CALL FOR PAPERS: Radical Secularization? Antwerp, September 20-22-2012

International conference on contemporary philosophical secularization theory. Authors discussed include Blumenberg, Assmann, Nancy, Taylor, Gauchet, Habermas. Keynote speakers: Jean-Claude Monod (CNRS, Paris), Laurens ten Kate (Universiteit voor Humanistiek, Utrecht, Holland), André Cloots (K.U. Leuven, Louvain, Belgium), Guido Vanheeswijck (University of Antwerp), John Milbank (University of Nottingham, UK), Jonathan VanAntwerpen (director SSRC, New York, USA).

More information: http://www.ua.ac.be/main.aspx?c=*PIETERGIL&n=100022.

A call for papers, with possibility of publication as a conference proceeding, is open until May 1st.

For more information, seehttp://www.ua.ac.be/main.aspx?c=*PIETERGIL&n=100024or send an e-mail to stijn.latre@ua.ac.be

The 2nd International Conference on Social Thought in the Middle East and North Africa
Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
June 26-27, 2012
Abstracts: March 15, 2012

The theme of the conference is the origin and development of social thought and theory in the Muslim world. Papers are expected to focus on thinkers and ideas from West Asia/North Africa as well as other parts of the Muslim world that have contributed or that can potentially contribute to building theories and concepts for sociology and philosophy of society. Papers have to go beyond making the claim that this can be done to providing examples of how this is done. The examples of thinkers that are potential sources of social thought and theory are Al-Biruni, Ibn Khaldun, Ziya Gokalp, Said Nursi, Rashid Rıza, Mohammed Abed Al-Jabiri, Allameh Tabatabaii, Ali Shariati and many others. It has frequently been claimed that these are original thinkers who have potential contributions to modern sociology but it has rarely been shown what their sociological contributions are and how sociological concepts and theories can be derived from their works. This conference is expected to provide such focus. Following are the sub-themes of the conference:

1. The creedal/theoretical foundations of social thought in Islam – the papers of these panels would focus on tradition as a source of sociological theorizing.
2. Early Social Thinkers – papers in these panels would focus on the works of early Muslim thinkers like al-Farabi, Abu Talib al-Makki, al-Biruni and Ibn Khaldun discussing their ideas and theories concerning society.
3. Founders of Social Thought and Theory Outside of the Canon – the papers of these panels would focus on theories and ideas of modern thinkers outside of the Western canon who lived in the modern period and contributed to the systematic understanding of the social world.
4. Developing a New Agenda for Sociology and a New Perspective in Philosophy of Society– the papers of these panels would identify and discuss new and original topics of research that arise from local and regional concerns. The purpose of this sub-theme is to present and discuss examples of how original social theorizing can translate into empirical research projects.

Please send abstract of 100 to 150 words for individual papers or proposals for panels of 3 to 4 papers (including abstracts) by March 15, 2012.

Organizers: Yildiz Technical University; Istanbul Foundation for Science & Culture; Ibn Khaldun Society. Supporting orgnizations are Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran; Institute for Religion and Contemporary Thought, Mashhad; Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran; Iranian Sociological Association; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, American University of Beirut; and Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore.

Submit abstracts to: Mr. Hakan Gulerce hakangulerce@istanbul.edu.tr

Languages: English, Turkish

CALL FOR PAPERS
International Workshop
Religion, Politics and Policy-making in Russia: Domestic and International Dimensions
Center for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS), University of Tartu
Tartu, Estonia
June 6-7, 2012

Organizers: Prof Jerry G. Pankhurst (Wittenberg University, USA; visiting Fulbright scholar at the University of Tartu) and Alar Kilp (University of Tartu)
http://ceurus.ut.ee/conferences/international-workshop-call-for-papers/

The Center for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS) at the University of Tartu invites your participation in a workshop on Religion, Politics and Policy-making in Russia: Domestic and International Dimensions. The workshop is meant to highlight new research on the questions of religion and politics in Russia, to foster collaborative relations for future projects, and to provide an opportunity for everyone to learn about high-quality research that is being carried out in this area of inquiry.

