Calls for Papers

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CFP: Religion, Secularity, and the Public Sphere in East and Southeast Asia

Date: 07 Mar 2013 – 08 Mar 2013
Venue: Asia Research Institute Seminar Room
469A Tower Block, Level 10, Bukit Timah Road
National University of Singapore

Description:
Co-organised by the Asia Research Institute, NUS and the University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy Contemporary Philosophy in the Age of Globalization, Japan

The ongoing debate about the secular public sphere reaches to the core of the issue of the foundation of modern political power. Scholars upholding liberal democracy insist on a normative, privatized definition of religion in their efforts to sustain the secular, rational public sphere. Critiques of this approach call into question the viability of the distinction between the religious and the secular, and argue the public sphere, far from a free space for rational political discussions, is the very terrain where the public power of the state is deployed to ensure the proper formation of its national-citizens by shaping what they believe as truth. This debate reflects a primary concern with religion and the state as manifested in European and North American context. This conference is an attempt to engage the conversations on religion, secularity and the public sphere from the specific sites of East and Southeast Asia. The goals are to problematize social-political conditions and generate new ways to understand state-society relations in these regions.

Two anchoring points ground the more specific discussions of each paper. First, the “religious” and the “secular” are categories of performativity that have been instrumental in constructing distinctions of the private and public, belief and reason, distinctions central for the operation of the power of modern nation-state. We seek to examine these performativity moves of the categories of the religious and the secular through specific case studies of East and Southeast Asia. Second, the secular public sphere will be rethought. It operates upon the premise of exclusion of what is defined as religion. Questioning the “secular” nature of the public sphere requires interrogations into such notions as public good, citizenship, minority, ethnicity, freedom, and fundamentally the relation of the individual with the public authority of the state. Instead of the liberal democratic public sphere, we propose the possibility of envisioning an alternative one that is unbound, inclusive, and embodied. The conference seeks in the past and present of East and Southeast Asia alternative conceptions and practices of that which can be called a public realm.

We pursue these issues while addressing specific questions of:

  • In what ways are ongoing discussions on religion, secularity and the public sphere relevant to E/SE Asia?
  • How were these ideas shared, borrowed, understood and experienced in this part of the world?
  • How were/are the pre-modern or indigenous conceptions, such as gōnggòng/kōkyō 公共 (public) or maslaha (public good), transformed in modern nation-state building?
  • How did the diverse populations of Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and adherents of other religions in Asia pursue “public good”?
  • How did the definition of religion relate to constructions of nation-states and of modern scientific knowledge in Asia?
  • How did the secular become constitutive of modes of representations of the state in the diverse Asian contexts?
  • How were/are the principles of religion-state separation and religious freedom legally and politically instituted and practiced? What tensions and problems were generated in the process?
  • How and in what sense do the religious revivals in Asia challenge the very ideas of the public sphere and the nation-state, and why?

Papers from any field in the humanities or social sciences are welcome. We are particularly interested in theoretically informed empirical study of cases, issues and events pertaining to the conference themes.
Successful applicants will be notified by January, 2013 and will be required to send a draft paper (5,000-7,000 words) by February 15, 2013. Travel and accommodation support is available from the Asia Research Institute, depending on need and availability of funds.
CONTACT DETAILS

Workshop Convenors:

Dr. Yijiang Zhong
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
Email: arizyj@nus.edu.sg

Assoc. Prof. Yongjia Liang
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
Email: arilyj@nus.edu.sg

Secretariat:

Mr Jonathan Lee
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
Email: jonathan.lee@nus.edu.sg
Contact Person: Mr LEE Ming Yao, Jonathan
Email: arilyj@nus.edu.sg, arilmyj@nus.edu.sg, arizyj@nus.edu.sg

Posted on by katieaston Calls for Papers, Publications

Call For Submission

The launch  of the NYUP’s book series on Secular Studies was announced earlier this year and is seeking submissions, details attached.

