The Estonian Society for the Study of Religions

announces a call for papers for the conference

Religion and Nation(alism):
Entanglements, Tensions, Conflicts

University of Tartu, Estonia, 10-11 November 2016

http://www.eaus.ee/en/conference-2016/

Recent developments throughout the world have shown that the connections between ethnic and religious identity have not lost their actuality. The relationships between religion and nationalism are multifaceted and interactive; their dynamics is influenced by social and political conditions. The politisation of religion may support ethnic and national unity, whereas religion may lead to particular forms of political activism. The concurrence of ethnic and religious identity (or the lack of it!) may result in nation building or the shaping of an ideology of the ‘chosen people’. Moreover, religious identities may offer possibilities for the formation of communities that cross national borders.

Studying the role that religion plays in these complex relationships will offer us insights into the formation, development or disintegration of certain groups and their choices, both in individual and public spheres. Thus, we welcome scholars from all fields of study (anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, folkloristics, history, political and religious studies, etc.) who study the connections between (ir)religion and nationalism or group identities. Particularly interesting aspects include:

• diachronic and contemporary aspects of the relationships between nationalism and religion
• regional aspects of religion and nation(alism)
• ideological entanglements of religion and nation(alism)
• religious tensions and conflicts between ethnic groups both past and present
• the relationships between (ir)religion, nationalism and group identity
• discursive intersections of religion and nationalism with gender, sexuality, race, class, culture and history
• the religious aspects of secular nationalism and secular sources of the public authority of religious institutions and traditions
• migration and religion, expatriate relationships with nation(alism) and religion
• conspiracy theories about the religious background of migrants
• neo-pagan and esoteric movements in the context of nation building

The language of the conference will be English, the length of papers 20 minutes. A conference fee of 80€ will be applied for meals and materials; participants are expected to pay for their own travel and accommodation.

Please submit your abstract of 250-300 words to the conference e-mail address: conference2016@eaus.ee before 31.05.2016. Pre-arranged panels will also be considered. Notification of acceptance, and the opening of registration, not later than: 01.07.2016.

For inquiries please contact the Secretary of the conference, Piret Koosa (piret.koosa@gmail.com). Current information about the conference can be found at our home page http://www.eaus.ee/en/conference-2016/

The conference is being organised by the Estonian Society for the Study of Religions in cooperation with the University of Tartu (School of Theology and Religious Studies, Institute of Cultural Research and Arts) and the Estonian Literary Museum.

Organising committee: Madis Arukask, Alar Kilp, Piret Koosa, Katre Koppel, Mare Kõiva, Jaan Lahe, Atko Remmel, Ülo Valk, Ergo-Hart Västrik

Tradition is the New Radical – Remapping Masculinities and Femininities in Theology
KEY NOTE SPEAKERS: TINA BEATTIE, VICTOR SEIDLER AND LINN MARIE TONSTAD | 12–14 DECEMBER 2016 | CENTRE FOR THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES | LUND UNIVERSITY
Over the past two decades a strong trend in theology has been the retrieval of patristic and medieval traditions, often for radical purposes. Whereas much (above all Protestant) theology during modernity sought to be progressive by means of distancing itself from tradition, recent currents within both Anglican and Catholic theology seek progress through the retrieval of hidden, forgotten or suppressed aspects of the tradition. Examples range from Sarah Coakley’s daring retrieval of ascetic practices for feminist purposes to Gerald Loughlin’s gathering of radical analyses of the biblical tradition in his monumental Queer Theology: Rethinking the Western Body.
This conference will explore the remapping of masculinities and femininities that these developments have generated in contemporary theology. On the one hand, the aim is to further enhance the radical analyses of the biblical tradition in order to continue along the emancipatory track set out by feminist and queer theologians in the past decades. On the other hand, the aim is also to investigate possible flipsides of this fascination with tradition. In focusing our attention on liberating symbols and practices in the past, is there a risk that we lose sight of existing gender stereotypes on a concrete societal and ecclesial level? Are conservative patterns regarding gender and sexuality sometimes even being reproduced under the guise of seemingly radical historical metaphors?
CALL FOR PAPERS
We invite papers with a clear relevance for the conference theme as described above. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent by June 15 to:
johanna.gustafsson_lundberg@ctr.lu.se and
jayne.svenungsson@ctr.lu.se
Abstracts are to be headed with the applicant’s name, professional affiliation, and title of proposed paper.

