Call for Papers: Conference on Islam in Russia

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Conference on Islam in Russia
Thursday, October 15-16, 2015
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/events/conference-islam-russia

Call for Paper Proposals

The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University invites submissions of paper proposals for an international conference on Islam in Russia.

Islam in Russia takes many forms, from the Tatars’ moderate EuroIslam to traditional Sufism in the Caucasus to the radicalized Salafi ideas found among a minority of young Muslims throughout the country. These different Muslim identities interact with a state that has in recent years come to be increasingly dominated by ethnic Russian and Orthodox Christian identities. At the same time, the strengthening of the Russian state has led it to increase its influence on Muslim religious practices and the everyday lives of Russian Muslims.

The Crimean crisis of 2014 has again highlighted the significance of Islam in contemporary Russia. The Russian government tried to mobilize state-supported Muslim organizations to sway Crimean Tatars to its side. This strategy was consistent with Moscow’s long-standing practice of co-opting religious groups by appointing a state-sanctioned representative. Since the time of Catherine the Great, Islamic authorities were expected to promote interpretations of Islam that supported the state. Needless to say, attempting to co-op believers into supporting a particular religious interpretation runs the risk of alienating those who disagree with the official interpretation. The resulting power struggles have played an important role in shaping Muslim identity in Russia in the post-Soviet period.

This conference will focus on what it means to be a Muslim in Russia today and how these meanings are reflected in Russian political life. Conference participants will examine the variety of Muslim identities in modern Russia and also consider the evolving role of Muslims in Russian history.

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Event: “Faith, Politics & Social Justice: The General Election and Beyond”

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Faith, Politics & Social Justice: The General Election and Beyond

An event organised by the Faith & Peaceful Relations Research Cluster at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University.

Tuesday 3rd February 2015, 12.00-3.45pm (lunch provided)

Taking place three months before the General Election, the event will explore the current and likely future relationship between religion and politics in the UK. High-profile speakers from across the political and religious spectrum – including faith- based organisations, the voluntary and third sector, think tanks, policy makers and academics – will reflect on the role faith and faith groups play in politics, and specifically in the forthcoming election. They will discuss how electoral politics is engaging and affecting faith groups. Confirmed speakers include: Sughra Ahmed (Islamic Society of Britain), David Barclay (Contextual Theology Centre), Mike Battcock (Department for International Development), Revd Canon Paul Hackwood (Church Urban Fund & Near Neighbours), Lucinda Hasell (Mothers’ Union), Sister Jayanti (Brahma Kumaris), Fiyaz Mughal (Tell MAMA & Faith Matters), Philip Rosenberg (Board of Deputies of British Jews), Stephen Shashoua (Three Faiths Forum) and Daniel Singleton (Faith Action).

To register for this free event, please visit the following website address: http://www.coventry.ac.uk/faithpoliticsandsocialjustice  Places are limited and registrations will close by 30th January 2015.

We are very pleased to announce that a Coventry University lecture by the Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, will directly follow the event (4.15-5.15pm). He will speak on ‘How can we build communities of peace and trust?’ Please indicate whether you wish to attend this lecture when you register.

We look forward to welcoming you at this event. Please direct any queries to Mandeep Singh Sehmi (PhD researcher and Research Assistant) on sehmim2@uni.coventry.ac.uk

The post Event: “Faith, Politics & Social Justice: The General Election and Beyond” appeared first on ISA Research Committee 22.

Conference CFP: “Pluralism and Community: Social Science History Perspectives”

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Call for Papers: Social Science History Association Religion Network

Social Science History Association 2015 Annual Conference

Baltimore, Maryland, November 12-15, 2015

Conference Theme: “Pluralism and Community: Social Science History Perspectives”

SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 14, 2015

The Religion Network of the Social Science History Association invites proposals for papers, panels, and book sessions for the 40th annual meeting of the Social Science History Association in Baltimore, Maryland, November 12-15, 2014.  We also are looking for volunteers to serve as panel chairs and discussants. 

The SSHA is the leading interdisciplinary association for historical research in the US, providing a stimulating venue for explorations of how social processes unfold over time. The Religion Network serves as the home within the organization for scholars interested in religious history, religious mobilization, religious change, and religion’s effect on social and political processes. Our network is interdisciplinary and cross-national in scope, and embraces all scholarship that examines how religion intersects with other social processes in historical perspective.

