Category Archives: Publishing Opportunities

CFP – Blasphemy: Discourses and Practices

Posted on by
BLASPHEMY: DISCOURSES AND PRACTICES

 

Call for Journal Papers

 

Special issue of State, Religious and Church, a Russian peer-reviewed academic quarterly

 

Blasphemy seems to be universal and unchanging term, and yet its meaning varies tremendously across times and cultures. Medieval inquisition guides discussed the boundary between blasphemy and heresy, while current virulent debates about the feelings of believers, radical reactions against contemporary art or caricatures are construed in terms of opposition of blasphemy and basic freedoms. 

Controversies around blasphemy have always been those of boundaries and limits: limits  of what is permissible in the statements about the sacred; boundaries of various physical and social spaces where these statements can be acceptable or not; finally, the boundaries of what is conceived as “sacred” in each particular historical and cultural context.

Blasphemy controversies have always reflected the fight for power. What communities, institutions, and individuals have the right to define the boundaries of the sacred, the norms of describing or speaking about the sacred, as well as the right to punish for the violation of these norms? Thus, blasphemy is, potentially, a hidden script bearing the agency of resistance and protest.

In this special issue, we propose to explore how theories and practices of blasphemy have been evolving in Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities from the Middle Age until now. We will see how blasphemy and its persecutions worked behind various religious, social and political conflicts. We will study how the norms disciplining blasphemy were imposed and implemented by religious and secular institutions, and how efficient such implementations were. Finally, we will study what happens with these discourses and practices in the modern secular society.

Although the phenomenon of blasphemy cannot be understood without exploring the macro-level of theological and legal interpretations, we will mostly focus our studies upon the micro-level – that is, the level of everyday situations where, in various societies, some pieces of speech or imagery are felt and labeled as “blasphemous;” and also upon those conflicting interpretations that occur at the intersection of various speech practices and behavioral patterns.

We welcome studies of blasphemy cases generated at the breaches and borders – religious, social, ethno-national, and political.

 

Major themes:

 

Ø      Theories of blasphemy: the construction of the category in theological, polemical and legal traditions;

Ø      The borders of the category: blasphemy v. heresy; blasphemy vs. reform; blasphemy vs. free thinking; blasphemy vs. risus sacer; blasphemy vs. carnival;

Ø      The practices of blasphemy: situations when they occur; people who say them; typical reactions; 

Ø      The poetics of blasphemy: what are the words that the sacred do not tolerate? The typical objects of blasphemous transgression; 

Ø      Blasphemy as an external challenge to tradition/religion/church vs. blasphemy as an internal, permissible transgression;

Ø      Blasphemy as sin and crime: criminalization and decriminalization of blasphemy; 

Ø      Blasphemy and the Other: offences of blasphemy in ethno-confessional and political conflicts;  

Ø      Blasphemy and religious skepticism: the problem of unbelief in the eras of supposedly “universal faint;”  

Ø      Debates about blasphemy in secular societies;  

Ø      The political “sacred and the political “blasphemy:” how religious rhetoric is transposed into a non-religious space.   

 

Please send your papers (in Russian, English or other languages) at two addresses: the email of the journal (religion@rane.ru), copied to the email of the guest editor Mikhail Maizuls (maizuls@gmail.com). The length of the papers is around 6000-7000 words. We accept high resolution pictures added to the text. The bibliographic rules can be found at the journal website here: http://religion.rane.ru/?q=ru/for-authors.

 

The deadline for submitting papers is 31 December, 2016.

 

You are also welcome to get in touch with us (emails same as above) for a preliminary proposal of a topic; in this case please send us a title and 150-200 word abstract until April 15, 2016.