Vytautas Magnus University / Faculty of Humanities / Center for Cultural Studies

International Scientific Conference

on Cultural Group Behaviour

Historical Re-Enactment, Contemporary Paganism
and Fantasy-Based Movements

20–21 May, 2016. Kaunas, Lithuania

Call for Papers

Modern times are marked by rapid advances in technology, urbanization and globalization. The second half of the 20th century witnessed fragmentation of culture, ethnicity and religion as a reaction to disappointment in the progress of civilization. This promoted interest in natural, ethnic and indigenous aspects of localities. Orientation toward localities, as revealed in various worldviews and socio-cultural movements, has been related to the revival of traditional and nationalist ideas, orientation to nature-based spiritualities, (re)construction of local ethnicities and the need to return to ethnic and pre-Christian identities. A related trend manifests itself as return to old customs, indigenous values and attempts to reconstruct traditional pre-Christian religions. The existence of historical re-enactment groups and contemporary pagan movements, grounded in native faith, as well as fantasy-based movements raises the following questions: what drives them to look back to their roots? How and why do these groups emerge, exist and disappear? What is their social and cultural impact on society and members of historical re-enactment groups?

The conference welcomes both empirical and theoretical contributions from various disciplines, as well as interdisciplinary studies of historical re-enactment, contemporary pagan movements and fantasy-based movements. Early career researchers and students are also encouraged to participate.

We invite papers and panels including but not limited to the following topics:
Theoretical and methodological approaches to re-enactment
• Theoretical approaches to re-enactment and/or contemporary paganism;
• Fieldwork within re-enactment groups;
• Methodological implications and challenges.
Diversity of re-enactment movements
• Diversity of historical re-enactments and contemporary pagan movements;
• Past and present of the living history movement;
• Fantasy and live action role-playing (LARP) groups as a form of re-enactment;
• Historical cosplay in Western and other cultures;
• Aspects of the local and the global in re-enactment;
• Periodization and typology of re-enactment;
Worldviews and activities of re-enactors
• Identity of historical re-enactors and/or contemporary pagans;
• Authenticity and (re)construction in historical re-enactment and/or contemporary pagan movements;
• Traditionalism, nationalism and politics in re-enactment;
• Gender in historical re-enactment and/or contemporary pagan movements;
• Spirituality, religion and re-enactment;
• Culturally relevant or historically significant places within the context of historical re-enactments;
• Cultural heritage in historical re-enactment and/or contemporary pagan movements;
• Festivals, rituals and performance in historical re-enactment;
Re-enactment and society
• Influence of consumerism, globalization and the mass and social media for historical re-enactors and/or contemporary pagans;
• Historical re-enactment and/or the influence of contemporary pagan movements on the on mainstream society;
• Historical re-enactment in popular culture.

We expect individual paper proposals and panel submissions, including 3-4 presenters.

After the conference, participants are invited to observe historical re-enactment of Lithuanian history in the Hanse Day festival 2016, held on May 21–22.

Participants should complete the form at https://tgt.wufoo.com/forms/conference-entry-form/. Abstracts will be published on the Conference website. Each paper is allotted a time of 15 minutes, followed by up to 10 minutes for questions and discussion.
Participation fee: 40€ (for students 20€)
Travel and accommodation to attend the Conference will be at the attendee’s expense.
Abstract submission deadline: April 11, 2016.
Notification of acceptance: April 18, 2016.

Working languages: English, Lithuanian
Conference website: http://reenactment.vdu.lt/

Organizing Committee: Agnė Kalėdienė (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania), Rasa Pranskevičiūtė (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania), Gintarė Dusevičiūtė (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania), Aušra Kairaitytė-Užupė (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania), Gintaras Jaronis (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania).

