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In this issue:
- Journals
- Publications
- Call for Papers
- Conferences
- Jobs
- Fellowships/Scholarships
And don’t forget, you can always get involved with the Religious Studies Project by writing one of our features essays or resources pages. Contact the editors for more information.
JOURNALS
Sociology of Religion, vol 73, no. 4 http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/content/73/4?etoc
Culture and Religion, vol 13, no.4 http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcar20/13/4
Review of Religious Research, vol 57, no.4 http://link.springer.com/journal/13644/54/4/page/1
Journal of Jesuit Studies: Reviews Section
Description: A new quarterly journal is to be launched by Brill: The Journal of Jesuit Studies. Each issue of the journal will contain an extensive review section that looks at all aspects of Jesuit history (from the sixteenth century to the present day, and in all corners of the globe), as well as books
Contact: jonathanwright123 [at] googlemail.com
Announcement ID: 199143
http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=199143
PUBLICATIONS
New Religion e-catalogue from Oxford
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/cc7ec2f9#/cc7ec2f9/1
CALLS FOR PAPERS
CFP: The problem of human knowledge – what a person employs to interpret and act on the world – has been in the centre of scholarly attention for a long time. Knowledge is shaped by culture and distributed in population in certain ways; anthropological research has been directed to the distribution of knowledge – its presence or absence in particular persons – and the social processes influencing these distributions. Attention has been paid in particular to so-called folk knowledge consisting of beliefs and socially accepted rules corresponding to various spheres of life: social relations, natural environment, reasoning and emotions, economic relations, oral tradition, etc. These beliefs and rules are shared and adapted to the particular local settings. Theoretical debates focused on the models of natural and cultural environment in particular social and cultural conditions, and the impact that those models have on human behaviour.
The aim of this conference is to contribute to this focus by bringing together scholars doing research in different cultural settings. A comparative perspective on human knowledge allows us to unravel a number of aspects of the cultural worlds which people construct.
Empirical research can demonstrate how established thoughts, representations, and social relations to a considerable extent configure and filter individual human experience of the world around us and thereby generate culturally diverse worldviews which might include feelings and attitudes as well as information, embodied skills, verbal taxonomies and
concepts: all the ways of understanding that humans use to make up a reality.
We invite interested scholars and students to submit proposals for papers which will explore:
• Folk knowledge and expert knowledge
• Material culture: material objects and their cultural meanings • Religious beliefs and rituals • Concepts of ethnicity and race • Social learning: acquisition of knowledge by children and adults • Children and their concepts • Verbal concepts and models • Taxonomy of concepts • Representations of morality • Gender relationships and representations • Representations of economic relations and processes • Visual representations: construction of meanings
Key lectures:
Prof. Anthony Good
Anthony Good is Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology at the School of Social & Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Great Britain.
The lecture: Folk Knowledge and the Law
Prof. John Eade
John Eade is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Roehampton and former Executive Director of CRONEM (Centre for Research on Nationalism, Ethnicity and
Multiculturalism) which links Roehampton and the University of Surrey. He is also Visiting Professor at the Migration Research Unit, the University College London, Great Britain.
The lecture: Contested Knowledges: The Politics of Pilgrimage in a Changing Europe Dr. William (Lee) W. McCorkle William McCorkle is Director of Experimental Research at the LEVYNA (Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion and Ritual). He is Associate Professor and Research Specialist at the Department for the Study of Religions, Masaryk University, Czech Republic.
The lecture: From Compulsion to Script: The Evolution of Ritual and the Rise of Religions
Submission details:
The language of the conference will be English only. The papers should last no more than 20 minutes. Abstracts (up to 350-words in Word doc.), with contact details and affiliation, should be sent to the conference e-mail address (uet.conference@savba.sk) by 31st January 2013.
You will be informed about acceptance or non-acceptance of your proposal by 15th February 2013.
Conference participation fee:
• scholars who will present their papers: € 50; • PhD students who will present their papers: € 25; • participants who will not present papers: free.
The participation fee includes all conference proceedings and daytime refreshments.
Accommodation is not included in the conference fee.
CFP: The editors of Arc: The Journal of the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University solicit submissions with a contemporary or a historical focus on the themes of freedom, liberty, and liberation in religious thought and practice for the 2013 issue (Vol. 41). Possible
topics for submissions might include:
· Religious or theological interpretations of freedom, liberty, and/or liberation
· Freedom of religion
· Freedom or liberation from suffering
· Freedom and virtue, e.g. sin, wrongdoing, and the problem of evil
· Relations among concepts of freedom, liberty, law, destiny, and providence
· Concepts of liberation in religio-political contexts
· Concepts of freedom in the ancient world, and their reception (or lack thereof). E.g. The Greek concept of Freedom in the Jewish, Greco-Roman, and Ancient Christian worlds.