 

The journal Gosudarstvo, religia i tserkov’ v Rossii i za rubezhom (State, Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide) is a peer-reviewed, SCOPUS-indexed academic quarterly. It is published in the Russian language; however, manuscripts in other languages are also accepted. The website is: www.religion.rane.ru  

New Book Series: Bloomsbury Studies in Religion, Space and Place

Posted on by
SERIES EDITORS
Paul-François Tremlett, The Open University, UK paul-francois.tremlett@open.ac.uk
John Eade, University of Roehampton, London, UK J.Eade@roehampton.ac.uk
Katy Soar, Royal Holloway, UK katy.soar@rhul.ac.uk
Religions, spiritualities and mysticisms are deeply implicated in processes of spatial and place-making. These include political and geopolitical spaces, local and national spaces, urban spaces, global and virtual spaces, contested spaces, spaces of performance, spaces of memory and spaces of confinement.
At the leading edge of theoretical, methodological, and interdisciplinary innovation in the study of religion, Bloomsbury Studies in Religion, Space and Place brings together and gives shape to the study of such processes and places. These places are not defined simply by the material or the physical but also by the sensual and the psychological, by the ways in which spaces are gendered, classified, stratified, moved through, seen, touched, heard, interpreted and occupied. Places are constituted through embodied practices that direct critical and analytical attention to the production of insides, outsides, bodies, landscapes, cities, sovereignties, publics and interiorities.

TOPICS OF INTEREST TO THE EDITORS
  • Ritual & Place-Making (historical, ancient and/or contemporary religious practices)
  • Mobility, Power and Place/Pilgrims, Tourists and the Invention of Sacred Space (religion on the move in historical, ancient and/or contemporary contexts)
  • Religion, Space and Disruption (the study of religion at times of rapid socio-spatial and political change)
  • The Politics of Religious Space (the study of religion, space and power)
  • Religion and the City (religion in urban contexts in historical, ancient or contemporary perspectives)

The post New Book Series: Bloomsbury Studies in Religion, Space and Place appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Call for Papers: Special journal issue of Migration Letters

Posted on by

Call for Papers:

The guest editors of a forthcoming special journal issue to be published in Migration Letters invite interested researchers to submit manuscripts for an issue  titled  ‘Transnational Migrant Families: Navigating Social Fields, Family Practices, and Generational Experiences’

This special issue focuses on ‘transnational migrant family life.’ We examine different aspects of these lives such as marriage practices, polygamy in transnational context, the role of religiosity in transnational family life, transnational childcare and socialization, the ties and experiences of second generation migrants vis-à-vis their countries of origin, and the construction and management of transnational family life in legal discourses (including religious laws) and institutions. Rather than taking transnational migrant families as a given, we will examine how these families are constituted through actively produced transnational relations and practices as well as through legal and political regimes. We will examine the central theme from three dimensions. First, we will critically examine the different social fields in which transnational family life and relations are constituted and contested. Secondly, we will shed light on the heterogeneity of experiences and aspirations of family members constituting transnational kinship-based networks, particularly along the axes of gender and generation. Third, this issue will shed light on the range and diversity of transnational family practices and their multidimensional purposes and outcomes.

We are interested in soliciting article manuscripts, maximum 4000 words (excluding abstract and references), which tackle the broad theme of transnational migrant families, and which supplement or add other dimensions to the aspects of the transnational family life that we are covering. We are particularly interested in manuscripts based on empirical research on transnational migrant families based in Europe and/or North America with family backgrounds in Africa, South Asia, and/or the Middle East.

Kindly send an email of interest and any further queries to the guest editors at the emails listed below.  Deadline for submission of manuscripts is December 31, 2015.

Guest Editors:

Mulki Al-Sharmani: mulki.al-sharmani@helsinki.fi

Marja Tiilikainen:  marja.tiilikainen@helsinki.fi

Sanna Mustasaari:  sanna.mustasaari@helsinki.fi

Transnational Muslim Marriages: Wellbeing, Law, and Gender project (2013-2017, Academy of Finland)

The post Call for Papers: Special journal issue of Migration Letters appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Call for book proposals on New Religious Movements: De Gruyter Open

Posted on by

De Gruyter Open, part of De Gruyter publishing group, invites book proposals for the new Open Access book series on New Religious Movements.

The series welcomes written or edited monographs and anthologies on New Religious Movements (NRMs) and alternative spiritualities – both empirical and theoretical with interdisciplinary approaches. Of particular interest are those that combine perspectives and methods drawn from all social sciences and humanities on the present, historical and newly emerging NRMs, as well as research methods, issues and problems, and new directions in study of NRMs. More information about the series can be found at http://degruyteropen.com/oatheologynrm/

Our Open Access Books are available through De Gruyter’s publishing platform, libraries, full text repositories and distributors such as Amazon. Each title is also offered as a print version.