The Scientific Committee will be announced later.
Conference participants are welcome to prepare papers to the Group and the Environments journal http://ejournals.vdu.lt/index.php/grupes/about/submissions#authorGuidelines

Organizers: Center for Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Vytautas Magnus University.
K. Donelaičio St 52-410 LT-44248 Kaunas Lithuania. http://ktc.vdu.lt/
Contact person: Agnė Kalėdienė
Phone number: +370 662 32 470
E-mail: reenactment.conference@gmail.com

CALL FOR PAPERS
‘Marital Captivity: Divorce, Religion and Human Rights’
International MARICAP Conference 2016 24-25 November 2016
Ius Commune Research School Conference
Faculty of Law, Maastricht University
The Netherlands
People marry in different ways: either civilly or religiously, or both. Dissolving a civil marriage is usually not too difficult; dissolving a religious marriage can, however, be quite a challenge, especially for women of migrant or refugee background. A civil divorce pronounced by a civil court will generally not end a religious marriage. Whether a person is ‘still’ religiously married or not, is often determined by the laws of the country where the marriage was concluded or by the rules and norms of the couples’ religious community, or both. This position of being legally divorced yet religiously (still) married can be denoted as being in a state of ‘marital captivity’. Marital captivity refers to a situation wherein someone is unable to terminate his or her religious marriage, i.e. keeping a spouse ‘trapped’ in a marriage against his or her will. A situation of marital captivity can have serious implications for the trapped spouse, usually the woman, such as the inability to re-marry or travel without restrictions.
In the research project ‘Marital Captivity: bridging the gap between religion and law’, funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), researchers of the Law Faculty of Maastricht University investigate this phenomenon within the Dutch context. The research project aims (i) to gain insight into the phenomenon of marital captivity in the Netherlands, and (ii) to find legal solutions (national and international) to resolve and prevent situations of marital captivity both in the Netherlands and in the country of origin.
In this international conference we aim to share and exchange ideas, research findings and experiences regarding the phenomenon of ‘marital captivity’ in different geographical areas, besides the Netherlands/Europe. We intend to foster a multidisciplinary dialogue, with contributions drawn from, most importantly, legal anthropology, (international) family law and human rights law, in order to address the issue of marital captivity from an integrated perspective.
The conference committee therefore encourages and invites researchers from various countries and disciplines (e.g. law, anthropology, sociology, political science) to submit papers that will advance empirical and conceptual/theoretical knowledge and understanding of ‘marital captivity’. Proposals should address the issue of ‘marital captivity’, and may include topics, such as:
– Individual (socio-legal) experiences;
– The influence of legal and political contexts (e.g. religion-state relations; multiculturalism-secularism) on the occurrence, continuation or solution of situations of marital captivity;
– The interaction of state and non-state normative orders;
– (Informal) dispute resolution practices of religious communities;
– The use of national legal instruments to prevent or resolve situations of marital captivity;
– Solutions to situations of marital captivity in secular and non-secular countries;
– The implications of limping marital status in a transnational continuum;
– Gender equality and divorce;
– State’s human rights responsibility in respect of religious and cultural practices that are harmful (to women);
– The protection of (women’s) human rights in local settings;
– The extra-territorial application of human rights;
Paper proposals from interested participants with various disciplinary backgrounds that relate to one of the following three panels are particularly appreciated.
Panel 1: Marital captivity in practice This panel aims to identify similarities and differences between different situations of marital captivity, preferably drawing from various (trans-)national, religious, and communal contexts. This panel invites in particular empirical contributions that, for example, describe case studies or examples of manifestations of marital captivity in a specific local, religious or (trans)national context, including investigations and analyses of the (e.g. legal, religious or social) causes and consequences of such situations. A ‘chained spouse’ may, for example, encounter problems within his or her local community or in his or her country of origin, or both. Moreover, attention can be given to solutions that have been investigated by individuals in their quest for a religious divorce, including the results of these explorations.

Panel 2: Solutions to marital captivity Since societies all over the world struggle with marital captivity, this panel invites submissions exploring legal and/or non-legal (informal) remedies employed within religious communities that aim to prevent or resolve marital captivity and its pernicious effects. Examples of solutions may be contractual clauses about the cooperation to a (religious) divorce, tort action, recognition of a (civil) divorce in another country, legislation that furthers cooperation to a religious divorce, penal sanctions etc. How and under what circumstances and conditions are these solutions applied? What are the experiences with their feasibility and effectiveness? What is their impact or what are their benefits or possible drawbacks? Hence, we welcome paper proposals that analyse different solutions to marital captivity, specific to various (trans-) national and religious communities.

