic literature, and identify a possible supervisor within the department.

Please note that we particularly encourage candidates with a completed Masters degrees in a relevant discipline to apply. The closing date for full applications for studentships is 31 March 2012. — The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302).

Part-Time Assistant Research Officer

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Inform < www.Inform.ac > is looking for a part-time Assistant Research Officer to work at its office, based at the London School of Economics. The post entails 14 working hours per week and has a starting salary of £13.49 (depending on qualifications and experience). Applicants should have at least a good Bachelor’s degree in an area related to the sociology of religion and be familiar with the methodology of the social sciences. Preference will be given to specialists in Islamic studies, particularly new Islamic movements.
Please contact Professor Eileen Barker at E.Barker@LSE.ac.uk by 25th March 2012, attaching a cv, a statement as to why you are interested in the post and the email addresses of two referees.

Eileen Barker
Professor Emeritus of Sociology of Religion
London School of Economics
Houghton St
London WC2A 2AE
U.K.
Tel: +44 (0)208 902 2048
E.Barker@LSE.ac.uk
www.Inform.ac

Call for Papers: 1st International Conference on Contemporary Esotericism

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***Call for Papers***
1st International Conference on Contemporary Esotericism
Department of History of Religions, Stockholm University, Sweden.
August 27-29, 2012  Deadline for abstracts: March 30, 2012
Submit abstracts to: ContEso2012@gmail.com
Conference website: http://www.erg.su.se/contemporary-esotericism

Keynote speakers:
– Wouter J. Hanegraaff (Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam)
– Christopher Partridge (Religious Studies, Lancaster University)
– Kocku von Stuckrad (Study of Religion, Groningen University)
– Jay Johntson (Study of Religion, University of Sydney)

Conference organizers:
– Egil Asprem (Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam)
– Kennet Granholm (History of Religions, Stockholm University)

The academic study of Western esotericism has blossomed in recent years, but there is still a major gap in scholarship on esotericism: very little research exists on contemporary phenomena. While some present-day phenomena related to esotericism, such as ‘New Age
spiritualities’ and (neo)paganism, have been the focus of scholars in other fields, such developments have been largely neglected in the field of Western esotericism. While most scholarship in the field has had a focus on early modern phenomena and has been predominantly historiographical in its approach, serious attempts to develop
sociological approaches to the study of the esoteric/occult have been made in recent years.

The fundamental challenge is that the study of contemporary esotericism requires new definitions and methodologies, apart from those developed for the study of Renaissance and early modern esotericism. Studying contemporary phenomena poses intriguing
possibilities, such as the opportunity to study esotericism in lived contexts, which unavoidably also introduce new problems.

*Suggested Topics*
The conference has two primary goals: to place contemporary phenomena on the map of esotericism-research, and to explore new theory and methodology required for the study of specifically contemporary phenomena. We thus welcome papers dealing with contemporary and recent developments in “classic” esoteric currents – e.g. within Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, esoteric secret societies,
and ritual magic – as well as new esoteric developments of particular relevance today – e.g. Chaos Magick, Satanism, ‘New Age’ religion, (neo)paganism, and broader ‘occultural’ developments. We also strongly encourage papers dealing with theoretical and methodological issues that are particularly pertinent to the study of contemporary
esotericism, as well as papers dealing with the societal, cultural, political, religious etc. contexts of esotericism today. The conference should function as an interdisciplinary meeting place where scholars from a multitude of disciplines and with different approaches
and perspectives can come together to learn from each other.

The conference will function as the launching party for Contemporary Esotericism (Equinox Publishing, http://www.equinoxpub.com/equinox/books/showbook.asp?bkid=531), the first volume specifically dedicated to the study of esotericism in the
present day. In addition, The conference is arranged in conjunction with the 2012 EASR conference, also arranged in Stockholm, Sweden (at Södertörn University, August 23-26). Panels on esotericism are planned for the EASR as well, thus providing the opportunity to engage in extended discussion on these subjects, and of course lessening travel expenses.

IAHR African Trust Fund Research & Publication Grant Applications for 2012

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The IAHR African Trust Fund herewith young scholars in particular of any ethnic/national origin, working and/or studying in any higher academic or research institution on the African continent (and nearby islands), whose research project needs financial support or whose publication in an African publishing house (scientific journal) requires a subsidy.

Grant Amount: The total grant allocation for 2012 is US$4000. There will be two awards at the level of US$1000 and four awards at the level of US$500.

Eligibility Criteria: Applicants have to be scholars resident in Africa and associated with any higher academic or research institution within this context. We especially encourage applications from members to the IAHR member associations, namely the African Association for the Study of Religion (AASR), the Association for the Study of Religion in Southern Africa (ASRSA), the East African Association for the Study of Religion (EAASR) and the Nigerian Association for the Study of Religion (NASR).

