Category Archives: Conferences

The call for papers: Biennial Conference of the Finnish Anthropological

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The call for papers for the Biennial Conference of the Finnish Anthropological society.

The conference will take place in the University of Jyväskylä between the 22th and the 23rd of May.

I invite you to submit a paper to the panel Neoliberal employment policies and the production of difference.

If you are interested send your name, affiliation, contact information, the title of your paper, the abstract (max. 200 words), and the name of the panel to the two following emails:

Mobilityconference2017@gmail.com
Francisco.arqueros@nuim.ie
Neoliberal employment policies and the production of difference
Organizer: Francisco Arqueros-Fernandez, National University of Ireland

The Welfare State, contrary to common belief in most anthropological literature, has not been dismantled nor has significantly shrunk in the EU; rather, it has changed its character. Some of the aspects of this change have been a process of privatisation by a progressive handing of management to the third sector of State welfare programs and the adoption of the ideology of Neoliberalism.

This shift has affected state employment policies. The state has delegated to the private sector and the “free market” the creation of employment, and has progressively reduced employment polices to the implementation of Active Employment Policies (AEPs). These processes have contributed to the “production of boundaries”, and therefore the “production and reproduction of difference” between different groups of workers, rather than to the closing of them.

Embodied social phenomena such as ethnicity, gender and class constitute grounds for the social production of difference among workers, and the construction of a segmented labour market.

This panel intends to explore how Active Employment Policies contribute to the reproduction of social stereotypes between groups of immigrant and local workers, particularly at the lower end of the labour market; how different groups of workers are categorized as fit for certain types of jobs while excluded from others; how these policies determine their incomes and social status; how despite their intentions these policies do not produce equal individuals before the market; what has been the role of the voluntary and the private sectors in the implementation of AEPs; who are the beneficiaries of these policies; etc. This panel calls for papers dealing with the topics described above, mainly located in EU countries.

Call for Papers: New Perspectives on Science and Religion in Society

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Call for Papers: New Perspectives on Science and Religion in Society
Please note: bursary supported places available.
Thursday 29th June – Saturday 1st July 2017
Chancellors Hotel and Conference Centre, Manchester, UK.
 
Organised in partnership between by Newman University, UK, University of Kent, UK, York University, Canada, and Kent State University, USA.
 
In the last decade there has been significant growth in social scientific scholarship on science and religion, complementing the more established historical research into the subject. Greater attention is being paid to the varied ways in which perceptions of science are influenced by religious and non-religious belief, identity, community and conflict in different geographical, cultural and historical contexts. The purpose of this international conference is to bring together researchers with backgrounds in history, anthropology, sociology, STS, psychology, political science and related humanities and social science disciplines to discuss perspectives on the overarching topic of science and religion in society.
 
Abstracts are invited for the conference relating to the following themes:
 
  • The social scientific and historical study of the relationship between science and religious and/or non-religious belief and identity;
  • Public perceptions of the relationship between science, religion and non-religion and their respective roles in society;
  • National and international comparative perspectives on the study of science, religion and belief in society;
  • Past and present media or popular representations of science and religion;
  • The past or present roles of science, rationalism, religion and belief in national, social or cultural identity and related geopolitical narratives;
  • Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of science, religion and non-religion in society;
  • Methodological approaches to, and issues in, the study of science and religion in society;
  • Avenues for future research and developments within the social scientific and historical study of science and religion.
We are interested in papers that relate to any aspect of STEMM in society (science, technology, engineering, medicine, and mathematics) and that discuss any religious tradition or non-religious belief system, including unbelief.
 
Individual Paper submissions:
To submit a paper proposal, please send an abstract of no more than 300 words, alongside a biographical note of no more than 100 words including name, institutional affiliation and email address.
 
Panel session proposals:
We will also be accepting a limited number of panel proposals with a maximum of four speakers. To submit  a panel proposal, please send a session summary of no more than 250 words alongside abstracts of no more than 300 words for each paper and biographical note of no more than 100 words for each contributor.
 
Individual or panel session submissions may cross over several of the themes listed above and those intending to submit papers are encouraged to consider the relevance of their work to other academic disciplines.
 
Please send all individual paper and session proposals to events.sres@newman.ac.uk for the attention of the conference organizers, Dr Stephen Jones, Dr Emma Preece and Dr James Thompson.
 
All abstracts must be submitted by 3rd March 2017.
 