Panel 3: Marital captivity and human rights law This panel welcomes paper proposals that have primarily a human rights focus to harmful divorce practices within religious communities, be it within a general human rights context or within a specific national context. The panel aims to explore the use of human rights law as a means to enhance the protection of the trapped spouse(s)’s rights, ensure the State’s compliance to its human rights obligations and trigger effective State action in addressing marital captivity and its consequences. Papers covering topics such as women’s rights and religious freedom, the intersection of human rights and diplomatic protection, the State’s responsibility for human rights violations by private persons and the interplay of human rights, secular foundations and religion are highly appreciated.
Submission of abstracts and papers Paper proposals should consist of an abstract of max. 300 words, a title, panel preference, the author(s) name, affiliation, contact details and a short bio, and should be sent by e-mail to: maricap@maastrichtuniversity.nl before May 1, 2016.
Notification of acceptance abstract: May 15, 2016
Presenters shall submit a draft paper before October 1, 2016. Final papers should be between 5000 and 8000 words. Selected submissions will be considered for publication in an edited volume or special issue to a journal.
For questions related to the submission of abstracts and papers and the MARICAP conference programme, please contact one of the members of the MARICAP conference committee.

Co-ordinator research project: Susan Rutten (s.rutten@maastrichtuniversity.nl);
Panel 1: Esther van Eijk
(postdoctoral researcher; esther.vaneijk@maastrichtuniversity.nl);
Panel 2: Pauline Kruiniger
(postdoctoral researcher; pauline.kruiniger@maastrichtuniversity.nl);
Panel 3: Benedicta Deogratias
(PhD researcher; b.deogratias@maastrichtuniversity.nl)
Practical Information
The international MARICAP conference 2016 is hosted and co-organised by the research school ius Commune under the auspices of the Law Faculty of Maastricht University. The conference will take place in Maastricht (conference venue: Van der Valk hotel), the Netherlands, on 24-25 November 2016.
There are no registration fees. Travel- and accommodation costs are expected to be covered by the participants themselves. Meals and beverages during the conference will be covered by the conference organization.
For more information on the research project, see: http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/Faculteiten/FdR/Thema/Capaciteitsgroepen/Privaatrecht/Projecten/EchtscheidingEnReligie/MARICAPEnglish.htm

*Call for papers!*

International Conference

PRACTICES OF TRANSFORMATION:

THE ORGANISED CULTURAL ENCOUNTER

27- 28 October 2016

Venue: Roskilde University, Department of Communication and Arts

Roskilde, Denmark

Keynotes by:

Professor Sarah Pink, RMIT University, Melbourne

Professor Gill Valentine, The University of Sheffield

Professor Awad Ibrahim, University of Ottawa

Professor Emma Renolds, Cardiff University

SUBMISSION OF PAPER PROPOSAL AND PRACTICAL INFORMATION

If you are interested in participating in the conference, please send an abstract (no more than 250 words) and a short biography (no more than 100 words) by 2 May to Helle Bach Riis (hriis@ruc.dk) and Lise Paulsen Galal (galal@ruc.dk). Successful applicants will be notified by 3 June, 2016.

https://organisedculturalencounter.wordpress.com/

Organised cultural encounters (OCEs) are activities that through particular intervention strategies aim at creating transformation. They may be cultural exchange programmes, reconciliation projects, community cohesion initiatives, interfaith dialogue meetings or various projects related to integration of immigrants. These interventions are organised around differences considered to be identity formative and divisive, in particular ethnicity, religion, nationality or ‘culture’, sometimes also including other socio-cultural categories that are seen as intersecting axes of differentiation or diversity (gender, sexual orientation, class, age, (dis)ability). Setting up these kinds of encounters is a widespread practice that aims at facilitating for instance integration, tolerance and community cohesion in the context of culturally diverse societies. Thus, OCEs are invested with much hope for transformation not only of the attendees, but also in the society, societies or contexts addressed by the encounter. Organisers (implicit or explicit) lean on assumptions concerning the nature of differences, encounters and social change.