‘Gary Bouma’s legacy in Sociology’ Session, 24 November 2021, 9.10-10.30am AEDT

Dear all,
You are invited to participate in the ‘Gary Bouma’s legacy in Sociology’ session, organised as part of TASA Thematic Week. This session has been made free for all participants.
There will be four presentations from international and Australian scholars, who will reflect on Gary’s life and scholarly works:

  • Jim Spickard – Gary’s Global Contribution to Sociology of Religion and International Societies
  • Lori Beaman – Gary’s contribution to the Religion and Diversity Project
  • Adam Possamai – Gary Bouma and the Australian Soul
  • Andrew Singleton and Anna Halafoff – Mentorship and Recent Scholarly Reflections

A time of reflection and discussion for all participants will follow.

A request: we are hoping to put together a photo slideshow as part of the session. If you have a photo taken with Gary, that you have permission to share in a public way, please send it to Enqi Weng at enqi.weng@deakin.edu.au by 5 November 2021 for possible inclusion.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Register here.

In Memoriam: Professor Gary Bouma, MDiv, MA, PhD, AM (1942-2021)

Dear Colleagues:
We are saddened by the news that Gary Bouma died at his home in Melbourne last Thursday morning, 19 August, in the company of his wife, Patricia. He was 79. After falling and breaking his leg in February, when he was otherwise fit and well, Gary experienced a number of debilitating medical conditions and, in the midst of all that, the death of his beloved son.

Gary was a long-time participant in international sociology and a leader in the sociology of religion in Australia.  His massive academic legacy includes over 30 books and 360 articles—with many still forthcoming. His most recent book, authored by Andrew Singleton, Anna Halafoff, Mary Lou Rasmussen and Gary, on Freedoms, Faiths and Futures: Teenage Australians on Religion, Sexuality and Diversity, arising from an ARC Discovery Project, was published in April this year. As well as landmark works on the sociology of Australian religion, including Australian Soul, he reshaped Australian understanding of religion in numerous areas including interreligious understanding, human rights, religion and youth, education and public policy. His work reached far beyond the academy, with notable policy work including the Human Rights Commission’s 2011 inquiry into Freedom of Religion and Belief in 21st Century Australia; chairing the Board of Directors for The Parliament of the World’s Religions in 2009; and numerous interventions in public debate in areas such as religious diversity, gender and sexuality, Islamophobia and the place of religion in schools.

Gary came to Australia in 1979, joining Monash University, where he remained for the next 42 years, becoming Emeritus Professor in 2008, after serving in numerous roles including Professor of Sociology, DVC Research, and Head of School. In 2005, he was appointed UNESCO Chair in Inter-Cultural and Inter-Religious Relations. He led the Australian node of the University of Ottawa-based Religion and Diversity Project, and was a leading figure in other distinguished national and international research collaborations. In 2013, he was awarded AM for services to Sociology, to interreligious relations and to the Anglican Church of Australia.

He was also an ordained minister in the Anglican church and at the time of his death was Honorary Assistant Priest at St Johns, East Malvern.

Gary’s funeral will be on Thursday, 26 August at 11:00 am AEST (that is 9:00 pm Wednesday, 25 August US EST) and will be live-streamed. The State of Victoria’s COVID regulations currently restrict the number of people attending funerals to ten, plus those required for the conduct of the funeral.  The link to the funeral is https://www.selwynallenfunerals.com.au/upcoming-services . Scroll down to find Gary.

In Memoriam: William Swatos

William (Bill) Swatos was the editor of the U.S. journal Sociological Analysis (now Sociology of Religion) and the long-time Executive Officer of the Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR).  He was active in the SISR-ISSR and was the official liaison between the ASR and the ISA Research Committee 22 on the sociology of religion.

He died yesterday from complications of COVID-19. 

Here is his official obituary:

William H. Swatos, Jr. 74, of Galva, IL, died in GMC Medical Center, Sterling, IL on November 9, 2020 due to complications of COVID-19.

A native of West Milford, NJ, he graduated from Transylvania University in Lexington, KY, and the University of Kentucky. He graduated from the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Lexington and was ordained a priest while serving at the Church of the Transfiguration in Lawrenceburg, KY. He served at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Silvis, IL from 1980-1993. He was a resident of Galva, IL until recently moving to a care facility.