The Secular Studies series is meant to provide a home for works in the emerging field of secular studies. Rooted in a social science perspective, it will explore and illuminate various aspects of secular life, ranging from how secular people live their lives and how they construct their identities to the activities of secular social movements, from the demographics of secularism to the ways in which secularity intersects with other social processes, identities, patterns, and issues.

Secular_series

Posted on by Chris Calls for Papers, News

New Book Series: Histories of the Sacred and the Secular, 1700 – 2000

Histories of the Sacred and the Secular, 1700 – 2000. Edited by David Nash, Oxford Brookes University, UK

Histories of the Sacred and the Secular (pdf flyer)

Histories of the Sacred and the Secular 1700 – 2000 reflects the awakened and expanding
profile of the history of religion within the academy in recent years. Intending to publish
exciting new and high quality work on the history of religion and belief since 1700, the series
actively encourages the production of interdisciplinary proposals and the use of innovative
methodologies. We welcome book proposals on the history of Atheism, Secularism,
Humanism and unbelief/secularity and encourage research agendas in this area alongside
those in religious belief, as well as proposals covering subjects in Britain, Europe, the United
States and Oceania. Histories of the Sacred and the Secular 1700 – 2000 aims to reflect both
the work of new scholars entering the field, alongside the work of established scholars.

Editorial Board

Professor Callum Brown, Dundee University, UK
Professor William Gibson, Oxford Brookes University, UK
Dr Carole Cusack, Sydney University, Australia
Professor Beverley Clack, Oxford Brookes University, UK
Drs Bert Gasenbeek, University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht, Netherlands
Professor Paul Harvey, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, USA

for more details of the series or guidelines on
submitting a proposal contact the general Editor:

Professor David Nash
dsnash@brookes.ac.uk

http://www.palgrave.com

Posted on by katieaston Calls for Papers, News and Events

CFP: BSA Study Day – Sacred Space in Secular Institutions

Sacred Space in Secular Institutions

 Please send abstracts to Chris Hewson by 15 December: chris.hewson@manchester.ac.uk

 Venue: Humanities Bridgeford Street Building 1.69 (University of Manchester)

Date: Friday 18th January

The role, form and affect of sacred space(s) within ‘secular’ institutions is a theme that is increasingly attractive to scholars within the social sciences. This Socrel study day will consider how different types of organisation – including but not limited to educational establishments, hospitals and hospices, airports, public buildings, shopping centres, etc – ‘make space’ for faith, sacrality and religious practice(s) within their buildings, management structures and public offerings.

The study day will also consider: the key social, cultural and political drivers behind these spaces; precursors and ongoing developments; how such spaces are positioned within contemporary policy debates; and the practical issues practitioners should consider when designing and managing ‘sacred space’ within a secular institution. The day will be centred around three axes:

  • A reflection upon the wide range of institutions that contain set-aside ‘sacred space’.
  • A close sociological reading of what ‘happens’ within these spaces on a day-to-day basis, and how this might be conceptualised methodologically. For instance, how are they ‘shared’? How can effective use be measured?
  • A thoroughgoing assessment of the role and practice(s) of extant religious groups and traditions, within the provision and ongoing usage of these spaces.

 

We welcome contributions of any length (20 minute papers, 10-15 minute presentations) which address these, and any of the following questions:

  • What are these spaces for, and how are roles and designations contested?
  • What is or can be sacred about these spaces?
  • To what extent are these spaces multi-faith in either description or usage?
  • Do these spaces demonstrate novelty or continuity with existing forms?
  • What are the normative factors governing the development of these spaces (e.g. cohesion, diversity, customer focus, etc). Can these factors always be reconciled?