Conference Bursaries:
A limited number of bursaries are available to support postgraduate, early career, retired, low income or unwaged presenters. These will cover conference transport costs (to a maximum of £150 for UK participants and £800 for international participants), registration, catering and accommodation for up to 3 nights. Please complete the bursary form, including your contact details, a short biography (including a clear statement regarding your career stage), your abstract and a statement of interest to be considered for one of the bursaries. The deadline for submission of bursary applications is 3rdMarch 2017.
 
The bursary application form can be found at the following address:
 
 
Key Dates:
Abstract submission: Open now
Deadline for abstracts and conference bursary applications: 3rd March 2017
Decision notification: 17th March 2017
Registration opens: 20th March 2017
Registration deadline for presenters: 14th April 2017
Registration closes: 30th April 2017
 
Should you have other questions about the conference please contact the conference organisers at events.sres@newman.ac.uk.
 
For further details, visit the conference webpage at:
 
 
The conference is being held as part of the project ‘Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum’ based at Newman University, UK, University of Kent, UK, York University, Canada, and Kent State University, USA. For more information visit:
 

http://sciencereligionspectrum.org/about-2/ 

Call for Papers: Religion in Social Movements, Rebellions and Revolutions

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Call for Papers: Religion in Social Movements, Rebellions and Revolutions

Panel proposal to the Association for Sociology of Religion Annual Meeting Montreal, Canada August 13-14, 2017

Karl Marx’s quotation that religion is the “opium is the people” is frequently taken out of context and misunderstood. In the same passage, he also wrote religion is “an expression of real suffering and a protest against” it. Historically, religion has not only been a source of domination but also an instrument of social change.

A classic example of this is the English Revolution, which was the first political revolution and otherwise known as the Puritan Revolution. However, successful revolutions, as Charles Tilly has pointed out, have only taken place under monarchies and dictatorships. In modern democratic societies, protest against the dominant power structure has often taken the form of social movements.

For this panel, we invite papers that explore the relationship between religion, social movements, rebellion and revolutions. We are interested in the role that religion has played in: peasant, slave, and plebeian rebellions; modern revolutions including but not limited to the English, French, Russian, Chinese and Iranian; and social movements. This includes but is not limited to prophetic and messianic movements, heretical sects, religious communism, secular religions, and liberation theology.

The intent of this panel is for papers to be turned into manuscripts to ultimately be published in an edited volume or a special issue of a journal.

Deadline for Proposals: March 15, 2017

Please send them in MS Word by e-mail to:  Jean-Pierre Reed, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, reedjp@siu.edu and Warren S. Goldstein, Center for Critical Research on Religion, goldstein@criticaltheoryofreligion.org

Call For Papers: The Durham Conference on Ecclesiology & Ethnography

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The Durham Conference on Ecclesiology & Ethnography

12th-14th September 2017 | St John’s College, Durham

Call for Papers for the 2017 Ecclesiology and Ethnography Conference in Durham is now live on their website.

They welcome papers that explore the dynamic relationship between the theological and the lived in ecclesiology.

This conference is part of The Network for Ecclesiology & Ethnography, which seeks to draw together scholars working with theological approaches to qualitative research on the Christian Church. We encourage single and multi-authored papers. All papers are to be circulated prior to the event to enhance conference conversations and interaction.

Please see the link below for more information.

http://www.ecclesiologyandethnography.com/call-for-papers-durham-2017/

Call For Papers: The Durham Conference on Ecclesiology & Ethnography

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The Durham Conference on Ecclesiology & Ethnography

12th-14th September 2017 | St John’s College, Durham

Call for Papers for the 2017 Ecclesiology and Ethnography Conference in Durham is now live on their website.

They welcome papers that explore the dynamic relationship between the theological and the lived in ecclesiology.

This conference is part of The Network for Ecclesiology & Ethnography, which seeks to draw together scholars working with theological approaches to qualitative research on the Christian Church. We encourage single and multi-authored papers. All papers are to be circulated prior to the event to enhance conference conversations and interaction.

Please see the link below for more information.

http://www.ecclesiologyandethnography.com/call-for-papers-durham-2017/

Call for Papers: Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion and Guimaras State College

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Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion and Guimaras State College in Partnership with Up Socius and Philippine Association for the Study of Culture, History, and Religion 

Revisiting Sanctity in the Age of Late Modernity: Religion as an Enabling and Constraining Social Structure

DATE: May 16-18, 2017

VENUE: Guimaras State College, McLain, Buenavista, Guimaras

The relevance of religion in the history of human civilization and the development of the social sciences cannot be denied. Regarded as the ultimate non-material social fact, religion in its various forms have served as a cultural universal that continues to influence the direction of social change in both global and local societies. This embeddedness of religion in social life has piqued the curiosities of various scholars over the centuries.

