Category Archives: Conferences

Call for Papers: Unregistered Muslim Marriages – Regulations and Contestation

Posted on by

Organizers:
Dr Rajnaara Akhtar, De Montfort University, Leicester
Prof. Annelies Moors, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Institute for
Social Science Research

Venue and date: De Montfort University, Leicester, 24-25 April 2017

Theme: Non-state registered Muslim marriages

Non-state registered Muslim marriages or ‘unregistered marriages’ have increasingly become the focus of public policy debates both in Muslim-majority countries and in settings where Muslims are a minority. While the regulation and registration of marriages have a long history tied up with the emergence of the modern nation-state, during the last decades both state institutions and religious authorities have shown a renewed interest in debates about registration, the validity of non state-registered marriages and the effects of non-registration.  An often-simultaneous discourse has also emerged pertaining to the private informal space occupied by couples who choose to circumvent registration, and the manner and form of intervention within this private space by other interested parties, including by parents, kin, community and/or religious bodies.

This two-day multidisciplinary symposium will bring together researchers who have engaged in concrete empirical research on unregistered marriages.

For more information, see: http://wp.me/p4uVdC-i2
Best regards,
Martijn de Koning

Conference: Penser les religiosités en perspective de genre : axes, approches et problématisations

Posted on by

Pour info :
http://historiadelasmujeres2017.filo.uba.ar/
[MT 66]Penser les religiosités en perspective de genre : axes, approches et problématisations

Résumé:

Analyser le social à partir d’une perspective de genre implique inéluctablement de rendre compte de l’historicité politique et épistémologique du concept. Le genre comme catégorie heuristique reste très fortement liée aux débats et aux luttes des mouvements des femmes, ainsi qu’aux tentatives de systématisations à partir des théories féministes. Dans cette perspective, la difficulté pour le savoir féministe –approche théorique et praxis politique- réside en ceci qu’il ne s’avère guère facile d’analyser et repenser le binôme genre et religion. Plus encore, si nous employons ces deux catégories dans le contexte latino-américain qui nous oblige à poser la question de la relation entre genre et pouvoir : pour paraphraser Spivak (1985), « les femmes peuvent-elles parler ? », « Quelles positions occupent-elles face à la colonialité du pouvoir (Lugones, 2008) ? Comment son monde-communauté (Segato, 2014) se conforme à la coloniale-modernité ?

Cette table ronde se veut un espace de réflexion sur la relation complexe entre les études du genre et les études sur le phénomène religieux (Tarducci, 2002). Nous cherchons à problématiser le peu d’intérêt que les ces dernières montrent vis-à-vis des expériences et processus religieux, du fait de leur lien explicite ou sous-jacent entre une idéologie hétéro-normée, la suprématie – ou domination selon Bourdieu (1998) – masculine et les différents systèmes de croyance. Bien que nous devions reconnaître la faiblesse de la production scientifique sur la religion à partir d’une perspective de genre, par rapport au développement de la sociologie, de l’histoire et de l’anthropologie des sciences, il nous apparaît essentiel de réaliser une étude des pratiques, discours, et représentations de la religion à partir d’une perspective glocale et de genre. De même, il apparaît intéressant de comprendre la portée de la subjectivité et la corporalité comme dimensions et catégorie d’analyses dans le cadre d’une perspective de genre et des études sur la religion.

Aussi, nous invitons à participer ceux qui – dans le cadre de l’anthropologie, la sociologie, l’histoire, la littérature et les disciplines connexes, abordent des questions et problématiques comme :

  • 1)    Les processus de gestion et/ou résistance de la normativité religieuse à partir d’une perspective de genre ;
  • 2)    Les pratiques et les sens donnés au respect et/ou à la transformation de la normativité sexuelle et familiales dans le cadre des différentes cosmovisions religieuses à partir d’une perspective interdisciplinaire ;
  • 3)    La construction de la féminité et de la masculinité religieuse et l’existence de différentes formes d’agencements et de religiosités selon le genre ;
  • 4)    Mouvements et théologies féministes et LGTBQI dans le cadre des différentes traditions et mouvements religieux ;
  • 5)    Processus de conversion religieuse, transformation du self, identité et subjectivités dans une perspective de genre ;
  • 6)    Les différentes formes que le corps sexué traverse performance, rituels, leadership, et sociabilités religieuses ;
  • 7)    Erotismes, sexualités et récits amoureux dans différentes traditions et/ou communautés religieuses ;
  • 8)    Les défis, débats et contributions théorico-méthodologiques à partir d’une approche transdisciplinaire et intersectionnelle dans les différentes champs d’études.