His academic career included teaching sociology at King College (Bristol, TN), Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), and Baylor University (Waco, TX). As a Fulbright Scholar in 1981, he travelled to Iceland to teach and study Icelandic religion. He was a noted author/editor of over 20 textbooks exploring topics in the sociology of religion. He served as Executive Officer of the Association for the Sociology of Religion from 1997-2012, and as Managing Editor of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion at Baylor University.

He is survived by sons Eric (Elizabeth) Swatos of Prophetstown and Giles Swatos of Tampa, FL, and grandchildren Arthur, Lillian, Claire, and Stephen. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the Alzheimer’s Association, https://www.alz.org/

Downloadable Memoir about David Martin

Jim Beckford and Grace Davie have written a memoir for David Martin, which is now available for download on the BA website at: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications/biographical-memoirs-fellows-british-academy/18/martin-david-1929-2019

The download box is on the upper left-hand side of the page.
Copyright remains with the British Academy, but there is no obstacle to sharing the link widely.

Studies in Honor of Professor Saba Mahmood

Rethinking Politics and Religion: Studies in Honor of Professor Saba Mahmood

                                               Special issue of Sociology of Islam

http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/22131418

https://brill.com/view/journals/soi/soi-overview.xml

On the sad news of the passing of Saba Mahmood, the editorial board of the journal Sociology of Islam has decided to organize a special issue to honor the work and legacy of our distinguished colleague for the study of global politics and religion.

Saba Mahmood’s anthropological work shifted debates on secularism and religion, gender and politics, the rights of religious minorities, and the impact of colonialism in the Middle East. Her conceptual engagement with these pertinent social and political issues, however, has opened up broader questions about the politics of religious difference in a secular age beyond the Middle East and Muslim majority countries. This special issue of Sociology of Islam intends to bring to the fore the scope of these contributions in order to assess the cross-disciplinary and transregional magnitude of her work. The editorial board calls for papers on the following and related subjects in the work of Saba Mahmood:

–          Agency and submission;

–          Body/Embodiment;

–          Citizenship;

–          Ethics;

–          Feminist Theory;

–          Gender;

–          Hermeneutics;

–          Law and the State;

–          Postcolonialism/Postcoloniality;

–          Religious freedom;

–          Religious difference;

–          Secularism/Secularity;

–          Sovereignty;

–          Subject formation;

–          The minority condition.

If you are interested in contributing to this special issue, please send a 500-word abstract to Sultan Doughan (sultan_doughan@berkeley.edu) and Jean-Michel Landry (jean-michel.landry@mcgill.ca) by 30 April 2018. We acknowledge receipt of all emails and will reply to all. If you do not receive a reply, please resend your abstract. Please include the following in your email:

–          Author name;

–          Affiliation;

–          email address;

–          abstract in Word format;

–          a short CV.

Acceptance notices will be sent by 15 May 2018. Full articles are due 30 September 2018. The special issue will come out in early 2019 (2019/2). All articles must follow the guidelines provided in the attachment to this email.

In Memorium: Ulrich Beck

Renowned sociologist Ulrich Beck has died

3 Jan 2015, Deutsche Welle http://www.dw.de/renowned-sociologist-ulrich-beck-has-died/a-18168851

Renowned German sociologist Ulrich Beck, famous for creating the term “risk society” (Riskiogesellschaft) has died at the age of 70. His books have been translated into 35 languages.

According to the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung on Saturday, Beck passed away on January 1 following a heart attack. Ulrich Beck became one of the world’s most famous and most quoted sociologists in recent decades, with his 1986 work Risk Society (Riskiogesellschaft), a bestseller which was translated into 35
languages. His works have focused on the challenges of our times including climate change, terrorism and financial crises  In a 2012 essay for news magazine Der Spiegel, the politically-engaged academic described German Chancellor Angela Merkel as “Merkiavelli” in relation to her dominant role and policies on European-bailouts.

Born in May 1944 in what was then the town of Stolp in Pomerania, now Slupsk in Poland, Beck grew up in Hanover and studied sociology, philosophy, psychology and political science in Munich in the 1960s and 70s. Following short stints at several German universities, Ulrich Beck took up the role of Professor of Sociology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) in 1992. He held several other academic positions, including being visiting professor in the sociology department of the London School of Economics since 1997. Beck was awarded honorary doctorates by at least eight universities and received numerous international awards. His essays have appeared in several German and international media outlets, including Deutsche Welle.

The post In Memorium: Ulrich Beck appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.