The program organizers seek to explore the politics of religious affairs in Russia and the former Soviet countries and to assess the activities and role of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and other organized religious groups in domestic and foreign policy. Issues related to religious diversity and religious tolerance in Russia and the neighboring countries are also of interest.

Confirmed keynote speakers include Irina Papkova, Professor of Political Science, Public Policy and International Relations at the Central European University, and Viacheslav Karpov, Professor of Sociology at Western Michigan University.

Workshop organizers will actively seek opportunities to publish selected papers in a special issue of a journal or in an edited volume.

Workshop Venue: University of Tartu, Estonia. Tartu is a home to one of the oldest universities in Eastern Europe. It was founded by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus in 1632. Today the University of Tartu is the only classical university in Estonia. It is a leading center of research and training, ranked among the 400 best universities of the world by Times Higher Education. The city of Tartu is a charming university town whose relaxed and sophisticated atmosphere creates a perfect environment for scholarly conversations. Tartu is well-served with bus and train connection with the city of Tallinn and its Lennart Meri Airport. There are also flights to Tartu from Tallinn (Estonian Air) and Helsinki (Flybe, in connection with Finnair). For more information, see: www.tartu.ee; www.ut.ee.

Who may participate? We invite scholars of Russian religious affairs and scholars with research focusing on the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church both in and outside of Russia. Graduate students carrying out advanced work are welcomed to submit proposals for a presentation.

The workshop sessions will be open to the public. Anyone who has a serious and informed interest in scholarly research on the topical issues is invited to attend the presentations and participate in question and answer sessions.

Cost: There will be no registration fee for this workshop. The sponsoring organizations will host a reception and a dinner but are not able to cover travel or accommodation expenses of individual participants. However, limited travel support is available to participants from the CIS countries. CEURUS will assist as much as possible with information about local accommodations and other arrangements. If you have questions, please contact Britt Ressar at britt.ressar@ut.ee

Proposing a paper: If you are interested in presenting a paper, please consider the topic preferences below and send your abstract (250-300 words) and a succinct statement of your present position and recent publications and grants (if any) to Alar Kilp (alar.kilp@ut.ee).

The deadline for receiving abstracts for consideration for the program is April 2, 2012.
Abstracts will the evaluated by the workshop organizers for quality of scholarship and appropriateness for the program structure and workshop theme. Authors of abstracts selected to be presented will be notified by April 13 via email.

Full papers by presenters will be due by 25 May, 2012. Send papers via email to Alar Kilp (alar.kilp@ut.ee)

Potential Topics for Workshop Presentations: Below are some areas of special interest, but this is not a complete list of options for the program. Within the overall guidelines of the workshop, all proposals will be given serious consideration even if their topics are not explicitly listed below.

• What is the political and social role and influence of the Russian Orthodox Church (including its role in Russian politics in general, its role in Russian foreign policy/international affairs, contributions to EU-Russia relations)?
• What is the nature of religious or church engagement in various social and political institutions in Russia (schools, marriage, military, prisons, etc.)
• Given Russia’s religious diversity, what is the state of inter-group relations on a scale of tolerance-intolerance or accommodated-alienated? Of special interest is the state of adaptation and acceptance of Muslim groups in Russia.
• What are the issues related to religion in the Russian diaspora in the EU (including the Baltic states) and the Russian “Near Abroad” – religious practices, needs; role of Orthodox churches, Eastern orthodoxy in Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia?
• How well have Russian practices and policies lived up to European norms regarding religion? What are the European concerns regarding freedom of religion/religious life in Russia? What is the role of various European institutions: ECHR, Council of Europe, European Parliament, OSCE, etc.?
• To what extent have Russian religious groups been active in European governing institutions like those just named? How much do Russians see these institutions as appropriate venues for their own political or politically relevant pursuits?
• How much and in what ways have Russian religious groups expressed their concerns about problems in religious conditions in Europe, excessive secularity in Europe, and the like?
• To what extent and in what ways is the Russian Orthodox Church engaged in a “politics of family values” on the broader European stage? How are common interests with Orthodox churches of the countries of the European Union enlisted in these endeavors, and how are non-Orthodox churches (Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, other Protestant churches, etc.) involved with the Russian Orthodox? Are non-Christian groups, especially Jews and Muslims, involved in these efforts?
• Explorations of additional issues in the area of politics and religion related to Russia will be considered for inclusion in the workshop program.