The editors also solicit reviews of recently published books related to the study of religion.
Arc is an interdisciplinary, refereed journal published annually by the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University. The journal combines the talents of professors and graduate students in offering space for scholarly discussions on various aspects of the academic
study of religion, including method and theory in the study of religion.
Arc encourages submissions from diverse religious traditions and perspectives. The submission deadline is March 31st, 2013. For detailed submission guidelines, please consult the Guidelines for Contributors (PDF) on our website. All electronic correspondence,
including request for review copies of books, should be sent to the editors, Richard Cumming and Ryan Jones, at the following email address: arc.relgstud [at] mcgill.ca.
The editors of the volume Religious Secrecy as Contact. Secrets as Promoters of Religious Dynamics would like to invite contributions concerned with any of the following areas: Islam, Tibet, Central Asia, India, Shamanism (in Asia or Europe). Contributions on other areas of European and Asian religions would also be considered. We are looking for articles that explore the role of secrecy and secrets in situations of religious contact. For further information please contact Anna Akasoy (akasoy [at] gmx.net).
Description of Volume:
Religious Secrecy as Contact:Secrets as Promoters of Religious Dynamics
Editors: A. Akasoy, L. Di Giacinto,
G. Halkias, A. Müller-Lee, P. Reichling, K.M. Stünkel
The proposed volume focuses on
“strategies of secrecy” and their role in the history of religious contacts, a neglected field of research in Religious Studies. It comprises a collection of papers presented in a series of interdisciplinary workshops and conferences on the subject of “religion and secrecy” held at the Käte Hamburger Consortium “Dynamics in the History of Religions” between 2008 and 2012. The contributions of the volume analyse the phenomenon of „secretizing‟: As Mark
Teeuwen pointed out, secrecy ― „a form of religious practice in its own right‟ ― refers to a certain process within a given social situation where the secret functions in a certain institutional framework (Teeuwen, Mark and Scheid, Bernhard, eds., The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion, New York: Routledge 2006, p. 4). The secret itself may be replaced by ritualized secretism that is independent of the content of the secret (Johnson, Paul
Christopher, Secret, Gossip, and Gods. The Transformation of Brazilian Candomblé, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, p.3). The volume challenges the traditional analysis that understands secret merely as a social and epistemological device that prevents contact between an „ingroup‟ and an „outgroup‟ and provides the means to cut one‟s own tradition from external influences. The present volume will rather build on Assmann‟s insights on secrecy as “interaktives Geschehen”, because secrecy involves an interactive dimension which fulfils an important function in cross-cultural contacts‟. (Aleida Assmann, Jan Assmann, „Die Erfindung des Geheimnisses durch die Neugier“, in: Aleida Assmann, Jan Assmann, eds., Schleier und Schwelle III.
Geheimnis und Neuzeit, München: Fink 1999, p. 8). Accordingly, the general hypothesis of the volume is that secrets play a significant role in the inter-religious and intrareligious exchange and all the essays shall examine the function of secrets in examples of religious contacts. While aspects of secrecy usually seem to play a role in religious conduct, analysing the role of secrets within religious traditions involves difficulties. Since, by definition, one cannot hope to grasp „the secret‟ on the level of the object language, the field of possible investigation is reduced to the functional and the linguistic field. More precisely, secrecy can be analysed as a semantic structure that can be identified and described phenomenologically. Hence, it is also not necessary to assume that the terminology of secrecy should be translated one to one across cultures. Secrets are by no means neutral or indifferent notions in religious processes: They rather function as privileged zones of contact. A secret might be described as a catalyst for specific forms of communication since the elusive nature of secret
offers rich opportunities for translations from one religious tradition into another and often the results are miscomprehensions, which are harshly rejected by the old secret-keepers. In any case, secrets may function as interfaces of inter-religious and intrareligious contact. As such, they should be analyzed as a blank space that can be identified in distinct ways and understood as a process of emptying conceptual content in different linguistic contexts.
Finally, because the content of secrets cannot be determined and translations remain in flux, secrets promote rather than prevent the concrescence of religious traditions.
CFP: European Conference on African Studies
African dynamics in a multipolar world
The European Conference on African Studies is happy to announce a Call for Papers for its upcoming conference
The fifth European Conference on African Studies (ECAS 5) will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 26 to 28, 2013. It will be organized by the Centro de Estudos Africanos – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Center of African Studies of the University Institute of Lisbon) on behalf of AEGIS, the Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies. Its general theme will be ‘African Dynamics in a Multipolar World’.
