CALL. 01.12.2017: Religion and Difference: Negotiating Otherness from Ancient to Contemporary Worlds
FECHA LÍMITE/DEADLINE/SCADENZA: 01/12/2017
FECHA CONGRESO/CONGRESS DATE/DATA CONGRESSO: 16-17/03/2018
LUGAR/LOCATION/LUOGO: Department of Religious Studies at Brown University (Providence, RI, USA)
ORGANIZADOR/ORGANIZER/ORGANIZZATORE: Department of Religious Studies at Brown University
INFO: brownrsconference@gmail.com
CALL:
Hosted by the Department of Religious Studies at Brown University March16-17, 2018 With a Keynote Address Delivered by Professor Courtney Bender Columbia University Religion binds people into distinct groups and divides people into categories of "us" and "them" or "self" and "other." We seek submissions that explore the topic of religion and difference from the ancient to the contemporary world. This conference will explore both halves of this self/other dichotomy: How are in-groups identified? What is the significance of difference within an in-group? How are out-groups identified? What is the effect of this identification on an individual or on a group? What happens when individuals and communities interact across the self-other divide? What are the texts, practices, and broader changes that this contact produces? And, crucially, does "the other" still work as an academic category? What do scholars do when they name "the other?" This conference seeks to bring together those who study any religion, past and present, to explore avenues for approaching this topic. It is our intention that this be a multidisciplinary conference, including graduate students who study anything from philosophy to political science or anthropology to literature. This conference will be an inclusive dialogue about difference across a wide range of religions, disciplines, space, and time.
Possible topics: Secularism
Sectarianism Race and Religion
Religious Conflict Religious Cooperation
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy Sacred Spaces
Ritual Cosmopolitanism
Persecution Nationalism and Religion
War and Religion Islamophobia
Politics and Power Anti-Semitism
Heresy
Abstracts for conference papers should be between 200-250 words and emailed to the conference committee at brownrsconference@gmail.com by December 1, 2017. Proposals should include the title of the paper, the presenter’s name, institutional and departmental affiliation, and any technology requests. Any inquiries should be directed to brownrsconference@gmail.com