Authors interested in submitting their proposals for series are asked to fill in the New Book Proposal Form (which can be found at  http://degruyteropen.com/you/book-author/subjects/theology_religious_studies/) and send it to the series editor Dr. Rasa Pranskeviciute at Rasa.Pranskeviciute@degruyteropen.com, together with a sample from the book (introduction, chapter or subchapter). Authors of ready manuscripts are welcome to attach the whole text of the book.

The proposed book should be written in English and must not have been published before in any language.

Authors interested in publishing their books without publication fees are asked to submit the book proposals by October 30, 2015.

The post Call for book proposals on New Religious Movements: De Gruyter Open appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Call for book proposals on New Religious Movements

Posted on by

De Gruyter Open, part of De Gruyter publishing group, invites book proposals for the new Open Access book series on New Religious Movements.

The series welcomes written or edited monographs and anthologies on New Religious Movements (NRMs) and alternative spiritualities – both empirical and theoretical with interdisciplinary approaches. Of particular interest are those that combine perspectives and methods drawn from all social sciences and humanities on the present, historical and newly emerging NRMs, as well as research methods, issues and problems, and new directions in study of NRMs. More information about the series can be found at http://degruyteropen.com/oatheologynrm/

Our Open Access Books are available through De Gruyter’s publishing platform, libraries, full text repositories and distributors such as Amazon. Each title is also offered as a print version.

Authors interested in submitting their proposals for series are asked to fill in the New Book Proposal Form (which can be found at  http://degruyteropen.com/you/book-author/subjects/theology_religious_studies/) and send it to the series editor Dr. Rasa Pranskeviciute at Rasa.Pranskeviciute@degruyteropen.com, together with a sample from the book (introduction, chapter or subchapter). Authors of ready manuscripts are welcome to attach the whole text of the book.

The proposed book should be written in English and must not have been published before in any language.

Authors interested in publishing their books without publication fees are asked to submit the book proposals by September 30, 2015.

Please feel free to forward this invitation to any interested colleagues or associates.

The post Call for book proposals on New Religious Movements appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Books available for review in MEMBR

Posted on by

Below is a list of books available for review in the online open access journal Middle East Media & Book Reviews (MEMBR). The site has information on requirements for length and format of submitted reviews.

Please let me know of the title(s) you wish to receive and review for MEMBR along with your preferred postal address. Your review is to be emailed to <digestofmiddleeast@gmail.com>.  We are always adding new reviewers to our roster of reviewers, so please feel free to share this message and the attachment with other colleagues who have interest and expertise in the MENA studies. Thank you.

 

Achili, L. (2015). Palestinian Refugees and Identity: Nationalism, Politics and the everyday. London & New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN: 9781780769110. $99.00

Al-Jawzi, I. and Cooperson, M. (ed) (2015). Virtues of the Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Vol. 2. New York and London: New York University Press. ISBN: 9780814738948 $40.00

Al-Rawi, R. (2015). Divine Names: The Healing names of the one love. Northampton, Massachusetts: Olive Branch Press. ISBN: 9781566569873. $ 25.00

Balkan, N., Balkan, E., and Öncü, A. (2015). The Neoliberal Landscape and the rise of Islamist Capital in Turkey. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books. ISBN: 9781782386384. $95.00

Behr, T and Tiilikainen. (eds) (2015). Northern Europe and the Making of the EU’s Mediterranean and Middle East Policies: Normative Leaders or Passive Bystanders? Burlington and Surrey, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company. ISBN: 9781472430434. $ 119.95

Bennis, P. (2015). Understanding ISIS and the New Global War on Terror: A Primer. Northhampto,MA: Olive Branch Press. ISBN: 9781566560948. $15.00

Chehabi, H. E., Jafari, P. & Jefroudi, M. (2015) Iran in the Middle East: Transnational Encounters and Social History. London & New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN: 9781784531348. $99.00