 Please send abstracts to Chris Hewson by 15 December:2012-13 Socrel Study Day CFP chris.hewson@manchester.ac.uk

Posted on by katieaston Calls for Papers, News and Events

CFP: Social relations and Human Security Conference: The role of belief in society/Secularism and Pluralism‏

Social relations and Human Security Conference
Friday 22nd – Saturday  23rd March
Centre for Social Relations (incorporating the Institute
of Community Cohesion), Coventry University
We live in an interconnected world that transports social issues across and between people, sectors, communities and societies. Tackling some of the drivers and misconceptions that underpin the most pressing problems for societies today –ethnicity, the environment, or socio-economics – requires continued multi-disciplinary dialogue between, governments, practitioners and publics.

The context of contemporary people-to-people relationships and the consequences of differences are both an opportunity and challenge for human security agendas. The question of how we interact, whether at work or at home, with people who we perceive as different to us is central to our sense of stability and security, not just for ourselves, but also for our families and communities. How do we challenge polarising narratives and negative representations through new models of engagement or dialogue? How can we develop communities where people interact in a meaningful way and experience true equality of opportunity? How can we help to equip people in the UK and globally to live engaged and peaceful lives in pluralistic societies?

In learning to understand how our social relations play out in communities both locally and globally, we can begin to address how to live together in peaceful relationships in a world of difference.

Keynote speakers include:

Professor Linda Woodhead, Professor in the sociology of religion in the Department of Politics, Philosophy & Religion at Lancaster University,
Prof. Salman Hameed, Director Centre for the study of Science in Muslim Societies, Hampshire College, US.
Abstract submission:
Our conference will explore the importance of work under the broad banner of social relations in policymaking, international inter-cultural dialogue/cross-community dialogue and academic research. Applied research, empirical studies and critical theoretical papers are welcomed on topics including, but not limited to:

• Agendas for social relations at a community level
• The role of belief, class or ethnicity in society, public space, or discourse
• New directions in intercultural dialogue/cross community dialogue
• The impact of top down vs. bottom up approaches on communities and policy
• Individuality vs. Individualism
• Secularism and Pluralism in local, national and international contexts
• Multiculturalism, Identity and Integration
• Inter-generational conflict/relations
• Do we need a new social contract for diversity?

Proposals are welcomed from researchers of all nationalities at all stages of their careers.

Session proposals should normally consist of three or four papers, with or without a commentator/chair. Sessions will be 90 minutes to 2 hours long.   Proposals for alternative types of session (eg. round-table or witness seminar) are strongly encouraged.  Please discuss this with us in advance of the Call for Papers deadline.

Proposals for individual papers should include an abstract of no more than 250 words. Abstracts should not contain footnotes and should be comprehensible to a non-specialist audience.

The deadline for submitting a session or abstract is 14th January 2013 

Abstracts should be submitted to: socialrelationsevents@coventry.ac.uk

Any enquiries should be directed to: Dr Fern Elsdon-Baker 
For further information and updates please go to:

http://www.cohesioninstitute.org.uk/NewsEvents/SocialRelationsAndHumanSecurity

 

 

 

Posted on by katieaston Calls for Papers, News and Events

CFP: What place, if any, does religion have in a secular research university?

Organisers of the Religion and the Idea of a University Conference are inviting proposals for twenty minute papers that engage with the broad question of ‘what place, if any, does religion have in a secular research university?’ .

Topics might include:

  • the research university as a secular space;
  • intellectual and religious virtue;
  • the university and the Common Good;
  • the place of religious literacy in university education;
  • the changing place of religion or spirituality in biomedical research.
  • the Christian or Islamic origins of universities, and their after-effects;
  • universities as sites of inter-faith dialogue and exchange;
  • the role of religion in pastoral/tutorial/welfare care of students, including non-religious students; or
  • the effects and implications of faith commitments amongst staff, or amongst students.

The call for papers poster is available to download here.

Submission guidelines

Submissions should be made by January 31st 2013 and sent to Joy Haughton (jh343@cam.ac.uk)

Submissions should include:

  1. Completed cover application form (PDF or Word)
  2. Abstract for 20 minute paper (max. 500 words)
  3. Curriculum Vitae of applicant (max. 2 A4 pages)

Graduate students may wish to be aware that graduate student bursaries are available to assist with conference fees and travel and that some of these will be reserved for graduate students accepted to present papers. Further information on bursaries is available here.

