all for Papers

Exploring Contemporary Muslim Art, Culture and Heritage in Britain
14th September 2017, Birmingham

Art and culture provide a means of communication, an alternative platform to share stories, celebrate contributions to society and challenge misconceptions and stereotypes. In Britain, Muslim art and culture are in transition as we see interchange between artists inspired by the traditional Islamic arts and those who are finding new ways of weaving together their British and Muslim identities. A rising generation is using artistic forms such as music, film, literature, photography, poetry and comedy to express themselves. As well as celebrating the diversity of British Muslim identity, these artists and cultural producers explore difficult issues and help bridge divides between communities.

This new world creates exciting opportunities but also uneasy tensions as to where these practices can fit in the traditional canons of visual and performing arts, the heritage and museum sectors, in literature and even popular culture in Britain. British Muslims often find it difficult to present their work in mainstream arts and cultural establishments such as theatres, galleries and museums. Many upcoming Muslim artists work alone and often struggle to fund their work. Furthermore, the persistence of stereotypical representations of Muslims in popular media and cultural industries makes it harder for Muslims in the arts and cultural sectors to reach a wide audience.

This one-day Muslims in Britain Research Network conference will create space for critical dialogue and community exchange by bringing aspiring and established Muslim artists and cultural producers together with eminent scholars and researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs and arts funders. The conference will provide a space to discuss, inform, connect and engage through a program of lectures, presentations, panel discussions and workshops. Cultural experts will share insights into the key factors affecting Muslim arts and culture in Britain and will address the practical questions facing Muslim artists in the UK – from applying for their first grant to running an arts organisation, from creating social change to establishing and receiving commissions for national and international work.

We invite the submission of papers, presentations, talks, session proposals, panel discussions, lightning talks, short performances to be presented on Thursday 14th September 2017 at a Birmingham venue (to be confirmed). We welcome proposals from scholars, curators, artists, cultural producers and programmers, and students and independent researchers. Sessions that include a mixture of scholars/researchers and practitioners are particularly encouraged. Although all paper proposals should speak to the theme of Muslim art and culture, we welcome submissions from individuals from any faith background and none.

Themes we hope to cover in the conference include:

• • How are Muslims in Britain exploring identity, belonging and social change through art, culture and heritage?
• • How are Muslim art and culture represented in the cultural sector in Britain? Are the cultural industries responding to British Muslims’ demand for culture?
• • What does contemporary ‘Muslim’ and ‘Islamic’ art mean?
• • How does contemporary British Muslim cultural production compare/relate to the past and to other cultural contexts?
• • How are Muslim arts in Britain developing?
• • What strategies are needed to grow, fund, and sustain Muslim cultural production without compromising on beliefs and creativity?

Individual presentations/responses should last no longer than 10-12 mins, and a full panel session no longer than one hour including audience Q&A.

To participate please send a 200 word abstract to the email address below by Monday 31st July 2017 along with a biography of no more than 50 words (per speaker).

Abstract submissions and any general questions should be sent to the conference organisers at muslimsinbritainrn@gmail.com

Selected academic papers and practitioner responses will be considered for publishing in a conference report and/or recorded and placed online.
http://www.mbrn.org.uk/muslim-art-conference-2017-cfp/

Conference update!

We are excited to announce an excellent line up for the 2017 conference with some great people presenting.  The deadline for the call for papers is 31st July, so if you’d like to present too, there’s still time. 
We have had some technical issues this year, so please email abstracts directly to Knut Tveitereid, with your name and contact details.  Abstracts should be no more than 200 words.  For more information, an outline timetable, and booking details, see the full conference page.  Conference places can be booked until 31st August.

If you have submitted an abstract already and have not heard from Knut, your original upload may not have arrived.  Please email him directly with your abstract and details.  We are really sorry if you have been waiting and have not been contacted.  With your help, we can get this straightened out very quickly. 