Cuno, K. M. (2015). Modernizing Marriage: Family, Ideology, and Law in Nineteenth- and Early Twentienth-Century Egypt. New York: Syracuse Press. ISBN: 9780815633921. $39.95

Daechesel, M. (2015). Islamabad and the Politics of International Development in Pakistan. U.K and USA: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9781107057173. $99.00

De Vries, D. Strike Action and Nation Building: Labour Unrest in Palestine/Israel, 1899-1951. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books. ISBN: 9781782388098. $ 90.00

Erlich, H. (2015, pbk ed.). Saudi Arabia & Ethiopia: Islam, Christianity & Politics Entwined. Boulder & London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 978-1-62637-193-4, $25.00

Fábos, A. H and Isotalo, R. (Eds.) (2015). Managing Muslim Mobilities: Between Spiritual Geographies and the Global Security Regime (Religion and Global Migrations). New York: Palgrave Macmillan ISBN: 9781137434869. $95.00

Fair, C. C. and Watson, S. J. (eds). (2015). Pakistan’s Enduring Challenges. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN: 9780812246902. $69.92

Farzaneh, M. M. (2015). The Iranian Constitutional Revolution and Clerical Leadership of Khurasani (Modern Intellectual and Political History of the Middle East). New York, NY: Syracuse University Press. ISBN: 9780815633884. $49.95

Feldman, K. P. (2015). A Shadow over Palestine: The Imperial Life of Race in America. Minneapolis, London: University of Minnesota press. ISBN: 9780816694501. $ 24.95

Fozi, N. (2015). Reclaiming the Faravahar: Zoroastrian survival in contemporary Tehran. Leiden University Press. ISBN: 9789087282141. $59.50-paperback

Geelhoed, F. (2014). Striving for Allah: Purification and Resistance among Fundamentalist Muslims in the Netherlands. The Hague, Netherlands: Eleven International Publishing. ISBN: 9789462364936. $61.00

Gilbert, M. (2015). Night in Gaza. Northampton, Massachusetts: Olive Branch Press. ISBN: 781566560757. $25.00

Gorman, A. and Kasbarian, S. (2015). Diasporas of the Modern Middle East: Contextualising Community. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN: 9780748686100. $120.00

Harel, Y. (2015). Zionism in Damascus: Ideology and Activity in the Jewish Community at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century. London and New York: I.B. Tauris.  ISBN: 9781780766706. $99.00

Hochberg, G. Z. (2015). Visual Occupations: Violence and Visibility in a Conflict Zone. Durham and London: Duke University Press. ISBN: 9780822358879. $23.95

Hopper, M. S. (2015). Slaves of One Master: Globalization and Slavery in Arabia in the Empire Age of Empire. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. ISBN: 9780300192018. $85.00

Jamal, A. A. (2009). Barriers to Democracy: The other side of social capital in Palestine and the Arab world. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. ISBN: 9780691140995. $23.95

Jarmakani, A. (2015). An Imperialist Love Story: Desert Romances and the War on Terror. New York and London: New York University Press. ISBN: 9781479820863. $28.00(paperback) $89.00 (hardcover)

Joskowicz, A. and Katz, E. B. (2015). Secularism in Question: Jews and Judaism in Modern Times. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN: 9780812247275. $65.00

Jouili. J. S (2015). Pious Practice and Secular Constraints: Women in the Islamic Revival in Europe. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN: 9780804794664. $27.95

Khalifa, S. (2015). Egypt’s Lost Spring: Causes and Consequences. Santa Barbara, California and Denver, Colorado: Praeger. ISBN: 9781440834080. $58.00

Karakoc, J. (Ed) (2015). Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Before and After the Arab Uprisings. Hampshire and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 9781137445544. $ 90.00

Kotef, H. (2015). Movement and the Ordering of Freedom. Durham and London: Duke University Press. ISBN: 9780822358558. Hard cover $ 84.95, Paperback $ 23.95

Kozma, L., Schayegh, C and Wishnitzer, A. (eds)(2015). A Global Middle East: Mobility, Materiality and Culture in the Morden Age, 1880-1940. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN: 9781780769424 $–

