News

Posted on by Beth News

Position available: William Temple Foundation Assistant Director: Communications and Development

The trustees of the 

William Temple Foundation

wish to appoint an

Assistant Director: Communications and Development

We are looking for someone who can make a significant contribution to the development of the William Temple Foundation’s influence in the growing debate about the relationship between religion, society, economics and human flourishing. The successful candidate will be either London or North West based, and have skills in communication, media relations and network creation as well as being knowledgeable in the areas of social justice, politics and faith communities.

The post holder will achieve their goals by:

  • Engaging with potential new stakeholders in public life, the churches and the academy
  •   Generating media networks for the dissemination of research findings, including front of camera and audio representative work
  • Using social media for tweeting and re-presenting research findings for public and media engagement with the work of the William Temple Foundation.
  • Working collaboratively on scoping new research projects and funding bids with our Research Director and Senior Honorary Fellows.

The successful candidate will enjoy enhanced opportunities for networking, research and travel in an exciting and expanding area of public policy and research, engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders including the faith and voluntary sector, media (at all levels), academic departments and think tanks, the public and private sector and government policy makers. For the right person and with the anticipated growth of the William Temple Foundation’s work there could be the possibility to extend the role to include the conducting, writing up and publishing of empirical research projects.

This is an appointment on a three year fixed-term contract. The post is 25 hours a week on an annual salary of approximately £30, 000 (paid pro-rata).

For the application pack see the William Temple Foundation’s website www.wtf.org.uk or contact:

Dr Chris Baker

Director of Research, William Temple Foundation

Tel: 07779000021

E-mail: chris.baker@wtf.org.uk.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 23rd July 2013 in Manchester

Applications to be made by Friday 12th July 2013

  

Posted on by Beth News

Position available: William Temple Foundation Assistant Director: Communications and Development

 

The trustees of the

 

William Temple Foundation

 

wish to appoint an

 

Assistant Director: Communications and Development

 

We are looking for someone who can make a significant contribution to the development of the William Temple Foundation’s influence in the growing debate about the relationship between religion, society, economics and human flourishing. The successful candidate will be either London or North West based, and have skills in communication, media relations and network creation as well as being knowledgeable in the areas of social justice, politics and faith communities.

 

The post holder will achieve their goals by:

  • Engaging with potential new stakeholders in public life, the churches and the academy
  •   Generating media networks for the dissemination of research findings, including front of camera and audio representative work
  • Using social media for tweeting and re-presenting research findings for public and media engagement with the work of the William Temple Foundation.
  • Working collaboratively on scoping new research projects and funding bids with our Research Director and Senior Honorary Fellows.

 

The successful candidate will enjoy enhanced opportunities for networking, research and travel in an exciting and expanding area of public policy and research, engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders including the faith and voluntary sector, media (at all levels), academic departments and think tanks, the public and private sector and government policy makers. For the right person and with the anticipated growth of the William Temple Foundation’s work there could be the possibility to extend the role to include the conducting, writing up and publishing of empirical research projects.

 

This is an appointment on a three year fixed-term contract. The post is 25 hours a week on an annual salary of approximately £30, 000 (paid pro-rata).

 

For the application pack see the William Temple Foundation’s website www.wtf.org.uk or contact:

Dr Chris Baker

Director of Research, William Temple Foundation

 

Tel: 07779000021

E-mail: chris.baker@wtf.org.uk.