We encourage the participation of graduate students and recent PhDs as well as more established scholars from a wide range of disciplines and departments. Graduate students are eligible to apply for financial support to attend the annual meeting (see http://www.ssha.org/grants). Further details about the association, the 2015 annual meeting, and the call for proposals are available on the SSHA website: www.ssha.org.

The deadline for paper and/or panel submissions is February 14th, 2015.
We welcome and encourage papers and panel proposals on a wide array of issues related to the historical study of religion and society. While complete panel proposals (consisting of 4-5 individual papers, a chair, and a discussant) are preferred, we also seek out high-quality individual paper submissions. Panels and papers may address the topics below, or any other relevant and related topic examining religion in a historical context:

  • · Religious Pluralism and Community
  • · Religion, Ethnicity, and Nationalism
  • · Empire, Missions, and Global Religious Encounters
  • · Religious Minorities and the Public Sphere
  • · Religion, Education, and Diversity
  • · Secularization and Secularism
  • · Religious Identities
  • · Religion, Science, and Medicine
  • · Religion and Law
  • · Religion and Genocide

Please use the SSHA’s web conference management system to submit your papers and panel proposals. Paper title, brief abstract, and contact information should be submitted at http://prod.sshaconference.org/people/login. Please do not hesitate to contact the Religion Network representatives with any questions, comments, or for help with submissions.

Thank you, and we look forward to a stimulating set of panels at this year’s SSHA meeting.

Ates Altinordu (atesaltinordu@sabanciuniv.edu)

Damon Mayrl (dmayrl@clio.uc3m.es)

Sam Nelson (scnelson0@gmail.com)

Philip Gorski

SSHA Religion Network Representatives

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New Book: Multiple Secularities Beyond the West

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NEW BOOK OUT NOW

Marian Burchardt, Monika Wohlrab-Sahr, Matthias Middell (Eds.)

MULTIPLE SECULARITIES BEYOND THE WEST

Religion and Modernity in the Global Age

Questions of secularity and modernity have become globalized, but most studies still focus on the West. This volume breaks new ground by comparatively exploring developments in five areas of the world, some of which were hitherto situated at the margins of international scholarly discussions: Africa, the Arab World, East Asia, South Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe.In theoretical terms, the book examines three key dimensions of modern secularity: historical pathways, cultural meanings, and global entanglements of secular formations. The contributions show how differences in these dimensions are linked to specific histories of religious and ethnic diversity, processes of state-formation and nation-building. They also reveal how secularities are critically shaped through civilizational encounters, processes of globalization, colonial conquest, and missionary movements, and how entanglements between different territorially grounded notions of secularity or between local cultures and transnational secular arenas unfold over time.

Marian Burchardt, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity Göttingen;  MonikaWohlrab-Sahr and Matthias Middell, University of Leipzig.

Boston and Berlin: De Gruyter

http://www.degruyter.com/view/product/209741?format=G

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Book Announcement: The Oxford Handbook of American Islam

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The Oxford Handbook of American Islam
Edited by Yvonne Y. Haddad and Jane I. Smith
2014, Oxford University Press
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-american-islam-9780199862634

· Provides up to date information on the millennial generation of Muslims in America.

Islam has been part of the increasingly complex American religious scene for well over a century, and was brought into more dramatic focus by the attacks of September 11, 2001. American Islam is practiced by a unique blend of immigrants and American-born Muslims. The immigrants have come
from all corners of the world; they include rich and poor, well-educated and illiterate, those from upper and lower classes as well as economic and political refugees. The community’s diversity has been enhanced by the conversion of African Americans, Latina/os, and others, making it the most heterogeneous Muslim community in the world.

With an up-to-the-minute analysis by thirty of the top scholars in the field, this handbook covers the growth of Islam in America from the earliest Muslims to set foot on American soil to the current wave of Islamophobia. Topics covered include the development of African American Islam; pre- and post-WWII immigrants; Sunni, Shi`ite, sectarian and Sufi movements in America; the role and status of women, marriage, and family; and the Americanization of Islamic culture.

Throughout these chapters the contributors explore the meaning of religious identity in the context of race, ethnicity, gender, and politics, both within the American Islamic community and in relation to international Islam.