Lavie, S. (2014). Wrapped in the Flag of Israel: Mizrahi Single Mothers and Bureautic Torture. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books. ISBN: 9781782382225. $ 39.95

Malik, A. I. (2015). US Foreign Policy and the Gulf Wars: Decision- making and International Relations. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN: 9781780768359. $99.00

Mohammadi, M. (2015). Political Islam in Post-Revolutionary Iran: Shi’i Ideologies in Islamist Discourse. London & New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN: 9781848852761. $99.00

Molavi, S. C. (2014, pbk ed.). Stateless Citizenship: the Palestinian-Arab citizens of Israel. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books ISBN: 978-1-60846-383-1 $28.00

Motadel, D. (2014). Islam and Nazi Germany’s war. Cambridge, Massachutts London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN: 978-0-674-72460-0, $35.00

Mottahedeh, N. (2015). #iranelection: Hashtag Solidarity and the Transformation of Online Life. Stanford, Calfonia: Stanford University Press. ISBN: 9780804795876. $12.99

Osoegawa, T. (2015) Syria and Lebanon: International Relations and Diplomacy in the Middle East. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN: 9781784532338. $25.00

Patrick, A. (2015). America’s Frogptten Middle East Initiative: The King-Crane Commission 1919. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN: 978178453274. 99.00

Peace, T. (2015). Muslims and Political Participation in Britain. New York and London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN: 9780415725316. $140

Pagès, M. (2014). From Martyr to Murder: Representations of the Assassins in Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century Europe. New York: Syracuse Press. ISBN: 9780815633709. $39.99

Possamai, A., Richardson, J. T. and Turner, B. S. (eds) (2015). The Sociology of Shari’a: Case Studies from around the world (Boundaries of Religious Freedom: Regulating Religion in Diverse Societis 1). New York, NY: Springer International Publishing. ISBN: 9783319096049. $129.00.

Rotbard, S. (2015). White City Black City: Architecture and War in Tel Aviv and Jaffa. London: Pluto Press. ISBN: 9780745335117. $–.–?

Shari-Yazidi, F. C. (2015). Arab_Iranian Rivalry in the Persian Gulf: Terrirorial Disputes and the Balance of Power in the Middle East. London & New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN: 9781848858220. $110.00

The post Books available for review in MEMBR appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Implicit Religion Journal – Seeking New Editor

Posted on by

Following the death of the Founding Editor Edward Bailey in April,
Equinox is seeking to appoint a new editor for Implicit Religion. If
you might be interested in the role, or have anyone to suggest, please
contact Janet Joyce jjoyce@equinoxpub.com.

Implicit Religion is an international journal published quarterly which
welcomes papers on theory and evidence in the study of religion and
secularity, and those which explore the relationship between the context
and dynamism of religious and secular phenomena. It is particularly
concerned with religious life outside the boundaries of the
churches/organized religion in post-modernity. The aim of Implicit
Religion is to enhance our general understanding of human behaviour,
through the insights developed by the academic study of religion.

http://www.equinoxpub.com/journals/index.php/IR

The post Implicit Religion Journal – Seeking New Editor appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Call for Contributions – Liminal Spaces from Sacred to Urban: The Friday Mosque and the City

Posted on by

Targeted contributions are sought for an edited volume exploring the dynamic relationship between the Friday Mosque and the city, specifically the liminality between sacred and urban spaces.

Islamic law requires believers to congregate on Fridays as a social code. The Prophet himself was instrumental in establishing the first congregational space in Medina. Whatever the original terminology was to define this space, it is usually accepted as the prototype of the “mosque” by the architectural historians. The English term “mosque” derives from the Arabic masjid, a term designating a place of prostration, whereas the term jāmi‘ which is translated variously as
Friday mosque, great mosque or congregational mosque, originates from the Arabic term jama‘ –that is, to gather. The distinctions in terminology are important because, according to Islamic legal tradition, the presence of a Friday mosque was an important parameter in defining a “city” (madina).