Coordinatrices :

First International Congress of the Chilean Society for the Sciences of Religions

Posted on by

Conference Theme: Dialog, education and religious tolerance

Concepción – Chile From May 23 to 26, 2017

For the first time, the Chilean Society for the Sciences of Religions will organize a congress dedicated to the dissemination of research works from the academic world. It is important to promote a continuous progress in the research on the religious phenomenon in Latin America from a non-denominational stance. For this reason, we think it is important to create spaces for disseminating the work of Chilean and foreigner researchers. In accordance with the requests received from several colleagues, in this Second Call we invite you to send free papers. Thematic lines for the symposium papers

  • 1) Theory and methodology in the study of religions
  • 2) Phenomenology of religions
  • 3) Symbology and Art in religion
  • 4) Islam and Islamophobia
  • 5) Modern religious movements
  • 6) Anthropology and sociology of religions
  • 7) History of religious institutions
  • 8) Literature and religion: Sacred texts
  • 9) Religion, politics and gender studies
  • 10) Psychology of religions
  • 11) Education and religion
  • 12) Ecclesiastical law
  • 13) Religions in classical antiquity
  • 14) Church-state relationships in Latin America
  • 15) Archeology and religiosity in prehistoric times
  • 16) Iconography and religious cultural heritage
  • 17) Religions and human rights
  • 18) Far East Religions
  • 19) Philosophy of religions
  • 20) Popular and ethnic religiosity in Latin America

Presentation of papers On the www.schcr.cl website, you can look into the “Simposios Aceptados” section in order to send a summary of your paper proposal to the coordinator of each working group. In case your paper proposal does not fit any of the symposia, it must be sent as a free paper, which will be assessed by the Scientific Committee of the Congress, and included in special symposia coordinated by the Organizing Committee.

The e-mail for sending free papers is: schcr2017@gmail.com IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THOROUGHLY THE DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCEPTED SYMPOSIA, SO THAT YOU CAN SEND THE PAPER PROPOSAL DIRECTLY TO THE COORDINATORS. Only in case no symposium fits your proposal, this must be sent to the organization as a free paper.

MORE DETAILS AT http://www.schcr.cl/circular/SecondCallSCHCR.pdf

Conference on “Remembering Beliefs – the shifting worlds of religion and faith in secular society”

Posted on by

The Annual Conference of the Oral History Society in conjunction with Newman University and Leeds Trinity University

Conference Topic: Remembering  Beliefs – the shifting worlds of religion and faith in secular society

Friday, 14th and Saturday, 15th July, 2017 at Leeds Trinity University, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 5HD

In recent years, belief and non belief have developed new significance. What might once have been valued as something individual and private in many contexts only a generation ago can now be a matter of open identification and even confrontation and judgement. In seeking to understand what has changed, memory has an important part to play: identifying how belief and non belief have played out at the level of family, community and society; recognising how people engage in the practices of belief and experience the institutions of organised religion. For reasons perhaps of prejudice, perspective and communal difference oral historians have largely neglected the topic of belief and non belief.

Going beyond studies which have focused on those with religious conviction, oral history offers the possibility to move debate outside the confines of institutionalised religion both conceptually and practically, pushing the boundaries of what is meant by belief. Indeed, it offers the ideal approach to understanding manifestations of belief and secularism at an individual level while tracking their relationship to shifting expressions of broader cultural norms and the conferment of identity. Tackling this exciting agenda, the remit of the Conference will be broad but contributions should focus on an oral history in relation to the following:

  • methodological challenges in understanding belief, secularism and religion
  • understanding the process of secularisation through oral history testimonies
  • inter-subjectivity in interviews on belief and non belief
  • the role belief plays in shaping memory
  • exploring the interface of religion, belief and cultural/ national identities
  • belief and education
  • belief and non belief in social, political and cultural transformations
  • shifting the narratives of religion away from an institutional base
  • gender and established religious institutions
  • sects and movements

Keynote speakers: Professor Callum Brown, University of Glasgow; Dr Abby Day, Goldsmiths, University of London; Dr Tina Block, Thompson Rivers University, British Columbia. After-Dinner Speaker, Friday, 14 July: Bruce Kent

Download the conference Call for Papers here.