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Call for Papers: Second Interdisciplinary Conference on Religion in Everyday lives

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Centre for Research in Social sciences and Humanities

http://www.socialsciencesandhumanities.com

is inviting paper/panel proposals for

Second Interdisciplinary Conference on Religion in Everyday lives to be held in

Vienna, Austria, 21-22.03.2015.

Conference venue: ***** Hotel Le Meridien Wien, Opernring 13-15, A-1010, Vienna, Austria (Room Happy Green)

Religion is often discussed through the eyes of secularisation theory; however, there is no agreement on what secularisation is, or to what extent religion is present in our present lives even though religion is as influential as ever. Whether we understand secularisation as a decline of religious beliefs, privatization of religion, or as differentiation of the secular spheres and emancipation (Casanova 2006; Berger 2001), we still have to ask ourselves to what extent religion shapes our present lives. Many scholars believed religion will eventually loose importance and that societies will face decline of religious beliefs, but by the end of the 20th century many changed their views and acknowledged that secularisation theory does not work, and that religion is as important as ever (Berger, 1999). Nonetheless, we can agree with a view “religious communities have survived and even flourished to the degree that they have not tried to adapt themselves to the alleged requirements of a secularised world” (Berger, 1999: 4).

Recently, scholars also advocated that religion emerges in times of crisis such as, for example, events in the Middle East, breakup of former Yugoslavia, economic crisis, etc. It is questionable whether we can truly discuss secularisation as a phenomenon, or we should simply turn our attention to the notion of religion in all of its aspects, and try to increase understanding of this complex phenomenon.

We are inviting papers from social sciences and humanities that address religion and its influence on our present reality, and its growing importance.

Papers are invited (but not limited to) for the following panels:

  • Secularisation vs sacralisation
  • Methodology in researching religion
  • Spirituality
  • Pilgrimage
  • Religious practices
  • Religion and culture
  • Religion and the media
  • Religious subjectivity
  • Material religion
  • Religion and childhood
  • Religion and critical theory
  • Religion and discrimination
  • Religion and identity
  • Religion and education
  • Religion and belonging
  • Religious Anti-Semitism
  • Studies in Judaism
  • Religion and the Idea of Europe
  • Religion and ethnicity
  • Studies in Islam

Prospective participants are also welcome to submit proposals for their own panels.

Submissions of abstracts (up to 500 words) with an email contact should be sent to Dr Martina Topić

(martina@socialsciencesandhumanities.com) by 10 March 2015.

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Call for Session Proposals: 3rd Forum of Sociology in Vienna, July 2012. Research Committee on the Sociology of Religion

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RC 22: Research Committee for the Sociology of Religion Call for Sessions:
“Religion, Secularity and Post-Secularity: Crafting Meaningful Futures”

The Third ISA Forum of Sociology “The Futures we want: Global Sociology and the struggles for a better world’’ to be held in Vienna, 10-14 July, 2016. (International Sociological Association)

Programme Co-ordinator: Vineeta Sinha (socvs@nus.edu.sg)

PROGRAM  THEME:  The world’s current socio-economic and political turmoil has a profound impact on religious expressions, sensibilities and worldviews.  Religious expressions and worldviews also affect the surrounding socio-economic and political spheres.   Such dramatic changes produce disquiet, tumult and agitation but also open opportunities to question the status and create novel social possibilities.
Sociologists of religion face a number of challenges in understanding these interactions.  Among these is the need to develop new theoretical and empirical approaches to our subject.  Sociologists have long argued about the continuing place and value of religions in a secularizing and globalizing world .  Although the notion of ‘post-secularity’ is hardly new, it has recently emerged forcefully (and somewhat fashionably) in attempts to theorise the visibility and relevance of religiosity in the world today.  This raises serious questions that deserve sociological attention.   Among these:

  • Do recent developments signal to some extent the passing of a ‘secularist’ moment?
  • What is meant by ‘post-secularity’?
  • Are we living in a post-secular age?  Or are we merely looking forward to one?
  • If so, what would religion look like is such a context?
  • What effect religion could religion have in a rapidly changing world?

The objective of these thematic sessions is to theorise the complex religious landscapes in the present and to contemplate if, where, how and with what effect religions will manifest and organize themselves in a rapidly changing socio-political landscape.