As the dominion of Islam (dar al-Islam) spread across continents, they gradually embraced local socio-cultural traditions, which became reflected in the overall designs of these buildings and their dependencies. Thanks to the symbolic importance of the Friday sermon (khutba), mosques also became the loci for displays of power and declarations of independence that became increasingly important with the proliferation of Islamic states. As embodiments of the inter-state rivalry, Friday mosques were instrumental in the urban development and
identity of new Islamic capital cities. The concepts of the Friday mosque and the “Islamic City” have been independently discussed at great length and widely studied by historians of Islamic architecture and urbanism and are therefore not the focus of our attention. Instead, we are particularly interested in the functional and spatial ambiguity of the transition between the city and the Friday mosque.

In understanding the relationship between the Friday mosque and the city, what constitutes the boundaries of one versus the other is often difficult to define. Moreover, those “urban thresholds”, which changed over time and geography, act as liminal spaces between the sacred and urban. So, where does liminality or sacredness begin? And in the context of Friday mosques, is the sanctuary defined by the interior of the mosque? Or does sacredness extend to ambiguous spaces as well? For example when one enters the ziyada of the Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo, do the rules of the sacred precinct apply? Similar questions can be asked in relation to courtyards or portico entrances (son cemaat yeri) in Ottoman mosques.

The development of the complex complicates this discussion further as the different social and historical contexts gave various meanings to such spaces. What happens when a mosque is combined with dependencies and is thereby transformed into a complex, such as the Khuand Khatun Complex in Kayseri? Or even when the buildings are conceptualized together, as in the case of many Ottoman mosque complexes in Istanbul, at what point does one enter the sacred zone?

Outlined above are some of the issues that we hope to address in this volume. We welcome works from all periods and geographies where Friday mosques were built.

Possible themes may include (but not limited to):

  • the role of the Friday mosque in urban development
  • the mosque as a complex
  • the ambiguity of interior / exterior zones
  • everyday life in and around the mosques
  • Friday mosques as urban public spaces
  • the intended versus actual usage of “urban thresholds”
  • cross-cultural interactions in mosque architecture
  • converted mosques and urban implications

Interested colleagues should send an abstract of 800-1000 words and a CV to the editors Drs. A. Hilâl Uğurlu and Suzan Yalman (liminalspaces2016@gmail.com) by 21 August 2015. Potential contributors should plan on submitting their papers (min.7000 – max. 10000 words) for
peer review by 29 February 2016. For the final publication, we are currently in the process of discussion with university and academic publishers.

For further questions and comments please contact the editors at liminalspaces2016@gmail.com.

Deadlines & Dates

Abstract submission deadline (800-1000 words) 21 August 2015
Notification of abstract acceptance 02 October 2015
Full paper submission for peer review deadline 29 February 2016
Return of peer reviewed papers 01 June 2016
Final Submission 01 August 2016

The post Call for Contributions – Liminal Spaces from Sacred to Urban: The Friday Mosque and the City appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Conference: “Challenging (European) Modernity: Islam in Context”

Posted on by

Challenging (European) Modernity: Islam in Context
University of Durham
August 19-20, 2015
Keynote speakers:

  • Marco Cinnirella (Royal Holloway University of London)
  • Amina Wadud (Virginia Commonwealth University)

Submission Deadline: June 17th 2015.

Since the turn of the late-19th century, Europe gave rise to a range of cultural, socio-political, and socioeconomic projects seeking to restructure society after the concept of a modern Europe.  Some of these projects were predominantly advanced through subordinating traditions, cultures, and identities and have an inherently Eurocentric outlook. The historical experience evokes responses. Traditions, cultures, and identities have responded to fit the hegemonic conception of European modernity. This response has challenged European modernity as a concept, social entity and ideological force. Critics have problematized the unilinear view of historical progress in the discourse of Enlightenment modernity and its homogenizing universalism. Out of these critical engagements, have emerged counter discourses such as “indigenous modernities”, “multiple modernities”, and “alternative modernities”. These critiques have opened up new possibilities for research and engagement.