You are warmly invited to submit a paper for the panel:
Secession: the key to unlocking Africa’s potential?
The call for papers is now open and will close on 16th January 2013
For any enquiries, please email ecas2013(at)nomadit.co.uk
CFP: AFTERLIFE
Eighteenth Annual Postgraduate Religion and Theology Conference
Hosted by the University of Bristol
8–9 March 2013
Keynote speaker: Professor Ronald Hutton
This conference brings together postgraduates and early-career academics working on the study of religions from a variety of perspectives and disciplines, creating a space for them to share their work and to further encourage research and collaboration within the University of Bristol (the host institution), other partner institutions, and among members of other universities within the South West region and beyond, within the United Kingdom and Ireland and abroad.
The conference has a long history of drawing together postgraduate students and their supervisors from universities in the surrounding area and beyond. Last year saw us expand to a record number of participating speakers, delegates, and partner institutions. Forty-nine papers, divided in seventeen sessions, were presented by postgraduate students and early career academics, from eighteen universities. Almost one hundred delegates attended at least part of the conference. A session for undergraduate papers was also held, with notable success.
Although we encourage applications that directly address the theme of the conference ‘Afterlife’, in all its interpretations, contributions are welcome on any scholarly topic, and from all disciplines and areas related to the study of religions: theology, history, anthropology, sociology, archaeology, literature, art, music, etc.
Presentations will be grouped in panels, each consisting of three 20-minute papers followed by a 30-minute period for questions and discussion. Panels will be chaired by lecturers from Bristol and other partner universities.
We are also accepting submissions for research posters. Displayed in the conference common room, these will allow further communication of research. A prize will be awarded to the poster voted best by the conference participants. Guidelines of the preparation of posters and a sample poster presentation can be found on the conference’s website. Please note that an applicant may submit a poster as well as a paper and that both may be accepted, on the condition that they cover different topics.
Please submit abstracts for papers and/or posters through our University’s ‘Stop Shop’ page at:
http://shop.bris.ac.uk/browse/product.asp?catid=521&modid=1&compid=1
The deadline for submitting proposals will be 12:00 noon (Bristol time) on Tuesday 15 January 2013.
Kindly note that the organisers are not in a position to assist anyone with visas, and will not consider or accept abstracts from those who require assistance with visas.
Registration for the conference will open at 12:00 noon (Bristol time) on 22 January 2013 and will include refreshments and lunch on both days. Early registration is free for members of partner institutions and £10 for participants from other institutions or for those who are unaffiliated. Please note that all registrations received after 12 noon, Friday 8 February, will incur a £10 late registration fee.
A limited amount of financial assistance may be available to presenters of papers and/or posters. The assistance may be used towards defraying travel or accommodation expenses, or the early registration fee for participants from non-partner institutions. Application details will be posted in late January 2013 on the conference website.
Optional social events will be held on both evenings of the conference.
For more information and registration, please visit:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/gradschool/conferences/thrs/
And join us on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/pgRTconference
and on Twitter at:
@pgRTconference
CFP: Text, Context, and Non-Text: Grimoires and Ritual Magic in culture, literature, and art
April 5th and 6th 2013
The University of Texas at Austin
Conference sponsored by
the Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies,
the Texas Chair for Czech Studies,
and the Departments of History,
Germanic Studies, and Religious Studies
This conference is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of a large corpus of magic texts that figure prominently in the cultural and intellectual history of Europe. Its focus will be grimoires, real or imagined, whose legacy has reverberated throughout European culture in the form of folktales, literature (Faust, for example), and graphic art down to the present, at times being among the few treasured possessions brought to the New World.
Abstracts are requested that address any facet of this cultural legacy, in any country and in any era:
· TEXT refers to the content of the grimoire, its images and words, and issues arising from these directly–analysis of meaning, new manuscript finds, translations, etc.
· CONTEXT refers to the total situation in which the grimoire exists, with a view to politics, arts and letters, religion, folklore, etc.
· NON-TEXT refers to any situation in which the grimoire as object or as idea is more central than its content–the evocative indecipherability of existing grimoires, the grimoire as an emblem, key, or symbol, etc.
Abstracts for twenty-minute conference presentations from any discipline will be considered. Please send the abstract as part of an email to: textcontextnontext[at] gmail.com. Abstracts should be no more than 500 words long and accompanied by a brief (250 word) biography suitable for an introduction at the conference. The conference language is English. All abstracts should be submitted by December 15th (Jan 15th extended deadline.)