Looking forward to seeing you all in beautiful Durham!
Pete Ward, Sarah Dunlop and Knut Tveitereid
E+E conference team

THE NEW SUBJECTIVITIES OF GLOBAL CAPITALISM: SPIRITUALITY,PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE WORLD OF WORK

Guest speakers:

• Emma BELL (The Open University, UK)

• Ekaterina CHERTKOVSKAYA (Lund University,Sweden)

• François GAUTHIER (University of Fribourg, Switzerland)

• Scott TAYLOR (University of Birmingham, UK)

Conference organized by the Sociology Department of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Conference Dates: 18th – 20th of September 2017
Venue: Cluj-Napoca, Sociology Department, BBU       
Deadline for abstract submission:  7th of August 2017Notification for acceptance: 15th of August 2017

Abstracts of papers should be submitted to the following email addresses:

• Sorin Gog (soringog@yahoo.com ) or

• Anca Simionca (ancasimionca@gmail.com)

The current neo-liberal transformations of global capitalism have produced throughout the world lasting and significant changes. At the same time, they have generated new cultural ontologies, institutions and social practices which are embedded, appropriated and sometimes resisted in local political, religious and social contexts. This conference focuses on the emergence of new forms of subjectivities that encourages individuals to govern themselves by becoming more creative, competitive and entrepreneurial. An important aspect of the contemporary neo-liberal governmentality is represented by the role played by the various embodiments of a new spirit of capitalism based on an ethic of self-transformations that instills in its subjects a sense of responsibility,autonomy and most of all an immanent desire for authenticity. In this context we have witnessed in the past decade the emergence of new alternative religions and spiritualities, workshops for personal development, integrative and trans-personal psychologies, popular therapeutic expertise on management of thes elf; these new technologies of care for human resources that aim at socializing new subjectivities have spread not only in work environments and governmental agencies but also in educational establishments, healthcare and social work programs.

The aim of this conference is to explore on one hand the religious changes in contemporary society and the way these new spiritualities (yoga, theta healing,meditation, holotropic breathing, familial constellations, reiki. etc.) are becoming an important component not only of popular culture but of various professional fields (management, psychology, psychotherapy, medicine, sport,etc.) and shape a culture of neo-liberal subjectivities. On the other hand we want  to analyze the transformative changes of theneo-liberal economic environment, especially those sectors that experiment witha new spirit of capitalism through innovative forms of management of individuals and creative policies for developing human resources.

This conference aims to bring together scholars from a broad field of social sciences (anthropology, sociology, religious studies, political science,critical management studies) that are interested in the contemporary flourishing of new forms of subjectivities and in the role they play in contemporary capitalist societies. The goal of the conference is to discuss local instances of how neo-liberalism is reproduced through what appears as transformative ethics of self-realization and to analyze the mechanisms of generating ‘enterprising’ and ‘competitive’ subjectivities that are engaged in transforming their inner selves and their social environments in accordance with the prevailing economic rationalities. 

We welcome papers that:

• explore the new landscapes of religion and spirituality and ways in which these new cultural ontologies are appropriated by global capitalism;

• explore the role played by the spiritual and personal development programs in shaping a new sense of self that is adapted to the contemporary social and economic conditions;

• explore how the neoliberal economic transformations are contested and resisted by traditional religions and the way moral communities are creatively reframed in order to engage with these vast social and economic transformations.

• explore the transformations within the psy-disciplines and the role they have played in the implementation of technologies of intervention and in the popularization of devices self-production through the mass consumption of psychological expertise(therapies, clinical mediation, self-help literature); ·   

• explore the role played by the spiritual and personal development sector in further legitimizing the understanding of individuals as fully responsible for their employability and the outcome of their attempts to better position themselves within organizations or in the labor market.  ·   

• explore changes in the world of work through recent processes like de-proletarianisation or re-proletarianisation and the subsequent transformations of the workers’ sense of the self;

• analyze how the reconfiguration of regions as economic units transform the nature and experience of work. ·    any other topic related to neoliberal subjectivities in religions, organizations, work environments and popular culture. 

