Category Archives: Conferences

Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum Workshop

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Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum Workshop

York University Toronto, 26th-28th May 2015

Early Career Researcher Bursaries:

We have a number of bursaries available for Canada based PhD students and Early Career Researchers to attend and participate in the Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum workshop. These bursaries will cover the cost of your registration, accommodation, all workshop meals and a significant contribution to some or all of your travel costs up to a value of $650 CAD.

‘Early-Career Researcher’ is defined as up to five years post-PhD (or equivalent taking into account career breaks for childcare etc.)

We welcome applications from researchers who are just starting to develop an interest in this field as well as those who existing research directly relates to the project content.

To apply for a Travel Bursary for the workshop at York University, Toronto please send a short 2 -3 page copy of your CV together with a statement of up to 300 words on why you are interested in attending the workshop and how your research intersects with its themes (see below for details) to:

James.Thompson@staff.newman.ac.uk

The closing date for applications is: 16th April 2015

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Conference: Young Muslims Growing up in Scandinavia and the West

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Young Muslims Growing up in Scandinavia and the West

University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

7-8 May 2015

http://sockom.helsinki.fi/ceren/english/newsarchive/youngmuslims_programme.pdf

The two day seminar brings together scholars from all over Europe to discuss young Muslims in Europe. The seminar covers themes from religion, radicalisation, and media to faith and fashion. On Thursday afternoon there will also be a panel discussion with the topic Dreams, Hopes & Hurdles: Young Muslim’s Aspiration for a Good Life. The panel discussion is organised together with the Doctoral Programme in Theology, University of Helsinki.

Please register since the number of seats is limited.

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/59326/lomake.html

The deadline for registration is Wednesday April 22nd.

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Conference & Call for Papers: ““Religiones en cuestión: campos, fronteras y perspectivas””

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XVIII Jornadas sobre Alternativas Religiosas en América Latina
Mendoza, Argentina, Nov 16-19, 2015

Las XVIII Jornadas sobre Alternativas Religiosas en América Latina son realizadas por la Asociación de Cientistas Sociales de la Religión del Mercosur (ACSRM). La organización local estará a cargo de la Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Las XVIII Jornadas se realizarán en la ciudad de Mendoza, Argentina, entre los días 16 y 19 de noviembre de 2015.

A lo largo de los cuatro días, se desarrollarán mesas redondas, grupos de trabajo, coloquios, presentaciones de libros y actividades culturales. Normas para la presentación de propuestas de Grupos de Trabajo: Los Grupos de Trabajo deberán contar con dos coordinadores, de preferencia provenientes de dos países diferentes de América Latina. Al menos uno de los coordinadores deberá poseer el título de doctor y ambos deben ser, hasta el inicio del evento, asociados de la ACSRM.

Las propuestas deberán incluir:

  • Nombre del Coordinador/a 1:
  • Adscripción Institucional:
  • Título Académico:
  • Nombre del Coordinador/a 2:
  • Adscripción Institucional:
  • Título Académico:
  • Título del GT:
  • Fundamentación: (Entre 200 y 250 palabras )

Las propuestas de GT deben enviarse hasta el 31 de marzo de 2015 al siguiente correo electrónico: jornadas.acsrm@gmail.com

 

 

The post Conference & Call for Papers: ““Religiones en cuestión: campos, fronteras y perspectivas”” appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Workshop & CFP: “Women’s Religious Agency

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Invitation and call for papers: Women’s religious agency: negotiating secularism and multiculturalism in everyday life

Department of Theology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, May 7-8, 2015.

This workshop is the first of a series of international workshops on the theme “Is secularism bad for women? Women, Religion and Multiculturalism in contemporary Europe” focusing on the relation between the role of religion in women’s lives and gender equality.  This is an important question to debate, given the increased visibility of religion in the globalized world of the 21st century. While some scholars and political actors argue that a form of political secularism is the best way to ensure gender equality, others consider secularism a bad political arrangement for religious people,  because it excludes them from the political and public sphere. Taking forward discussions initiated by Susan Moller Okin’s controversial 1997 essay ‘Is multiculturalism bad for women?’ and continued recently in works of scholars including Saba Mahmood, Joan Scott, Nilüfer Göle, Nadje Al-Ali, Linell Cady and Tracy Fessenden, these workshops address the following questions:

  • How can European societies secure religious women’s freedom and flourishing?
  • What political arrangements offer the most to those who are religious and female?
  • Is religion – at least some forms of it – an impossible impediment, something that must be destroyed in order for women to be free?
  • Or can religion be a positive force in women’s lives, something that enhances their wellbeing and aids social justice?

This workshop will approach these issues focusing on the individual or everyday level; the second workshop at Coventry University, UK, will address the group level, and the third at University of Coimbra, Lisbon, will address the public and political context. In the Uppsala workshop, we wish to connect research on the growing fields of ‘lived’ or ‘everyday religion’ with research on the impact of debates on secularism and multiculturalism on women’s lives, rights and identity. In everyday life women perform religion in symbolic and material ways, for example through clothing, cooking and caring work. These practices link private and public spheres and identities, and are crucial to the process of transmitting and transforming religion and secularity – however, they are sometimes overlooked or misinterpreted. This workshop will explore similarities and differences between different religious and social contexts in the dynamics between gender, religion, spirituality, non-religion and secularism. How do women’s everyday practices of religion challenge understandings of religion, agency and change in sociology of religion and in society? How can we find analytical tools to analyze complexities of power and agency in women’s performance of religion?