 

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 23rd July 2013 in Manchester

Applications to be made by Friday 12th July 2013

 

Posted on by Beth News

PSA specialist group on politics and religion

Here’s a new proposal for a PSA specialist group on politics and religion (including nonreligion) by Steve Kettel:
Dear colleagues,
We are currently in the process of setting-up a new PSA specialist group on politics and religion. The remit of the group will be broad, and will cover all aspects of the interrelationship between religious (as well as ‘non-religious’ – e.g. secularism, secularisation, atheism etc.) and political issues. At the moment we are finalising the  proposal for consideration by the PSA, and are looking to see how many potential members might be interested. Membership will be free, but is only open to members of the UK’s Political Studies Association. If you would like to be included as a potential member (at the moment this is all non-committal), then please send your details (name, institution etc.) to Steven Kettell (s.kettell@warwick.ac.uk). The proposal is going to the PSA on Wednesday 19 June (this has all come together fairly late in the day), so it would be great to have as many names as possible ahead of this deadline.
Thanks,
Steve Kettell
Posted on by amhennessey News

New Events Report: “Religion and Public Life” (Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Western Region)

The NSRN announces the publication of a new Events Report by Kristy L. Slominski (University of California, Santa Barbara) on the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Western Region (AAR/WR), “Religion and Public Life” (March 9-11, 2013).

Please see the details and link to the document below:

Religion in Public Life: Report on the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Western Region (AAR/WR)
Arizona State University, 9-11 March, 2013
Report by Kristy L. Slominski, University of California, Santa Barbara
Published by the NSRN, 8 March 2013

Posted on by Beth News

Job opening: SSRC

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) seeks a Program Officer or Program Coordinator to work with the Council’s Program on Religion and the Public Sphere. The Program Officer/Coordinator will work closely with the Program Director on a variety of program management and development activities. S/he will also be responsible for a range of social media and communications activities emanating from the program’s various projects and will play a central editorial and managerial role for two digital publications (The Immanent Frame and Reverberations).

Qualifications include a PhD, MA, or professional degree with relevance to the social sciences, humanities, or a closely related field of study. Demonstrated achievement in editorial/communications-oriented work is strongly preferred, as is academic training or interest in religion.

Annual salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Comprehensive benefits include health, prescription, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance; gym reimbursement; an outstanding pension plan and tax savings programs; generous vacations and sick leave; and more. Provisions are made for professional staff to continue their development as academics or researchers while at the Council.

For more information, see: http://www.ssrc.org/about/employment/

Posted on by Beth News, Uncategorized

Postdoctoral position: Laboratory for Experimental Research of Religion

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cognition and Culture

The Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion at Masaryk University is looking to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cognition and Culture. The successful candidate will be employed to work under the supervision of Dr. Dimitris Xygalatas (Director) on experimental studies of religion. The post involves carrying out behavioural experimental research in the LEVYNA lab facilities and in naturalistic settings.

Responsibilities include contributing to the training and mentoring of graduate researchers from the humanities who work in experimental methods, providing help with research design and data analysis, and publishing peer-reviewed articles.

Candidates are expected to hold a PhD in Psychology, Cognitive Science, or any related discipline with a focus on behavioural research (e.g. Behavioural Economics, Behavioural Ecology, Behavioral Neuroscience, etc). The successful candidate will be required to have experience in running empirical studies and good knowledge of statistics and quantitative data analyses (SPSS or other statistical packages). Prior theoretical and empirical knowledge in the area of the scientific study of religion is desirable but not necessary.

The position will be located at the LEVYNA Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion, in Brno, Czech Republic, an interdisciplinary institute dedicated to the use of experimental methods in researching religious belief and behaviour. LEVYNA is hosted by the Department for the Study of Religion at Masaryk University, and is a senior partner of the Cultural Evolution of Religion Research Consortium (CERC). The centre has excellent connections with all major Cognitive Science of Religion centres.

The post is a full-time position starting September 2013. The appointment will be made for one year, renewable contingent upon external funding.

The deadline for applications is June 19, 2013.
For information on how to apply, please contact the programme manager Kristyna Brožková: brozkovak@phil.muni.cz

Posted on by amhennessey News

New Events Report: Reflections on ‘Atheist Identities: Spaces and Social Contexts’

The NSRN announces the publication of a new Events Report by Steven Tomlins (University of Ottawa) on the three day workshop, “Atheist Identities: Spaces and Social Contexts” (November 22-24, 2012).