Joy Haughton
Religion and the Idea of a Research University Project
Faculty of Divinity
University of Cambridge

+44 (0)1223 742016
Email: jh343@cam.ac.uk

Posted on by katieaston Calls for Papers, News and Events

CFP: Deadline Extended, Engaging Sociology of Religion – BSA Conference

Please note the change of deadline for abstracts is now 15th October especially of interest to those researching Secularism and secularisation

Call for Papers: Engaging Sociology of Religion

BSA Sociology of Religion conference stream, Annual Conference of the British Sociological Association

Grand Connaught Rooms, London, 3-5 April 2013

How does sociology of religion engage with topical issues affecting contemporary society? How can field-specific theories and models help in understanding religion’s role in recent global and local social movements (the Occupy movement, transitions in the Arab world, London riots in 2011), the economic crisis and austerity, social mobility, the ‘Big Society’, cultural pluralisation, climate change, and so on? How have – and how should – sociologists of religion engage broader public arenas? What could be the specific contribution of sociology of religion to public discussion? We invite papers that address topical issues such as the above, but also papers on core issues in the sociology of religion, including – but not limited to – the following:

* ‘Public’ Sociology of Religion

* Religion, Social Movements and Protest

* Religion and Welfare (including Faith-Based Organisations)

* Religion and inequalities (gender, ethnicity, class)

* Religion and media

* Religion and State in the 21st Century

* Social Theory and Religion

* Secularism and secularisation

Abstract submission to be completed at: www.britsoc.co.uk/events/Conference

Deadline for abstract submission: 5 October 2012.

E-mail: bsaconference@britsoc.org.uk for conference enquiries; t.hjelm@ucl.ac.uk  or j.m.mckenzie@durham.ac.uk for stream enquiries. Please DO NOT send abstracts to these addresses.

 

Posted on by katieaston Calls for Papers, News and Events

Call for Papers: Engaging Sociology of Religion

BSA Sociology of Religion conference stream, Annual Conference of the British Sociological Association

Grand Connaught Rooms, London, 3-5 April 2013

How does sociology of religion engage with topical issues affecting contemporary society? How can field-specific theories and models help in understanding religion’s role in recent global and local social movements (the Occupy movement, transitions in the Arab world, London riots in 2011), the economic crisis and austerity, social mobility, the ‘Big Society’, cultural pluralisation, climate change, and so on? How have – and how should – sociologists of religion engage broader public arenas? What could be the specific contribution of sociology of religion to public discussion? We invite papers that address topical issues such as the above, but also papers on core issues in the sociology of religion, including – but not limited to – the following:

* ‘Public’ Sociology of Religion

* Religion, Social Movements and Protest

* Religion and Welfare (including Faith-Based Organisations)

* Religion and inequalities (gender, ethnicity, class)

* Religion and media

* Religion and State in the 21st Century

* Social Theory and Religion

* Secularism and secularisation

Abstract submission to be completed at: www.britsoc.co.uk/events/Conference

Deadline for abstract submission: 5 October 2012.

E-mail: bsaconference@britsoc.org.uk for conference enquiries; t.hjelm@ucl.ac.uk  or j.m.mckenzie@durham.ac.uk for stream enquiries. Please DO NOT send abstracts to these addresses.

 

Posted on by katieaston Calls for Papers, News and Events, Teaching

CFP: Religion and Citizenship: Re-Thinking the Boundaries of Religion and the Secular.

Socrel / HEA Teaching and Studying Religion, 2nd Annual Symposium

The 2012 Socrel / HEA Teaching and Studying Religion symposium will explore the theme: Religion and Citizenship: Re-Thinking the Boundaries of Religion and the Secular.

The symposium is organised by Socrel, the BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group, with funding from the Higher Education Academy, Philosophy, and Religious Studies Subject Centre. Last year’s inaugural symposium was over-subscribed and therefore early submissions are encouraged.