Confirmed keynote speakers will be Professor Elina Vuola (University of Helsinki), and assistant professor Pia Karlsson Minganti (Stockholm University).

We invite papers that discuss these questions. Abstracts should be sent by 9th March. Abstracts should be written in English and not exceed 400 words. Notification of acceptance will be given before April 7th. Please send abstracts to: linnea.jensdotter@gmail.com.

Practical information:

The workshop will run from 4 pm on the 7th of May to 5 pm on the 8th of May. Papers will be presented in thematic, parallel sessions. Participation fee is 30 euros per participant or 15 euros for PhD,
post-doc or civil society organizations, which includes refreshments. The workshop is funded by the International Society for the Sociology of Religion and organized by Prof Mia Lӧvheim (Uppsala University), Dr Terhi Utriainen (University of Helsinki), Dr Kristin Aune (Coventry University), Dr Alberta Giorgi (Centre of Social Studies, University of Coimbra; GRASSROOTSMOBILISE, Eliamep) & Dr Teresa Toldy (Fernando Pessoa University, Porto; Centre of Social Studies, University of Coimbra). The workshop in arranged in cooperation with the research Programme The Impact of Religion: challenges for society, law and democracy, a Centre of Excellence at Uppsala University 2008-2018.

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CFP: Comparative Approaches to Religion and Violence

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COMPARATIVE APPROACHES TO RELIGION AND VIOLENCE BEYOND TEXTS
CALL FOR PAPERS 2015

For the 2015 conference of the American Academy of Religion in Atlanta Nov 21-24, we seek papers that examine the intersections of religion and violence, with attention to the condition in which religion lends itself to the justification and/or promotion of violence. Papers should demonstrate comparative or theoretical approaches. Below are recommended themes within this framework: 
Comparative Ethics of Violence beyond Texts: We seek studies that trace the way that religious authority becomes enacted outside of traditional scriptural mandates, such as by cultural leaders, rituals, pictures, narratives and media.

If you would like to submit a paper proposal, please contact Torkel Brekke at the University of Oslo (torkel.brekke@ikos.uio.no).

We are proud to announce that the Comparative Approaches to Religion and Violence has joined with the Journal of Religion and Violence. Future submissions to the AAR program unit will be considered for publication in the journal.

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CFP: Conference on “Sacred Literature, Secular Religion

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The Le Moyne College Religion and Literature Forum

Sacred Literature, Secular Religion: A Conference on Cultural Practices
October 1-3, 2015
http://lemoyne.edu/tabid/3464/Default.aspx

Call for Papers:

Charles Taylor recently claimed that we live in “a secular age,” one in which a wide range of religious practices – and ways to opt out of those practices – are available. Today we might follow traditional forms of observance, establish new kinds of worship that are not strictly religious, or reject devotional pursuits altogether. Is Taylor right, or have these options always existed in varying degrees, in various periods and places?

This conference explores how religious and secular concerns overlap and inform modes of belief and forms of pious (and impious) expression. Rather than approach the sacred and the secular in dualistic terms, we seek ways to understand how the categories intersect and criss-cross. Rather than simply map religion onto literature or vice versa, we invite papers that conceptualize and describe the interrelation between the two. We welcome diverse ways of framing and pursuing the conference theme and hence encourage contributions from scholars not only in literary and religious  studies, but also from visual studies, history, philosophy, psychology, archeology, and elsewhere, both within and across religious traditions and in the public sphere.

We welcome papers from graduate and undergraduate students.

Send 300-word proposals to:

  • Jennifer Gurley, Department of English, Le Moyne College (gurleyja@lemoyne.edu) and
  • William Robert, Department of Religion, Syracuse University (wrobert@syr.edu)

Deadline for proposals: March 1, 2015
Notification: April 1, 2015
Conference Schedule

  • Thursday, October 1 at 4 p.m. through Saturday, October 3 at 9 p.m. 

  • Central New York Wine Country Tour (optional) on Sunday, October 4 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The post CFP: Conference on “Sacred Literature, Secular Religion appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

CFP: Conference on Challenges and Opportunities: Religious Freedom Development in the Sphere of Law

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Challenges and Opportunities: Religious Freedom Development in the Sphere of Law

Conference, Yerevan, May 14-16, 2015

Call for Papers

This international conference will be dedicated to the challenges and opportunities regarding religious freedom in the experience of Eastern European countries. A quarter of century since the collapse of Soviet Union, there are still many issues in the development of law and legal procedures in the religious sphere as well as their application in practical life in many of the former Soviet Republics.  We anticipate that the academic discussion of these challenges will have practical significance not only for scholars but also for practitioners and lawyers in the development of comprehensive draft laws and other legal tools.