Additional information: Workshop participants may be interested in a conference at the University of Tartu that is scheduled to take place in the week following this workshop. It is the 2012 annual conference of CIHEC, the Commission Internationale d’Histoire et d’etudes du Christianisme. For more information on this conference, see http://www.history.ac.uk/cihec/our-conferences

Academic conveners: Prof Jerry Pankhurst (jerrygp@ut.ee), Alar Kilp (alar.kilp@ut.ee)
Administrative support: Britt Ressar (britt.ressar@ut.ee)

Biographies in Times of Crisis: Exploring Religious Narratives of AIDS in Africa and the African Diaspora
Call for papers for a conference hosted by the Religion, Identity and Memory Research Group, Faculty of Religious Studies, University of Groningen & the International Research Network on AIDS and Religion in Africa (IRNARA)

Convenors:
Brenda Bartelink, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Rijk van Dijk, African Studies Centre, the Netherlands
Marjo Buitelaar, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Kim Knibbe, University of Groningen, the Netherlands

Introduction
The contemporary history of AIDS in Africa demonstrates how, over the course of a few decades, the lives of people and institutions have been drawn into the social trajectory of the disease. It has not merely reshaped the lives of those directly affected and their families, peers and friends but has also informed changes in certain institutions in African societies. Personal and institutional biographies have been reformulated as the epidemic has taken its course and personal meanings of religion have changed to cope with (the consequences of) HIV/AIDS. In addition, religious institutions have become part of the fight against the pandemic. In the programmes set up for treatment, care and awareness, new ideas concerning the disciplining of personal, social and institutional behaviour have emerged.

Focus
The role of religion in personal and institutional biographies of AIDS needs to be explored in more detail. At a personal level, more insight is required into how religion provides people with narrative models to respond to crises. Religio-biographies (Jacobson 2006) have been seen to play a role in meaning making and coping with HIV/AIDS in many African societies. However there are questions about when, how and for what reasons people use religious narrative models in shaping their responses to HIV/AIDS. How do religious narrative models play a role in coping with HIV/AIDS and how do they influence biographical choices regarding intimacy, sexuality, reproduction and relationships?
Personal and institutional biographies intersect and influence each other in responses to HIV/AIDS in Africa. For example, people living with HIV/AIDS are increasingly becoming involved in activist and institutional responses to HIV/AIDS. More insight into this interrelationship is necessary. How are religio-biographies of professionals in churches influencing organizational policies and counselling practices? And how are (religious) institutions seeking to influence or change religio-biographies on HIV and/or the epidemic? Memorial rituals and the (re-)writing of memory narratives are examples of how the histories of people dying from AIDS can be retained posthumously. Furthermore, personal and institutional biographies of religion and HIV/AIDS have become intertwined in a powerful discourse with wide ramifications for African public domains, healthcare and global/international support.

Deeper insight into the complex entanglement of discipline and agency is necessary for a better understanding of the role of religion in personal and institutional biographies of HIV/AIDS and how these influence each other. In the process, particular forms and styles of `narrative disciplining’ take place. People have `learned’ how to phrase the story of their (AIDS-affected) lives, how to formulate their behavioural choices and options, and how to respond to the requirements that a range of institutions are promoting in an attempt to curtail the epidemic. Some of these narratives and life histories are becoming well known worldwide. As these stories have become part of international fund-raising, policy-making and decision-taking, they have turned some of the people affected with AIDS into so-called `AIDS celebrities’. At the same time, biographies also signal agency on the part of individuals and institutions and provide a space to demonstrate how, in the course of engagements with AIDS, resistance can emerge under certain circumstances and for particular reasons. Narrativity can thus also be seen as a form of resistance and contestation. In the light of recent discussions on agency and its conception in a secular, liberal framework (Mahmood 2005), agency and the agentive power in religious self-narratives and life-story telling in the context of HIV/AIDS should be critically assessed.
The biographies of persons and institutions should not be perceived solely as formalized narratives highlighting the success of disciplining modes in the areas of sexuality, reproduction and relationships. Nor should agency be seen only in terms of resistance to certain forms of disciplining. As self-narratives have become a part of the personal and institutional responses to HIV/AIDS, for example in the counselling process, the agentic power in narrativity itself needs further analysis. This conference proposes exploring personal and institutional biographies in terms of their power (over individual and institutional lives), the ideologies and moralities they espouse, and the practices through which they are formulated.