CALL FOR SESSION PROPOSALS:  We invite RC 22 members to propose sessions that deal with these complex issues.  We especially welcome sessions that include cross-cultural and cross-national comparisons.   Besides the thematic topics above, we also seek sessions that contribute to other recent debates within the field.  Here are some ideas:

  • any of the thematic ideas listed above
  • religion in the public sphere
  • popular religion
  • religion, gender and feminism
  • urban forms of religiosity
  • material religion
  • religious commodification and consumption
  • religious revivalism and religious innovation in a global context
  • other topics of interest.

Both thematic proposals and non-thematic proposals should address the multiple, complex and sometimes opposing strands and arguments on their topics in the social-scientific study of religion.

HOW TO PROPOSE A SESSION:

  • If you wish to propose a session before February 2nd, please send an abstract (no more than 300 words), your full name, institutional affiliation, e-mail and a short bio to Vineeta Sinha (socvs@nus.edu.sg)
  • Starting 2 February, 2015, you can submit your proposals online at the International Sociological Association’s website.  A link will appear at http://www.isa-sociology.org/forum-2016/
  • Session proposals must be in English, French, or Spanish.

Please also note that you must become an RC22 member to have your session proposal accepted; you can join the Research Committee through the ISA website at http://www.isa-sociology.org/memb_i/index.htm 

In order to be included in the programme, all participants (presenters, chairs, discussants, etc.) must join the ISA and register for the Forum by the early registration deadline of 1 April, 2016. Without early registration and membership, presenters, chairs, etc. will not appear in the Programme Book or in the Abstracts Book.

The Research Committee on the Sociology of Religion (RC22) is the section of the International Sociological Association tasked with advancing theory and research in the sociology of religion, in the context of world sociology.  Please visit our website at www.ISA-RC22.org for information about us and about our programs.  Visit the ISA’s website at www.isa-sociology.org for information about our parent organization.  Information about the Third Forum of Sociology can be found at http://www.isa-sociology.org/vienna-2016/

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New Open Access book series on New Religious Movements

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De Gruyter Open, part of De Gruyter publishing group, invites book proposals for the inaugural volume of 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/

Authors interested in submitting their proposals for the inaugural volume are asked to fill in the New Book Proposal Form (which can be found at http://degruyteropen.com/…/subj…/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, contain at least 100,000 words and must not have been published before in any language. The date of submission of the entire manuscript must be no later than November 2015. Earlier date of the submission will be an additional asset.

The author(s) of the inaugural volume(s) will benefit from:

– scrupulous peer-review
- free language edition done by native speakers in English
- no publication fees
- complimentary copies
- royalties from print sales
- unrestricted access to the book for all readers, helpful to reach audiences on a global scale

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.

Submissions are due by February 15, 2015.

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

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Workshop: “Religion and the Political Participation and Mobilization of Immigrant Groups: A Transatlantic Perspective”.

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The Centre for Ethnic and Migration Studies (CEDEM) of the University of Liège is pleased to announce the third scientific thematic workshop organized by the working group Citizenship and Political Participation on “Religion and the Political Participation and Mobilization of Immigrant Groups: A Transatlantic Perspective”.  

11 May 2015
CEDEM, University of Liège, Belgium

The scientific thematic workshop will examine the political participation of immigrants in an original perspective. Instead of analyzing it through an exclusive ethnic and racial origin lens, we will focus on the role of religion in the political participation and mobilization of immigrant groups in a transatlantic perspective (Europe-North America). The leading question, of the workshop is: what role does religion play in the political participation and mobilization of immigrant groups in European and North American cities? We don’t want to focus on Muslims but consider Catholics, Protestants, and religions as well as non-religious faith such as secularism.

The papers should cover in priority one of the following topics possibly in a comparative perspective.  However, other topics proposed by the applicants will also be considered.  The topics:

• Electoral behavior of Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, etc. citizens with an immigrant background
• Political mobilization through churches, mosques and religious associations
• Immigrants and organized secularism
• Music, religion and political mobilization of second and third generations
• Immigrants and anti-religious discrimination
• Trans-religious alliances among immigrants

This workshop is open to professors, researchers, MA students, PhD students. The attendance is free but registration is requested before April 15th 2015. Please send an email to Sonia.Gsir@ulg.ac.be

The intention is to prepare a special issue of a journal including a selection of the papers presented at the workshop. Those interested are asked to send a one-page presentation of their paper to Marco Martiniello by February 8th 2015 : mail to: M.Martiniello@ulg.ac.be

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In Memorium: Ulrich Beck

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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.

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