All proposals for oral history-based contributions, including papers, panels, presentations, workshops, posters and displays should be submitted by 16th December 2016 to OHSConf2017@ohs.org.uk

SISR/ISSR July 2017 Conference moved to Lausanne; Call for Session Proposals Extended to October 25th

Posted on by

Dear Colleagues:

We are writing to let you know that the SISR/ISSR Executive has made the decision to hold the 2017 conference in Lausanne, Switzerland from 4-7 July 2017, instead of in Melbourne Australia. Only very recently has it become clear that a conference in Melbourne would not be possible for financial reasons. The Executive has had to decide quickly in order to be able to guarantee a conference in 2017.  

We thank the Australian local committee and its president, Bob Dixon, for their efforts and energy and we will be able to use a considerable amount of their work for the Lausanne conference. We also hope that a ISSR conference in Australia will be possible some time in the future.

The conference in Lausanne will keep the theme “Religion, Cooperation, and Conflict in Diverse Societies”.

Because of the relocation, we make a second call for session proposals to give members a chance who would consider coming to Lausanne but would not have been able to go to Melbourne.

You can again propose until October 25th:

  • Thematic session – A session with papers on a common theme. If the theme attracts many papers, the thematic session may stretch over several slots.
  • Working Group session – A session of papers presented by those who work together on a specific project.
  • New Research Forum – Intended for students and young researchers (PhDs). The NRF usually have two sessions with a common theme and a session for free papers that do not fit into     the other ISSR thematic sessions.
  • Author Meets Critics session – A session in which an author meets scholars who criticize his/her book and responds.

The conference is bilingual.  Sessions may be in French, in English, or both.

Please submit your session proposals via our system: http://sisr-issr-conference-submission-2017.com/index.php/test/rccds2017   Before doing so, please consult instructions for conference submissions: https://www.sisr-issr.org/en/conference/instructions-for-registration-on-the-open-conference-system-religion-cooperation-and-conflict-in-diverse-societies

Attention: This is not yet the call for individual paper proposals. The call for paper proposals will be opened in mid-November.

This is a late change of plans and we apologize for any inconvenience to our members. We are convinced, however, that the ISSR conference at the new venue in Lausanne will be a success and we hope very much to meet you there.

With best wishes,

Jörg Stolz
President of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion

Deadline for SISR/ISSR Session Proposals is September 15th

Posted on by

We kindly remind you that the deadline for submitting sessions proposals for the next ISSR conference “Religion, Cooperation, and Conflict in Diverse Societies”, Melbourne, Australia, 3-7 July, 2017  is 15th September 2016.

You can find more information on the conference and on proposing a Thematic Session on the ISSR web-site: https://www.sisr-issr.org/en/conference/conference-2017-religion-cooperation-and-conflict-in-diverse-societies.

Please note that only members in good standing can be session organizers. You may pay your membership for the 2016-2017 period following this link: https://www.sisr-issr.org/en/membership

The ISSR published also the Call for the ISSR Workshop Grant and the Call for the Best Book Award:https://www.sisr-issr.org/en/awards-and-grant The deadline for both Calls is 15th September 2016 as well.

Kind regards,

Siniša Zrinščak

ISSR General Secretary

Thank you from the organizers of the Nordic Conference for the Sociology of Religion

Posted on by

Thank you!

We, the whole organizing team, wish to thank all the conference participants!

From our distinguished keynote speakers Anne Birgitta Pessi, Courtney Bender, Jörg Stolz and Nancy Ammerman to students and first time attendees, you were the ones who made the conference possible!

We also want to thank our supporters, who helped to make the conference an enjoyable experience:

  • Federation of Finnish Learned Societies
  • Church Research Institute
  • Helsinki Parish Union
  • Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
  • RelSoc

And finally, thank you to each and everyone of you and us, the friends of Nordic Sociology of Religion – whether you made it to this year’s meeting or not! We’re looking forward to the next conferences  – and all the fruitful collaboration in-between the meetings!
On behalf of the Finnish organizing team,

Kati Tervo-Niemelä and Jenni Spännäri

Nordic Journal of Religion and Society is happy to consider your articles for publication! Deadline for submissions November 15th. Click the link for more information!