CFP: The Doctoral Program in Buddhist Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München is pleased to announce a call for papers for ´Reading Outside the Lines: A Workshop on the Intersection of Buddhist Art and Texts,´ to be held at LMU, München on September 13-14, 2013 in Munich, Germany.
Please find the call for papers attached and on the following website:
http://www.en.buddhismus-studien.uni-muenchen.de/currentissues/reading-outisde/index.html
CONFERENCES
Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion, and Philosophy 2013
Date: 2013-03-28
Description: The International Academic Forum, in conjunction with its global partners, is proud to announce the Third Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion and Philosophy, to be held from March 28 – 31 2013, at the Ramada Osaka Hotel, Osaka, Japan.
CONFERENCE THEME: “Connectedness and Alienation: The 21st Century
Contact: acerp [at] iafor.org
URL: acerp.iafor.org/
Announcement ID: 199219
http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=199219
JOBS
Columbia College – Chicago – Assistant Professor Interdisciplinary
Humanities, Asian Studies
<http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=46008>
Columbus State University – Assistant Professor of History, Asian
History
<http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=46019>
National University of Singapore – Assistant Professor Southeast
Asian Studies
<http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=45947>
Pacific University – Assistant Professor of East Asian History
<http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=46014>
Utah State University – Visiting Assistant Professor, or Instructor
of Asian History, Department of History, Utah State University,
Logan, Utah
<http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=45989>
Lecturer in Theology and Ethics
University of St Andrews
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AFP660/lecturer-in-theological-ethics/
Lecturer in Systematic and Historical Theology
University of St Andrews
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AFP651/lecturer-in-systematic-and-historical-theology/
FELLOWSHIPS/SCHOLARSHIPS
Fellowships in the History and Culture of Polish Jews
Date: 2013-02-01
Description: Research Fellowships for Graduate Students in the History and Culture of Polish Jews 2013-2014 We are pleased to announce three research grants (15,000 NIS each) for graduate students based at universities or similar institutions of higher education in Poland who are working on various aspects
Contact: polin [at] post.tau.ac.il
Announcement ID: 199105
http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=199105
STANFORD POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP IN JAPANESE STUDIES
Location: California
Date: 2013-02-15
Description: The Center for East Asian Studies at Stanford University is pleased to offer a postdoctoral fellowship in Japanese Studies for 2013-14. This award is open to scholars in any field of Japanese studies; however, preference will be given to highly qualified scholars working in the pre-modern period
Contact: jgroschwitz@stanford.edu
URL: ceas.stanford.edu/resources/japanesePostdoctoral.php
Announcement ID: 199190
http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=199190
Jameel Scholarships, Cardiff University, 2013-14
The Islam-UK Centre at Cardiff University is pleased to invite applications for the Cardiff University Jameel Scholarships for 2013-14.
The Islam-UK Centre works towards the promotion of better understanding of Islam and the life of Muslims in Britain, through high quality teaching and research. Its activities address issues which are central to the situation of Muslims in contemporary Britain.
The Centre provides unique training and research opportunities for those seeking onward employment in a range of academic and non-academic careers.
The following fully funded scholarships are available from September 2013:
Cardiff University Jameel PhD Scholarships – 1 scholarship (starting
2013/14 academic year)
We are seeking exceptional UK resident applicants with a first class, or upper second class honours degree or Masters degree. Research proposals in the following areas are particularly welcome: Education, Religious Leadership, British Muslim Arts and Heritage and Inter-Generational and Family Relations. Other research themes will be considered but must demonstrate exceptional academic merit, potential and relevance to Muslims or Islam in the UK.
Cardiff University Jameel MA Scholarships – 4 scholarships available for the MA in Islam in Contemporary Britain (September 2013 start) We are seeking exceptional UK resident applicants with a first or upper second class honours degree in a relevant subject, and demonstrated enthusiasm for working with or for Muslim communities in Britain.
Funding Package
Each successful Cardiff University Jameel Scholar has full UK/EU tuition fees paid and receives a generous stipend equivalent to an AHRC stipend plus access to a travel & conference allowance. Full-time PhD awards will provide funding for three years; full-time MA awards will provide funding for one year.
How to Apply
Full application instructions are available online at www.cardiff.ac.uk/jameelscholarships<http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jameelscholarships>
Closing date for MA Scholarship applications: 22 January 2013 Closing date for PhD Scholarship applications: 15 March 2013 For all enquiries, please contact us by email to jameelscholarships [at] cardiff.ac.uk