The local organizing committee is pleased to announce a conference on law and religion which will be held in Yerevan, Armenia at the American University of Armenia, Thursday May 14-Saturday, May 16, titled “Challenges and Opportunities: Religious Freedom Development in the Sphere of Law.”  The conference will predominantly focus on legal and policy issues affecting religious freedom in Eastern Europe. 

All scholars interested in the study of Law and Religion (preference shall be given to scholars from Eastern Europe and former Soviet Republics) are invited to submit proposals of no more than 250 words and short bios by 15 March 2015. These can be submitted electronically to hovhannes.hovhannisyan@gmail.com

The language for presentations is English, Russian, or Armenian. A number of speakers will be commissioned for the program.

Travel support may be available for those whose papers are selected.

Participants will present their papers in panel sessions (20 minutes in English) and will afterwards submit an article to for possible inclusion in a publication. The aim of the organizer is to publish a selection of articles presented at the conference.

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CFP: Conference on “Radicalisation and Islamophobia: Roots, Relationships and Implications in Religiously Diverse Societies”

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SECOND AUSTRALASIAN CONFERENCE ON ISLAM (ACI’2)

“Radicalisation and Islamophobia: Roots, Relationships and Implications in Religiously Diverse Societies”

26–27 November 2015 – Sydney, Australia

Abstract submission date: 30 March 2015

While the themes of radicalisation and Islamophobia have been broadly addressed, to date there has been little or no investigation into the relationship between the two. Is radicalisation a response to Islamophobia? Or is Islamophobia a peripheral issue in light of the serious threat posed by radicalisation? Despite seeming to be independent from one another, there is a counter-intuitive link between radicalisation and Islamophobia as each serves to perpetuate its own radical narrative and generalisations. While radicalisation of Muslims causes fear and anxiety in the broader society, Islamophobia can be a source of excessive legal measures, discrimination of Muslims and vilification of Islam. Such Islamophobia feeding attempts are used by radical ideologues to justify their extreme narrative and recruit power which in turn increases Islamophobia.

This conference aims to explore how radicalisation and Islamophobia feed one another and work hand in hand to pull society towards polar extremes. By tackling these issues from political, sociological, psychological and theological angles, this conference aims to explore the root causes of radicalisation and in particular the significant impact of Islamophobia to that process. The 2nd Australasian Conference on Islam invites abstracts for original and critical research papers addressing the theme Radicalisation and Islamophobia: Roots,Relationships and Implications in Religiously Diverse Societies.

  • Topics of interest for abstract submission include, but are not limited to:
  • Relationship between radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • Impact of radicalisation and Islamophobia on religiously diverse societies
  • Exploring and contesting the legitimacy of the theological roots of radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • Social roots of youth radicalisation in Western societies
  • Roots of Islamophobia and its link to religious radicalisation within other religious communities
  • Impact of social media on extremism, radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • Alternative discourses/initiatives/movements to extremism, radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • Case studies from countries, social groups and faith based movements as alternatives to radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • Effects of Islamophobia on Muslims living in the West
  • The empirical evaluation of counter-terrorism policy, counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation through theoretical and practical cases
  • Gender dimensions of radicalisation and Islamophobia
  • The cultural construction and consumption of the radical and Islamophobic discourse
  • Strategies and attempts to resist ‘radicalisation’, ‘de-radicalisation’ and ‘counter-radicalisation’ and the surrounding discourses
  • Strategies and attempts to resist Islamophobia and incompatibility theories
  • Rigorous evaluations of the local contexts fuelling radicalisation and Islamophobia

Abstracts of no more than 300 words must be submitted together with the contributor’s short biography (no more than 200 words) by 30 March 2015.

If an abstract is accepted for the conference, a full draft paper must be submitted by 25 September 2015.

Submit abstracts should be submitted to Dr Derya Iner diner@csu.edu.au and copied to info@isra.org.au . Abstracts should be in Word format with the following information in this order:
a) author(s) name; b) affiliation; c) email address; d) title of abstract; e) body of abstract; f) author’s biography.

Email subject should be titled: Australasian Conference on Islam. Use plain text (Times New Roman, 12 point, double spaced) and abstain from using footnotes and any special formatting, characters or emphasis (such as bold, italics or underline).

We will acknowledge receipt and respond to all abstracts submitted. If you do not receive a reply within a week, assume we did not receive your abstract. We suggest to then look for an alternative electronic route or resend.

Select papers will be published in peer-reviewed publications.

Organising chairpersons:

Conference Website: http://ausconfislam.net/ (note that it is currently
under construction)

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CFP: “Contemporary Religious Concepts of Knowledge”

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Dear Colleagues, 

I would wish to draw your attention to this CfA for a conference titled 

‘Texts, Sounds, and Images from the Divine Sphere – Contemporary Religious Concepts of Knowledge in Competition’

It is going to be held on 29, 30 September 2015 at St. Paul’s University, Kenya. 

Here is the weblink on the conference. 

https://www.zmo.de/Ausschreibungen/calls%20for%20papers/Limuru_call%20for%20papers.pdf

Kindly circulate among interested parties. 

Best, 

Halkano Abdi Wario

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