The conference invites papers that address the following issues:

1. Understanding AIDS through biographies
2. Continuity and crisis in the rewriting of narratives of the self
3. Socio-religious biographies of the self and their contestation
4. Memory, voice and silence in embodied biographies
5. Diaspora, AIDS and strangerhood

Practical Information
The conference will be held at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands on 13, 14 and 15 December 2012. Abstracts (max. 300 words) should be submitted to the convenors for selection by 15 May. The selected speakers will be notified by 15 June and a conference programme, including the keynote speakers, will be announced in due course. The conference fee is € 40. For further information, go to www.irnara.org

Brenda Bartelink
Rijk van Dijk
aidsbiography@rug.nl

***Call for Papers***
1st International Conference on Contemporary Esotericism
Department of History of Religions, Stockholm University, Sweden.
August 27-29, 2012  Deadline for abstracts: March 30, 2012
Submit abstracts to: ContEso2012@gmail.com
Conference website: http://www.erg.su.se/contemporary-esotericism

Keynote speakers:
– Wouter J. Hanegraaff (Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam)
– Christopher Partridge (Religious Studies, Lancaster University)
– Kocku von Stuckrad (Study of Religion, Groningen University)
– Jay Johntson (Study of Religion, University of Sydney)

Conference organizers:
– Egil Asprem (Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam)
– Kennet Granholm (History of Religions, Stockholm University)

The academic study of Western esotericism has blossomed in recent years, but there is still a major gap in scholarship on esotericism: very little research exists on contemporary phenomena. While some present-day phenomena related to esotericism, such as ‘New Age
spiritualities’ and (neo)paganism, have been the focus of scholars in other fields, such developments have been largely neglected in the field of Western esotericism. While most scholarship in the field has had a focus on early modern phenomena and has been predominantly historiographical in its approach, serious attempts to develop
sociological approaches to the study of the esoteric/occult have been made in recent years.

The fundamental challenge is that the study of contemporary esotericism requires new definitions and methodologies, apart from those developed for the study of Renaissance and early modern esotericism. Studying contemporary phenomena poses intriguing
possibilities, such as the opportunity to study esotericism in lived contexts, which unavoidably also introduce new problems.

*Suggested Topics*
The conference has two primary goals: to place contemporary phenomena on the map of esotericism-research, and to explore new theory and methodology required for the study of specifically contemporary phenomena. We thus welcome papers dealing with contemporary and recent developments in “classic” esoteric currents – e.g. within Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, esoteric secret societies,
and ritual magic – as well as new esoteric developments of particular relevance today – e.g. Chaos Magick, Satanism, ‘New Age’ religion, (neo)paganism, and broader ‘occultural’ developments. We also strongly encourage papers dealing with theoretical and methodological issues that are particularly pertinent to the study of contemporary
esotericism, as well as papers dealing with the societal, cultural, political, religious etc. contexts of esotericism today. The conference should function as an interdisciplinary meeting place where scholars from a multitude of disciplines and with different approaches
and perspectives can come together to learn from each other.

The conference will function as the launching party for Contemporary Esotericism (Equinox Publishing, http://www.equinoxpub.com/equinox/books/showbook.asp?bkid=531), the first volume specifically dedicated to the study of esotericism in the
present day. In addition, The conference is arranged in conjunction with the 2012 EASR conference, also arranged in Stockholm, Sweden (at Södertörn University, August 23-26). Panels on esotericism are planned for the EASR as well, thus providing the opportunity to engage in extended discussion on these subjects, and of course lessening travel expenses.