Participation, abstracts and registration

• The conference is open to all academics and MA/PhD Students working on related topics.

• Please submit an abstract of no more than 200 words before 7th of August 2017 to the following email addresses: Sorin Gog (soringog@yahoo.com) or Anca Simionca (ancasimionca@gmail.com).

• The authors will be notified about the acceptance of their abstracts before 15thof August 2017. There is no registration fee for this conference.

• Participants are expected however to cover for their travel to Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Upon request, the organizers can provide accommodation for a limited number of participants.

Colleagues

A reminder of the session I chair at the Sociology conference: https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/wc2018/webprogrampreliminary/Session9912.html :

Religious Texts of Diversity Vs Exclusion

RC22 Sociology of Religion 

Language: English

In the rising post-secular religio-cultural climate, exegetical eyes have been seeing anew that foundational Holy Texts often associated one-sidedly with social suppression in the ancient worlds had been read superficially, usually without much historical depth. However, in evolved libraries, as all Holy Texts and canons are, dominant religio-cultural ideals are as real as they are partial. Alternate voices are never fully silenced; some remain merely compromised through processes of canonisation and dominant interpretation. However, to see these competing theological streams in ancient texts requires eyes that see anew, with exegetes’ and other interpreters’ views having been steered by influential publications, events and trends or sensitivities within their societies. For this session, papers are invited that:

1. Analyse in foundational religious textual corpora (Holy Texts and key classical interpretative texts, moments and movements) the interplay between diversity and exclusion (with both latter terms which apply to all spheres of the human experience); and / or

2. Analyse key modern, post-modern and post-secular texts, moments and movements that have shaped the historical imagination of interpreters of these  foundational religious textual corpora; and / or

3. Bring aspects of 1 and 2 into interpretatively into play with one another.

Session Organizer:

Christo LOMBAARD, University of South Africa, South Africa, christolombaard@gmail.com

Please refer colleagues who might be interested, to this session.

More information at:

• http://www.isa-sociology.org/en/conferences/world-congress/toronto-2018/ and 
• http://www.isa-sociology.org/en/conferences/world-congress/toronto-2018/call-for-abstracts/

My best wishes

Christo

—

Prof. Christo Lombaard (PhD, DD)
Christelike Spiritualiteit        / Christian Spirituality
Universiteit van Suid-Afrika / University of South Africa

Call for Papers
ANU Religion Conference 2018
Theme: Sacred Sites/Sacred Stories: Global Perspectives
05-07 April 2018, ANU College of Asia & the Pacific,
The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Abstract Deadline: 15 October 2017
http://www.anu.edu.au/events/sacred-sitessacred-stories-global-perspectives

The study of sacred sites is a prominent feature in a number of disciplines. Sacred sites and stories and pilgrimage are the theme of the conference. Topics of enquiry range from the role of sacred sites in religious traditions, through to how sacred sites form part of the development of modern tourist industries, the role of sacred sites in international relations and the ways in which sacred sites can be the focus for disputes. At a time when many sacred sites and their stories face challenges due to economic development, environmental change and the impact of mass pilgrimage and tourism the conference offers an opportunity for wide-ranging discussions of the past, present and future of sacred sites and stories and their significance in the world today.
The conference will have the following panels:

•    Pilgrimage and Tourism
•    Historical Perspectives
•    Visual Arts and Architecture
•    Indigenous Traditions
•    Competition and Contestation

We welcome proposals for paper presentations that address the theme of one of these panels. Individual papers that are relevant to the main theme but are not aligned with any of the proposed panel streams will also be considered for presentation.

•    Panel Proposals. While proposals for individual papers are welcome, applicants are also encouraged to collaborate with peers to propose panels of 3-4 papers that converge on a particular theme.
In view of the major role that Australia and the Asia Pacific region plays in national and international discussions about sacred sites and sacred stories we particularly welcome panels on Asian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Pacific perspectives on sacred sites. We also welcome papers covering a range of time frames, from pre-history to the contemporary era, and from all traditions and locations.