The next NCSR will be organized in Oslo, 2.-4. August 2018. See you there!

7th International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Posted on by

Imperial College London, London, UK
17-18 April 2017

SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

2017 Call for Papers

We invite proposals for paper presentations, workshops/interactive sessions, posters/exhibits, or colloquia addressing one of the following themes:

  • THEME 1: RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS
  • THEME 2: RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY AND SOCIALIZATION
  • THEME 3: RELIGIOUS COMMONALITIES AND DIFFERENCES
  • THEME 4: THE POLITICS OF RELIGION​
  • 2017 Special Focus: Respecting Difference, Understanding Globalism

For information: http://religioninsociety.com/2017-conference/call-for-papers

European Academy of Religion launching event, Bologna, 5 December, 2016

Posted on by

Hon. Valerio Onida and Professor Alberto Melloni on behalf of the Foundation for Religious Studies, together with the Rector of the University of Bologna Francesco Ubertini and the Minister for Education, University and Research Stefania Giannini, are glad to invite you to join the launching event of the European Academy of Religion in Bologna, on December 5th 2016, under thePatronage of the European Parliament.

Scholars, Representatives of Scientific Societies and Academies, Research Centers, Journals,Publishers and Political Authorities are invited to the meeting,which will be honored by the presence and the keynote addresses of Commissioner Carlos Moedas, Special Envoy Ján Figel’, Professor Romano Prodi and Vice President David Sassoli.

The agenda of this meeting is very simple. Several thousands of Scholars coming from Europe and the Mediterranean Countries participate in the Fall to the Annual Convention of the American Academy of Religion. They are independent esteemed scientist, working in the field of law, history, philosophy, archeology, psychology, sociology, etc., concerning the religious experience in its variety and diachronic extension. As specialists, they are a real resource for the Euro-Med Countries, Unions and cultures, and their research can emerge if a research framework is available. The purpose of a Eu/ARE and the Bologna event is to make them visible and offer them a common framework, with an Annual Convention, to be held in the Spring, as a place of research, exchange and public engagement.

Therefore we kindly ask you: – to join us and the Bologna initiative, also giving a short address supporting this gathering of scholars, academic societies, research centers –to encourage in the most proper and persuasive way the participation/endorsement of national societies and academies as well as the greatest research institutions, scientific journals and specialized publisher which must be part of the initiative. To join the meeting please register at http://forms.fscire.it/app/form/ or write to melloni@fscire.it or events@fscire.it

CFP: Mysticism in Comparative Perspective

Posted on by

Mysticism in Comparative Perspective

CALL FOR PAPERS

Glasgow University 14th-16th December 2016

Speakers to include:
Rob Faesen (Leuven)

William Franke (Vanderbilt)

Bernard McGinn (Chicago)

George Pattison (Glasgow)

Ada Rapoport-Albert (King’s College, London)

Jane Shaw (Stanford)

Mia Spiro (Glasgow)

At the start of the 20th century, it was widely believed that there was some unitary ‘mystical experience’ underlying the varieties of religious and doctrinal expression. On this view, a Christian, a Buddhist, a Hindu, or a Sufi all had the ‘same’ experience and only differed in their manner of expressing it. By the end of the century this kind of comparativism had fallen into disrepute. Nevertheless, dialogue between faiths would seem to be significantly imperilled if no shared experiential or practical points of unity can be identified. Drawing on recent research, the conference seeks to renew the project of a comparative study of mysticism and in doing so to offer resources for both teaching and research in theology and religious studies.

Proposals under the following headings are especially welcome: Methodology, Annihilation, Love/Union, Material Culture, and Syncretism.

Proposals for Papers must be sent by September 15th to arts-comparativemysticism@glasgow.ac.uk (Acceptances will be notified by end-September.)

The conference will incorporate the Astaire Seminar in Jewish Studies ‘Wandering Souls’ with papers by Ada Rapoport-Albert and Mia Spiro.

For more information, see the Mystical Theology Network Website: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~rege0676/Glasgow%20Conference.html