The 36th Congress of the German Society for Sociolgy (Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Soziologie – DGS) will be held from October, 1st to 5th
2012 in Bochum and Dortmund.
http://www.dgs2012.de/english

The Section for Sociology of Religion is organizing a panel on during this conference. The call for paper is
only in German, http://www.dgs2012.de/wp-content/uploads/Sektionen/CfP_Sektion_Religionssoziologie.pdf
but papers in English are also very welcome.

In the early sociology of religion the relationship between social class and religion was a central topic. Weber for example analysed social strata as carriers of religious ideas. Following Weber this research question was picked up by Niebuhr in his exploration of the social sources of denominations and by Bourdieu in his analysis of the religious field. In the last decades, the problem of social inequality has been mostly neglected as a research question in the sociology of religion.

Papers presenting empirical findings, quantitative as well as qualitative, from a national or transnational perspective, about the
impact of social class and life conditions on religious beliefs, practices and affiliations are invited. The religions of the upper
classes and the lower classes, of the privileged and the “negatively privileged” are of special interest for this panel.

Please send abstracts of 2500 characters maximum (including spaces) until March 15th to the organizers:
Prof.Dr. Gert Pickel: pickel@rz.uni-leipzig.de
Dr. Kornelia Sammet: sammet@uni-leipzig.de

Call for Papers: Joint BASR/BSA-SOCREL panel on the ‘Public benefit in the study of religion’ with keynote panel speakers Prof. Eileen Barker and Prof. Douglas Davies. BASR annual conference, September 5-7 2012 University of Winchester.

The topic of the panel is how research has directly benefited ‘the public’. The panel will focus on two aspects of this broad theme as it relates to the study of religion: 1) What do we mean by ‘public benefit’?  How do we demonstrate it, measure it, communicate it and what are the practical and theoretical issues surrounding the idea of how the study of religion – or faith, or belief – can operate in the, or perhaps as a, public good? Are there theoretical problems in considering what is meant by ‘public’ or ‘benefit’ in different cultural and historical contexts? 2) What are some case examples of how research or teaching about religion has contributed to the public good? We are not asking here for examples about how ‘religion’ has contributed to the public but specifically how the study of and research on religion has done so.

Abstracts to Dr Abby Day a.f.day@kent.ac.uk and Dr Bettina Schmidt b.schmidt@tsd.ac.uk by 1 April 2012.

Conference Topic: The evolution of Mormonism from sect to Church and from Church to sects
Université de Bordeaux 3
6 et 7 décembre 2012
Maison des Sciences de l’Homme d’Aquitaine

Organized par Bernadette RIGAL-CELLARD with the Master Religions et Sociétés and CLIMAS (EA 4196), Université Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3

The 2012 Mormonism conference is the sequel to the first French conference on Mormonism (Bordeaux 2009). It will address the issues arising from its institutional evolution.  The currently admitted typology of religious groups includes, sketchily,
the cult, the sect, the denomination, the Church, the movement. All groups will not necessarily move from one level to the next and a number of them may stagnate, willingly or not, or simply disappear. It is the prophetic and organizational qualities of the founder(s) and of the successors that dictate the evolution of the group as much as the social and political surroundings.

Mormonism is one of the most interesting religions to study in this regard for, since its birth in 1830, it has operated constant changes that led its major institution, the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter Day Saints, to move from the status of “sect”—in the sense of a group separating itself from a major tradition to follow a radical prophet—to that of denomination, and then to reach the crowning status of Church, at least in its native land.

If the general history of Mormonism is relatively well documented, it is not the case concerning all the steps it has climbed in less than two centuries, when most of its competitors, born in the same conditions, have not succeeded as well. How has Mormonism gone from the complete separatism of its early decades to an almost complete acceptance at home and in several foreign countries?

Send a 20 line abstract and a short biography before September 15th, 2012 to bcellard@numericable.fr
No funding can be granted to participants