If you are interested, please send your abstract (150 words), including a note of which stream your proposal addresses, and bio (80 words) to the following email (davidwj_kim@yahoo.co.uk). The conference fee is AU$350, but for masters students, doctoral candidates and early career researchers who do not have full-time positions the fee will be AU$250. The conference cost includes registration fee, conference dinner and refreshments. The two best papers submitted by HDR students will be awarded (AU$500 each). To be considered for this award, the full paper must be submitted at least one month before the conference (by 07 March 2018). There will be a limited number of bursaries available for some accepted masters students, doctoral candidates and early career researchers. Please note that those selected to receive bursaries will be informed of this before the conference but the bursaries will not be dispersed until the papers have been presented at the conference. In addition, selected papers may be considered for publication in a book volume.

Contacts:
Dr David W. Kim (Australian National University)
Email: davidwj_kim@yahoo.co.uk
Dr Peter Friedlander (Australian National University)
Email: peter.friedlander@anu.edu.au
A/Prof McComas Taylor (Australian National University)
Email: mccomas.taylor@anu.edu.au
Dr Barbara Nelson (Australian National University)
Email: barbara.nelson@anu.edu.au

Call for Papers
ANU Religion Conference 2018
Theme: Sacred Sites/Sacred Stories: Global Perspectives
05-07 April 2018, ANU College of Asia & the Pacific,
The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Abstract Deadline: 15 October 2017
http://www.anu.edu.au/events/sacred-sitessacred-stories-global-perspectives

The study of sacred sites is a prominent feature in a number of disciplines. Sacred sites and stories and pilgrimage are the theme of the conference. Topics of enquiry range from the role of sacred sites in religious traditions, through to how sacred sites form part of the development of modern tourist industries, the role of sacred sites in international relations and the ways in which sacred sites can be the focus for disputes. At a time when many sacred sites and their stories face challenges due to economic development, environmental change and the impact of mass pilgrimage and tourism the conference offers an opportunity for wide-ranging discussions of the past, present and future of sacred sites and stories and their significance in the world today.
The conference will have the following panels:

•    Pilgrimage and Tourism
•    Historical Perspectives
•    Visual Arts and Architecture
•    Indigenous Traditions
•    Competition and Contestation

We welcome proposals for paper presentations that address the theme of one of these panels. Individual papers that are relevant to the main theme but are not aligned with any of the proposed panel streams will also be considered for presentation.

•    Panel Proposals. While proposals for individual papers are welcome, applicants are also encouraged to collaborate with peers to propose panels of 3-4 papers that converge on a particular theme.
In view of the major role that Australia and the Asia Pacific region plays in national and international discussions about sacred sites and sacred stories we particularly welcome panels on Asian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Pacific perspectives on sacred sites. We also welcome papers covering a range of time frames, from pre-history to the contemporary era, and from all traditions and locations.

If you are interested, please send your abstract (150 words), including a note of which stream your proposal addresses, and bio (80 words) to the following email (davidwj_kim@yahoo.co.uk). The conference fee is AU$350, but for masters students, doctoral candidates and early career researchers who do not have full-time positions the fee will be AU$250. The conference cost includes registration fee, conference dinner and refreshments. The two best papers submitted by HDR students will be awarded (AU$500 each). To be considered for this award, the full paper must be submitted at least one month before the conference (by 07 March 2018). There will be a limited number of bursaries available for some accepted masters students, doctoral candidates and early career researchers. Please note that those selected to receive bursaries will be informed of this before the conference but the bursaries will not be dispersed until the papers have been presented at the conference. In addition, selected papers may be considered for publication in a book volume.

Contacts:
Dr David W. Kim (Australian National University)
Email: davidwj_kim@yahoo.co.uk
Dr Peter Friedlander (Australian National University)
Email: peter.friedlander@anu.edu.au
A/Prof McComas Taylor (Australian National University)
Email: mccomas.taylor@anu.edu.au
Dr Barbara Nelson (Australian National University)
Email: barbara.nelson@anu.edu.au