Please see the attachment below for more information.

PASR Call For Papers

Call for Papers: Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion and Guimaras State College

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Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion and Guimaras State College in Partnership with Up Socius and Philippine Association for the Study of Culture, History, and Religion 

Revisiting Sanctity in the Age of Late Modernity: Religion as an Enabling and Constraining Social Structure

DATE: May 16-18, 2017

VENUE: Guimaras State College, McLain, Buenavista, Guimaras

The relevance of religion in the history of human civilization and the development of the social sciences cannot be denied. Regarded as the ultimate non-material social fact, religion in its various forms have served as a cultural universal that continues to influence the direction of social change in both global and local societies. This embeddedness of religion in social life has piqued the curiosities of various scholars over the centuries.

Please see the attachment below for more information.

PASR Call For Papers

Call for Session Proposals: ISA Research Committee on the Sociology of Religion (RC22)

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XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology
Power, Violence and Justice: Reflections, Responses and Responsibilities
Toronto, Canada, July 15-21, 2018

RESEARCH COMMITTEE 22: SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION: Religion, Power, and Resistance: New Ideas for a Divided World

NOW OPEN – Call for Session Proposals: ISA Research Committee on the Sociology of Religion (RC22): https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/wc2018/rc/cfs.cgi?

Program Coordinators:

  • Anna Halafoff, Deakin University, Australia
  • Sam Han, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
  • Caroline Starkey, University of Leeds, UK

Current environmental, economic, social, and political challenges indicate that people are losing faith in existing power structures and mechanisms for coping with crises. This creates increasingly divided societies, riven by ideological battles for the future of the human and the more than human world. Religion has a place in this picture. Not only is it often a source of divisions; it can also be a source for alternative means of addressing them.

These divisions take new and as yet unclear shapes, which sociologists are only now beginning to comprehend. It is not enough to refer to the struggle between ‘tradition’ and ‘modernity’, terms that dominated sociology through the 1970s. Nor do the tropes ‘colonialism vs. anti-colonialism’ and the ‘clash of civilizations’ adequately explain what is going on. Nor, arguably, does ‘populism vs neo-liberalism’ fully capture such things as the recent clashes between cosmopolitan and anticosmopolitan actors in the major Western democracies. Each of these has a piece of the picture; none of them captures it all.

What is religion’s role in this situation: as a creator of divisions, as a locus of power, and as a ground of resistance?  How does religion influence our divided societies? How is religion influenced in turn?

We invite proposals for RC22 sessions that focus on religion, power, intersectional violence, and social divisions, and also resistance to power, violence, and division. We encourage sessions that explore the nexus between:

  • religion and global capitalism;
  • religion and colonialism;
  • religion and nationalism;
  • religion and racism;
  • religion and violent extremism;
  • religion and gender inequality;
  • religion and sexuality inequality;
  • religion and environmental crises;
  • religion and resistance to power and violence; and
  • other topics that speak to religion’s role in a divided world.

We particularly encourage a focus on new ideas. We thus encourage sessions on:

  • post-colonial, Southern and Eastern social theories;
  • gender and sexuality equality;
  • violent and nonviolent social movements;
  • human rights and peacebuilding;
  • third spaces, digital activism, and other new phenomena.

Above all, we seek new ways of understanding religion in our divided world.

The ISA CONFEX website site will be open to session proposals between 2 February and 15 March, 2017 24:00 GMT.

https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/wc2018/rc/cfs.cgi?

We welcome both pre-organised invited sessions, topical sessions that will be open to paper proposals by individuals, and poster sessions and roundtable proposals.

Once the sessions are chosen, individuals will have an opportunity to propose individual papers for those sessions, from April 25 to September 30, 2017 24:00 GMT, also at the CONFEX website.