Evaluation Mechanism & Criteria: Applications will be evaluated by the Board of Trustees of the IAHR African Trust Fund, and the board will consult specialists in the relevant fields when needed. Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  1. The originality, quality, importance and impact of the proposed study as it relates to the historical, social and comparative study of religion in the African continent (and nearby islands).
  2. Adherence to the best practices of research methodology and theory employed.
  3. The relevance of the study to the African continent (and nearby islands).

Submission Deadlines: Applications are open till 15th March 2012. Grant-winning applicants will be announced on 30th March 2012. Note that all grants will be awarded to the successful applicants in April 2012.

Conditions of Grants: Applicants who receive the grant should submit a copy of the publication or a research report (of no less than 5 pages) that summarises the project’s findings to the IAHR African Trust Fund. The publication or completed research project should acknowledge the support received in the form of an IAHR African Trust Fund Grant. The IAHR African Trust Fund will be allowed to reproduce or report the summary and parts of the report on the IAHR website, annual reports, and any other document or medium for the purpose of informing its stakeholders on the study findings. In all these publications, the authorship of the research will be clearly attributed to the applicant.

Application Form: Send a brief covering letter addressed to the IAHR African Trust Fund stating that your submission is for consideration for the IAHR African Trust Fund Grant and include the following required materials:

  1. Name of Applicant
  2. Email, Telephone Number and Mailing Address of the Applicant
  3. Name of University, Department, Research Centre or Institute
  4. Name(s) of IAHR African Member Association(s)
  5. Title of Research/Publication Proposal
  6. A research proposal of not more than four single-spaced pages detailing the aims/objectives, specific research questions, methodology and theoretical issues, the rationale and plan of research ( time frame), and a detailed, one-page budget should be attached, indicating the amount being applied for and the exact purposes for which it will be used. If application is for only publication purposes, also indicate to what specific journal or book and evidence of what sum is required for such publication.
  7. Brief curriculum vitae and a statement of qualifications that specifically addresses the research project.
  8. Include two letters of reference from senior scholars, one of whom MUST be a member, preferably an executive member of the IAHR member associations.

Completed applications forms are to be submitted as an electronic copy file in PDF or MS Word format in an attachment via email to the Secretary of the African Trust Fund Board of Trustees, Dr. Afe Adogame [A.Adogame@ed.ac.uk].

Please include in the electronic copy file the applicant’s last name e.g. Elizabeth.pdf / Elizabeth.doc. The subject line in the email should read “IAHR African Trust Fund Application 2012” – Note, no hard copies will be accepted.

For more information on the IAHR African Trust Fund Applications, please contact the Secretary of the African Trust Fund Board of Trustees at A.Adogame@ed.ac.uk

Call for Papers: “Religion and Social Inequality"

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The 36th Congress of the German Society for Sociolgy (Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Soziologie – DGS) will be held from October, 1st to 5th
2012 in Bochum and Dortmund.
http://www.dgs2012.de/english

The Section for Sociology of Religion is organizing a panel on during this conference. The call for paper is
only in German, http://www.dgs2012.de/wp-content/uploads/Sektionen/CfP_Sektion_Religionssoziologie.pdf
but papers in English are also very welcome.

In the early sociology of religion the relationship between social class and religion was a central topic. Weber for example analysed social strata as carriers of religious ideas. Following Weber this research question was picked up by Niebuhr in his exploration of the social sources of denominations and by Bourdieu in his analysis of the religious field. In the last decades, the problem of social inequality has been mostly neglected as a research question in the sociology of religion.

Papers presenting empirical findings, quantitative as well as qualitative, from a national or transnational perspective, about the
impact of social class and life conditions on religious beliefs, practices and affiliations are invited. The religions of the upper
classes and the lower classes, of the privileged and the “negatively privileged” are of special interest for this panel.

Please send abstracts of 2500 characters maximum (including spaces) until March 15th to the organizers:
Prof.Dr. Gert Pickel: pickel@rz.uni-leipzig.de
Dr. Kornelia Sammet: sammet@uni-leipzig.de

Call for Applications: Lisbon Summer School 2012: “Secularism, Gender and Democracy”

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Lisbon Summer School 2012: “Secularism, Gender and Democracy”
Time and Place: July 4-July 6, 2012 at the Centro de Estudos Sociais, Lisbon, Portugal (CES).

Invited Faculty
Veit Bader(Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Rajeev Bhargava (Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, India)
Chia Longman (University of Ghent, Belgium)

Website
https://sites.google.com/site/secularismgenderanddemocracy/
(The website will also in the near future cover information on the social programme during the summer school.)

The Lisbon Summer School 2012 has as its topic the contentious relationship between religion and politics, and the impact that this relationship has on gender issues. Religion undoubtedly plays an important role in contemporary societies: multiculturalism, migration and bioethical debates, among others, put religion in the spotlight, thereby calling for a redefinition of classical secularization theories. Today, the separation between religion and politics is being questioned more or less radically, as is the meaning and the substance of democracy. At the same time, European as well as non-European societies are experiencing a profound reshaping of their political landscapes. The Mediterranean area is especially affected by massive transformations – as can be seen in phenomena like the “Arab Spring” or the Spanish “indignados”–movement.