Please see the details and link to the document below:

Reflections on ‘Atheist Identities: Spaces and Social Contexts’
University of Ottawa, 22-24 November, 2012
Report by Steven Tomlins, University of Ottawa
Published by the NSRN, 25 February 2013

Posted on by Beth News, Uncategorized

Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunity at the University of Göttingen

A new research network at the University of Göttingen has postdoctoral fellowship opportunities in secularism and new religiosities:

The two positions, to begin in October 2013, will be offered as two-year fixed-term contracts on a full-time basis (currently 39,8 hours per week) and will be remunerated at the TV-L E13 level (in accordance with the German public sector pay scale).The pilot project “Secularism and New Religiosities” examines new forms of religiosity that emerge under various regional or national regimes of secularism, and how these are shaped in transnational arenas of cultural, political and legal interaction […] Within this wider context, we invite post-doctoral research proposals that theoretically and empirically analyze new religiosities in comparative perspective; cross-religious as well as cross-regional comparisons are welcome. While the overall project’s main focus is on South Asia, East Asia, and Europe, proposals may broaden the comparative scope by including other regions.Successful applicants must have a PhD in a relevant field, such as history, anthropology, sociology, political science, religious studies, or area studies. Researchers will be based at the University of Göttingen, but will be permitted to conduct fully-funded field research for part of the two-year period, upon consultation with the principal investigators.

Posted on by Beth Calls for Papers, News

CFP: Global Secularisms at NYU, Due 3/31

Call For Papers

Global Secularisms

The Global Liberal Studies Program at New York University is currently seeking paper submissions for its inaugural conference on the topic of Global Secularisms — to be held on November 15 and 16, 2013 in New York, NY.

From a global perspective, Western secularism, and for example the American debate regarding the separation of church and state, appear as very parochial issues. Secularism is a vexed topic with global implications and consequences, affecting virtually every part of the world, every nation state and every culture, traditional or modern. Questions related to secularism have become increasingly urgent and involve enormous real-world implications. From the emergence of the “new atheism,” to battles over shariah law in Europe and the Middle East, to the reemergence of religion in the politics of India, to battles over the authority of science in the United States, to struggles both intellectual and political over the shape of the public sphere, the question of secularism proves critical.

Some scholars question the assumption that the modern social order is undergoing, or indeed has ever undergone, the process of secularization; others hold that we have entered a post-secular era. Still others associate secularism with western cultural, social, economic or political hegemony. And on the other hand, some of the most compelling thinkers insist that secularism is the only possible means of negotiating sectarian strife and establishing and maintaining a democratic state. Equating secularism with the rejection of the transcendent, secular humanists insist that secularism is the best way to achieve real human flourishing. Yet the very meanings of the words “secularism” and “religion” have been questioned. The history of secularism — and the word should be made plural — helps define the crises of our moment. This conference returns to these issues, in the light of these recent discussions and of recent events that are having serious effects on the way we live now, on the shape of global politics and culture for the immediate future.

This conference hopes to appeal to scholars and creative authors from the major divisions of the academy, including the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as to independent scholars and writers from outside of the academy. We welcome engagement with questions involving secularism and the arts, culture, economics, history, international relations, religion, philosophy, politics, and science. Among the possible broad areas that papers might address, we offer the following possibilities:

  • Secularist movements/figures, past and present
  • Secularism and/as religion
  • Secularism and the arts, literature
  • Secularism and human flourishing
  • Secularism and the state
  • Anti-secularism, anti-atheism
  • Secularism and imperialism
  • Secularism and rights
  • Secularism in colonial/postcolonial contexts
  • The secularization of knowledge, science
  • The secularization of culture
  • The secularization of the university
  • Secularism and feminism
  • Post-secularism

Please email abstracts of 150-300 words by March 31, 2013 to:
Dr. Michael Rectenwald (michael.rectenwald@nyu.edu)

The conference steering committee will respond to submissions by June 1, 2013.