News and Events

Posted on by Chris News, Publications

Five Podcasts of NSRN Lectures now available

600x600_square_logoIn partnership with the Religious Studies Project (RSP) it is our pleasure to bring you the audio recordings of five very important lectures, hosted on the RSP website.

The first is the NSRN Annual Lecture from April 2011, recorded at St Mary’s University College in Twickenham:

The other four are the keynote lectures from the NSRN’s Biennial Conference, recorded at Goldsmiths University, London, in July 2012:

Chris, the managing editor of the NSRN website, is also one of the Religious Studies Project’s ‘editors-in-chief’ and therefore, when the NSRN wanted to make available some podcasts from recent events, it seemed like a win-win situation for both organizations for the RSP to host and disseminate these podcasts on behalf of the NSRN. These lectures come as part of an extensive series of podcasts from the RSP which touch on the study of non-religion – from a recent roundtable discussion on Studying Nonreligion within Religious Studies, to interviews with Linda Woodhead, Callum Brown, and Lois Lee.

For those of you who don’t know the RSP, please take a moment to survey religiousstudiesproject.com which features a few dozen of their weekly podcasts with leading international scholars on exciting developments in theory, method and empirical study within the social-scientific study of religion, in addition to roundtable discussions, book reviews, feature essays, opportunities digests, and more. The RSP is presented with generous support from the British Association for the Study of Religions.

As the RSP has a wider remit than the NSRN, they did not wish to fill all of their listeners inboxes with five quite lengthy podcasts and, therefore, have not made these podcasts available though their iTunes channel. However, they are all available on the RSP website and shall be linked to from the NSRN website. Due to the lecture style of these recordings, it is somewhat inevitable that the audio quality will be lower than we would like, and that there might be references to PowerPoint presentations or other events happening in the room. However, we know that these will be minor irritations when compared with the stimulating scholarship that you are about to hear, and we are very grateful to the RSP for working with us to bring you these lectures.

Posted on by katieaston News and Events

Event: Perspectives on Secularisation, Oxford Brookes University, January 2013

Annual Ecclesiastical History Colloquium 2013

Thursday 17 January 2013, 15:00 until 19:00

Location: Lecture Theatre, Harcourt Hill Campus

The subject for this year’s colloquium will be Perspectives on Secularisation with speakers including:

Professor JCD Clark, University of Kansas
Professor Callum Brown, Dundee University
David Nash, Professor of History, Oxford Brookes University

Programme:

3.00pm: David Nash (Professor of History, Oxford Brookes University)
“Beyond Secularisation –pursuing the logic of narrative treatments of religion.”

4.00pm: Tea

4.30pm: Callum Brown (Professor of Religious and Cultural History, University of Dundee)
“What is Secularisation?”

J. C. D. Clark (Hall Distinguished Professor at University of Kansas)
“Secularization, positivism and physics”

Followed by a roundtable discussion
6.30pm: Buffet dinner

There is no charge for this event, but please confirm attendance by clicking on the online registration link below by Tuesday 8th January 2013.

Please contact Jo Middleton (Administrator of the Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History – jmiddleton@brookes.ac.uk, 01865 488455) with enquiries.

Posted on by katieaston Calls for Papers, News and Events

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 News and Events

Event: International conference of the Research Training Group “Religious Non-Conformism and Cultural Dynamics”

This event will be held at the University of Leipzig,  01-03 February 2013

Religious Non-Conformism is a powerful element of cultural tension. Whether in Iraq, Tibet or Germany, be it in the past or present – religious deviation can be punished, can be domesticated or it may also inaugurate wild cultural dynamics. The international conference of the DFG-Research Training Group “Religious Non-Conformism and Cultural Dynamics” provides a forum for scholars of different disciplinary backgrounds to present specific case-studies from various temporal, spatial and cultural areas. Theories will be challenged and theorems will be formulated.

Challenging Consensus_Einladung

Flyer_ChallengingConsensus_web

Posted on by katieaston News and Events

Events: FORUM ON RELIGION SEMINARS

Britain’s New Religious Landscape

Speaker: Professor Linda Woodhead (Lancaster University)

Chair: Dr Matthew Engelke (LSE)

Date and Time: 7 November 2012, 16.30-18.00

Venue: Seligman Library, Old Building, LSE

Professor Woodhead argues that a profound shift has taken place in the religious landscape of Great Britain since the late 1980s, a shift whose significance has been highlighted by research on the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme. The dominant mode of religion in this country is now one which differs profoundly from the Reformation mode of religion, which was modernised and ‘purified’ in the course of the 20th century. Professor Woodhead identifies key features of the new post-Reformation form of religion – its organisational, magical, and moral aspects – and shows how its co-existence with older Reformation forms of religion explains a great deal about the landscape we now inhabit.

The seminar by Linda Woodhead on 7 November is an opportunity to interact with one of the leading sociologists of religion in the world, and someone who has a unique vantage point on religion and society, via her stewardship of the AHRC/ESRC programme. The seminar room holds about 40 people: don’t miss this chance to hear one of Britain’s foremost sociologists within the context of a seminar setting, and come early to avoid disappointment.

 

 Salafi Islam, Online Ethics and the Future of the Egyptian Revolution

Speaker: Professor Charles Hirschkind (University of California, Berkeley)

Chair: Dr Mathijs Pelkmans (LSE)

Date and Time: 8 November 2012, 18.30-20.00

Venue: Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE

This event is co-sponsored with the Department of Anthropology

In this public lecture, Professor Hirschkind, one of the most influential anthropologists of his generation, looks at the politics of the Salafi movement in Egypt in relation to changing practices of religious media use. The movement is the political face of a much broader and diverse current within Egyptian society, one grounded less in a specific tradition within Islam than in a grassroots movement centred on ethical reform. This is a rare visit for Charles to the UK, and his perspective on Salafi Islam is one you’ll not want to miss.

For more information see the website of the Programme for the Study of Religion and Non-Religion

 

With Good Reason? A Debate on the Foundations of Ethics

Speakers: Dr Julian Baggini, Canon Dr Angus Ritchie, and Dr Mark Vernon

Date and Time: 6 December 2012, 18.30-20.00

Venue: Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, LSE

This event is co-sponsored with Theos.

Religious and secular philosophers have long debated whether ethics have an objective basis (moral realism) or a relative basis (moral relativism). But in terms of the first, does theism or atheism offer a better basis for ‘moral realism’In this debate, a theist, an atheist and an agnostic debate this question in what promises to be a lively and (perhaps) spirited exchange.

 

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