Keynote speaker: Dr Nasar Meer, Northumbria University

Venue: BSA Meeting Room, Imperial Wharf, London
Date: 13 December 2012
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Religions today are implicated in a wide variety of publics. From contests over the environment and democracy to protests against capitalism, religions remain important factors in political and public life across diverse, and interconnected, global contexts. A variety of diverse responses have been articulated to the so-called ‘return of religion’ in the public sphere, drawing into question relations between the religious, the non-religious and the secular. As scholars have developed new theoretical understandings of the terms of these debates and questioned how these are bound up with cultural conceptualizations of citizenship, education – in schools, universities and less formal educational contexts – has often been a site where contestations of the religious and the secular have been acutely felt.

The aim of this symposium is to consider the interrelation between conceptions of the religious, the secular, citizenship and education, and to explore how these issues affect the study of religion in higher education. We hope to attract presentations of sufficient quality to lead to an edited publication.

The day will be highly participative and engaged. The symposium will be organised as a single stream so that the day is as much about discussion as it is about presentation, and therefore the number of formal papers will be limited.

Papers are invited from students, teachers, and researchers in the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, geography, theology, history, psychology, political science, religious studies and others where religion is taught and studied. Empirical, methodological, and theoretical papers are welcomed.

Presenters will circulate a five-page summary of their paper before the day so that all participants can come prepared for discussion. Presentations will last 10 minutes and will be structured into three sessions, each followed by a discussant drawing out key points. The day will conclude with a discussant-led, focused panel discussion.

Key questions to be addressed may include, but are not limited to:

  • What are the relationships between the religious, the secular and the public sphere, and how do these affect the study of religion, in both universities and schools?
  • How do different historical constructions of religion and secularity shape understandings of the civil sphere and citizenship, and what are the implications of this for the study of religion?
  • Does the increased public visibility of religion in national and global contexts affect how we study it?
  • What is the role of religious education (school and/or university) in forming citizens and shaping understandings of citizenship?
  • Are there distinct regional, national or international conceptions of the secular?
  • Are there distinct regional, national or international conceptions of citizenship?
  • How do different disciplines approach and study these conceptions, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches?

Abstracts of 200 words are invited by September 15 2012. Please send these to: Dr Paul-François Tremlett p.f.tremlett@open.ac.uk

Costs: £36.00 for BSA/SocRel members; £45.00 for non-members; £20.00 for SocRel/BSA Postgraduate members; £25.00 for Postgraduate non-members.

 

Posted on by katieaston Calls for Papers, News and Events

CFP: Kongress “Rethinking Europe with(out) Religion” nächsten Februar in Wien

International Congress: Rethinking Europe with(out) religion. Deadline for abstracts 30 September 2012

Full details as PDF can be found here CFP_Rethinking Europe with(out) Religion

Sehr geehrte Interessierte an der Forschungsplattform RaT! Liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen!

Die Forschungsplattform „Religion and Transformation in Contemporary European Society“ (RaT) möchte Sie hiermit auf den im Februar 2013 stattfindenden Kongress „Rethinking Europe with(out) Religion“ aufmerksam machen.
Details sowie ein Anmeldeformular finden Sie auf der Kongress-Homepage: http://www.rethinkingeurope.at

Die Kolleginnen und Kollegen an Universitäten und Bildungseinrichtungen bitte ich, diese Information im Rahmen der Ihnen zur Verfügung stehenden Möglichkeiten weiterzuleiten. Bitte machen Sie Studierende auf diesen Kongress aufmerksam! Für alle Fälle hänge ich den CfP an.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen und allen guten Wünschen für einen erholsamen Sommer!

Angelika Walser

Dr. Angelika Walser
Plattformmanagerin
RaT (Religion and Transformation
In Contemporary European Society)
Schenkenstr. 8-10
1010 Wien
T.: 0664-60277-23803

Beschreibung: RaT_Logo