In these contexts, it has become clear that new modes of governance redraw the boundaries between  institutional actors and citizens, and create space for horizontal networks. Gender relations lie at the heart of these transformative processes. In Europe, gender relations have over the last 20 years become the focal point of controversies over the contested separation of religion and politics – the various “Hijab affairs” in many European countries attest to this fact.

This broad theme will be discussed on the three days of the summer school along the following lines:
1. We will look into contemporary configurations of secular regimes from a comparative and historical perspective.
2. We will scrutinize the manifold and complex ways in which gender is affected by, and at the same time itself affects, modes of religious governance in modern societies.
3. We will focus on the democratic challenges and opportunities that religious diversity creates within liberal political regimes.

The topic of this summer school is by definition interdisciplinary. Grasping the complex interface between religion and politics, and how they it impacts on gender and gender relations involves different disciplines, such as Political Science and Sociology, Gender Studies, Philosophy, Anthropology, Religious Studies and Theology. Each of these disciplines can offer original and in-depth insights into the topic of this summer school. Therefore, researchers and practitioners working in these academic fields are invited to apply. Both theoretical papers on the normative and conceptual problems, and empirical papers on case studies, comparative accounts, and historical trajectories are welcome.

In terms of teaching methodology, this summer school is based on the idea that only a productive dialogue between the faculty and the participants can promote the flourishing of democratic scholarship. Therefore, each of the three days of the summer school will consist of a morning session, with interactive presentations by the faculty, and of an afternoon session, featuring the individual presentations of the participants. Participants will hence have the unique opportunity to engage in critical conversations with the faculty, and discuss their own research projects. Faculty members will present original contributions to the topic as well as comment on the participants’ papers.

How to Apply  To participate in the summer school you must have at least completed a BA degree. Interested graduate students and postdoctoral researchers should go to the website and fill in the form there.

Deadline for Applications: April 1, 2012
Fees: 200 EUR
Language: The working language of the summer school is English.

Call for Papers: Public Benefit in the Study of Religion

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Call for Papers: Joint BASR/BSA-SOCREL panel on the ‘Public benefit in the study of religion’ with keynote panel speakers Prof. Eileen Barker and Prof. Douglas Davies. BASR annual conference, September 5-7 2012 University of Winchester.

The topic of the panel is how research has directly benefited ‘the public’. The panel will focus on two aspects of this broad theme as it relates to the study of religion: 1) What do we mean by ‘public benefit’?  How do we demonstrate it, measure it, communicate it and what are the practical and theoretical issues surrounding the idea of how the study of religion – or faith, or belief – can operate in the, or perhaps as a, public good? Are there theoretical problems in considering what is meant by ‘public’ or ‘benefit’ in different cultural and historical contexts? 2) What are some case examples of how research or teaching about religion has contributed to the public good? We are not asking here for examples about how ‘religion’ has contributed to the public but specifically how the study of and research on religion has done so.

Abstracts to Dr Abby Day a.f.day@kent.ac.uk and Dr Bettina Schmidt b.schmidt@tsd.ac.uk by 1 April 2012.

Public Lecture: “The Significance of Islam in Modern Europe”

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The Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies at the University of Western Sydney invites you to attend the second in its 2012 Public Lecture Series:

‘The Significance of Islam in Modern Europe’

Speaker: Professor Grace Davie, University of Exeter, UK

Date: Wednesday 14 March, 2012

Time: 13:30-15:00

Venue: UWS Bankstown Campus Building 1 Level 1 Room 119

Afternoon tea will served. Please RSVP to e.garcia@uws.edu.au by Friday 9 March.

Abstract

There are now sizeable Muslim communities in many European societies.  Their presence is a major topic of public debate, often for the wrong reasons.  This paper considers the disquiet that lies behind these not very well-informed commentaries; it then places the discussion in a broader perspective.  Several factors must be taken into account if we are to understand the significance of religion in modern Europe and the place of Islam within this.  They include cultural heritage; vicarious religion (the old model); a shift from obligation to consumption (the new model); new arrivals (including Muslims); secular reactions; and a rapidly changing global context.  Each of these factors will be taken in turn.

Grace Davie is professor emeritus in the Sociology of Religion in the University of Exeter.  She is a past-president of the American Association for the Sociology of Religion (2003) and of the Research Committee 22 (Sociology of Religion) of the International Sociological Association (2002-06).  In 2000-01 she was the Kerstin-Hesselgren Professor in the University of Uppsala, where she returned for the 2006-07 academic session and again in 2010.  In January 2008, she received an honorary degree from Uppsala.

In addition to numerous chapters and articles, she is the author of Religion in Britain since 1945 (Blackwell 1994), Religion in Modern Europe (OUP 2000), Europe: the Exceptional Case (DLT 2002) and The Sociology of Religion (Sage 2007); she co-author of Religious America, Secular Europe (Ashgate 2008), and co-editor of Predicting Religion (Ashgate 2003) and Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe (2 vols) (Ashgate 2010 and 2011).