Please address any questions to the Program Coordinators:

A two-day conference at the University of York: Fresh Perspectives on Pilgrimage and Place

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‘Fresh Perspectives on Pilgrimage and Place’

A two-day conference at the University of York July 18-19, 2017 

Background In autumn 2017 an interdisciplinary team (History, Social Anthropology, Religious Studies, Theology, Archaeology, Art History and 3D visualisation) from the University of York, Open University and University of Toronto will complete a 3 year Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project on ‘Pilgrimage and England’s Cathedrals, Past and Present’. The project focuses on cathedrals as unique ‘laboratories’ in which to examine wider questions about the meanings and experience of pilgrimage and sacred space through the centuries.

 

Conference This conference is designed as an opportunity to share project research outcomes in conversation with others working in the fields of pilgrimage and both journey- and place-related spirituality. We therefore invite proposals from individuals (20 minute papers) or groups/networks (90 minute sessions). Proposals (up to 250 words) should be sent to Dr Dee Dyas (dee.dyas@york.ac.uk) by March 1, 2017. Those invited to present papers will be notified by March 21.

 

Seminar at University of Agder, Kristiansand

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The Repstad Seminar: Studying Religion in Contemporary Society

This open seminar takes the scholarly work of our colleague professor Pål Repstad as its point of departure. As he is about to retire from his ordinary position at the University of Agder, we give him and ourselves this opportunity to discuss some of his main scholarly interests and perspectives. The seminar concentrates on a further clarification of the social science contribution to the understanding of religiousness in late modern societies. The symposium will also discuss the relevance of social science studies of religion for other scholarly disciplines.

Pål Repstad is professor in sociology of religion at University of Agder, Norway. He has written extensively on changes in contemporary religion, especially about religion in the Nordic countries. Books by him have been translated into Swedish, Danish, English, Bosnian, Turkish and Persian. He has been editor of Nordic Journal of Religion and Society for many years. His most well-known book in English is An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion (2006, co-authored with Inger Furseth). He is an honorary doctor at Uppsala University.

Program

Tuesday May 23, 2017

1015 Welcome

1025: Pål Repstad, University of Agder: Sociology of religion in contexts

1045: Jim Beckford, University of Warwick: Religious diversity: Sociological issues and perspectives

1130: Lunch

1215: Mia Lövheim, Uppsala University: Mediatization and religion: reflections on the usefulness of a difficult word

1245: Inger Furseth, University of Oslo: Religious complexity. Using complexity theory to understand multiple trends

1315: Anne Løvland, University of Agder: Social semiotics in the study of religion

1335: Break

1350: Ida Marie Høeg, University of Agder: Lived religion – a tool in theorizing varieties of religion, spirituality and non-religion? The case of new death rituals

1415: Jan-Olav Henriksen, MF Norwegian School of Theology/University of Agder and Paul Leer-Salvesen, University of Agder: Empirically informed theology

1500: Coffee Break

1530: Former Master and PhD candidates supervised by Pål Repstad present their work (10 minutes each):

Nils Justvik: Sports among Conservative Christians – from sin to a gift from God

Irene Trysnes: Camping with God. Roles and rituals at Christian summer festivals for young people

Tomas Rasmussen: Street Religion – Faith among Romanian beggars in Kristiansand

Kristina Grundetjern: The trek and the target. A pilgrimage in Norway

Bjarte Leer-Helgesen: Preaching to Mourners

Tale Steen-Johnsen: Is anyone listening? Religious leaders building peace in times of violent conflict

1645: Pål Repstad: Summing Up

1700: End of seminar

1900: Dinner

Exhibition

Pål Repstad has for many years been an eager collector of small commercial religious objects. After the seminar, an exhibition based on his collection will open in the university library, with a brief reflection from Pål about what such objects can tell us about contemporary religious trends. After that, there will be mingling and a dinner.

Practicalities

Venue

University of Agder, Campus Kristiansand

http://www.uia.no/en/about-uia/campus-kristiansand

Accommodation

The University of Agder has agreements with the following hotels

  • Thon Hotel Kristiansand
  • Scandic Dyreparken Kristiansand
  • Comfort Hotel, Kristiansand
  • Scandic Kristiansand Bystranda
  • Radisson Blue Caledonien Krs
  • Clarion Hotel Ernst

When booking be sure to mention that you will participate at a conference at the University of Agder to get a reduced price.

A low-cost alternative may be

  • Sjøgløtt Hotell Kristiansand

Registration

https://eras.uia.no/reg.php?id=1903

Please register before April 1, 2017

There is no conference fee and the dinner is complementary of the University of Agder.

Contact and further information:

Hans Hodne, Head of Department

Telephone: 38 14 20 66

Mobile: 416 75 581

hans.hodne@uia.no