The relationship between Muslims and European society feels the effects  in many ways and in many different instances. Muslims have engaged with European Modernity in a variety of ways and from a variety of perspectives. What role is there for Muslims within a minority context both as agents in charge of their own destiny, or as demanders of social justice, and recognition and representation in time, place, and public space? Is there space for and actions of solidarity transcending boundaries, either geographic or socio-cultural? To what extent can Muslims engage with non-Muslims and state authorities, whether as minorities in non-Muslim territories or in countries with a Muslim majority? Are there limits for Muslims in its ability to practice their faith in a European Setting? Are their boundaries within the secular state? What texts or figures are to be considered authoritative when approaching these questions? Is there one locus or multiple loci for a legitimate engagement, either within European modernity or with that modernity as a concept? Although the focus of the public discourse remains on the headlines, this conference aims to engage on a much deeper level the relationship between Muslims or Islam and Europe today.

The overall mission is for this conference to bring together academic minds from a variety of fields all connected by an interest in understanding the role of Islam or Muslims within the dynamics of
contemporary Europe. The conference will explore research from a wide variety of fields and will educate researchers across disciplines and facilitate future cross-pollination in this area.

The plan is for a selection of papers presented at the conference to be published in a peer-reviewed, edited volume or journal edition. Each chapter will be subject to a peer review process and must not have been published, accepted for publication, or presently under consideration for publication elsewhere. Guidelines for preparing the final chapter will be sent upon acceptance notification.

Should you have any questions or require more information, please contact us via email to either laurens.de-rooij@durham.ac.uk  or law.ilm@durham.ac.uk.

The post Conference: “Challenging (European) Modernity: Islam in Context” appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

CFP: “Pentecostals and the Body”

Posted on by

CALL FOR MANUSCRIPTS: ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION
Volume 8: Pentecostals and the Body
Forthcoming 2017
Edited by: Michael Wilkinson (Trinity Western University, Canada) and Peter Althouse (Southeastern University, USA)

The body is an important area of research in sociology as well as across a number of disciplines including religion. The intersection of religion, sexuality, gender studies, queer studies, disability studies, health and illness, pain, death and dying, emotions, and embodiment, or more specifically the social and cultural meanings of the body are especially insightful. While literature on embodiment continues to expand, to date, there is no sustained examination of Pentecostalism and the themes associated with research on the body. And yet, Pentecostals offer some very interesting observations about religion, religious experience, religious embodiment, healing, sexuality and notions of control, holiness, and celebration. Pentecostals are well known for
overt bodily expressions of religious experience, spirituality that includes kinesthetic worship such as speaking in tongues, dancing, twirling, and falling down. Among Pentecostals there is also
considerable debate about bodies, the relationship between bodies and the Holy Spirit, possession of evil spirits, deliverance and exorcism.

Pentecostalism also has a long history of claiming divine healing for the body and emotions. Believing that healing is a sign of divine power and presence raises a certain tension with bodies that never experience healing or face some type of disability. Pentecostalism is also associated with notions of sexuality, and gender roles that are liberating and limiting. Generally, we intend to explore the following: How and by what means is Pentecostalism embodied? What debates highlight the tensions over bodies and so called authentic expressions of Pentecostalism vis-à-vis the body and the politics of the body? What is the social processes and social interactions by which bodies embody religion?

To explore these issues we propose to include articles around the following themes.

  1. The Kinesthetic Body – Pentecostals and charismatic worship, speaking in tongues, dreams, and visions.
  2. Bodies and Spirit(s) – Pentecostal notions of being filled with the Holy Spirit and deliverance of other spirits.
  3. Health, Illness, and Disability – Pentecostals and the practice of healing and discourses around illness and death.
  4. The Politics of Sexuality and Gender Roles – Pentecostalism as liberating and limiting for bodies, social control and gender roles, sexuality and notions of holiness/purity of body.

The editors will seek out contributors who can address questions raised in the sociology of religion about Pentecostalism and the sociology of the body with authors representing regional and cultural variation. Please send all proposals (300 words) to Michael.Wilkinson@twu.ca

Deadlines:
Submission of proposals: July 30, 2015
Notification of acceptance: September 30, 2015
Completed manuscripts (7,000 words): June 30, 2016

The post CFP: “Pentecostals and the Body” appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.