Category: News

AASR 2022 Virtual Conference Schedule

Theme: “Religion in Times of Crisis”
Date: July 26 and 27, 2022

Though anxious to get back to in-person meetings (Yay, Kenya 2023!), we are absolutely thrilled to be gathering online this summer to hear extraordinary papers, keynotes, and celebrate our Association turning 30 years old! While the topics covered are heavily influenced by COVID-19, we have a wide variety of addresses that will explore the environment in crisis, constitutional crises, trauma in literature and film, gender, etc. We warmly invite you to join us for the joyous event.

To register please click here.

Please note that there is no registration fee. However, your registration will not be approved unless you have paid this year’s AASR Membership fees. To pay membership fees, please visit www.a-asr.org and choose Join Us.

If you have any questions, concerns, or need assistance along the way, please email the General Secretary, Nathanael Homewood, at njh2@rice.edu or secretary@a-asr.org

Below is the conference schedule and panel information.

AASR Virtual Meet-Up

Dear colleagues

I am writing today to remind you that we will host a virtual meeting on February 16, 2022, at 4 pm GMT. This is mostly a virtual meet-up. We have spent years now unable to have an in-person conference and have so dearly missed seeing and chatting with colleagues and hope that this provides at least one avenue for connection. While I will share a few updates and news items, such items will also be shared via email. The link can be found here.

If you have any difficulties, questions, or concerns, please reach out to Nathanael Homewood at secretary@a-asr.org, and we hope to see you on February 16!

Sincerely,
Nathanael Homewood
AASR General Secretary

Member publication: Black Minds Matter – Archbishop Milingo and the Vatican by Gerrie ter Haar

AASR member Prof Gerrie ter Haar has recently published a book on Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo titled Black Minds Matter – Archbishop Milingo and the Vatican.

“Black Minds Matter tells the story of one of the most outspoken clerics of Africa, Emmanuel Milingo, who was Archbishop of Lusaka from 1969 to 1983. Milingo became widely known for his healing ministry, which was rooted in African spiritual ideas. This brought him into years of conflict with the dominant powers in the Catholic Church, and eventually led to his excommunication in 2006…” (from https://www.ascleiden.nl/news/black-minds-matter-archbishop-milingo-and-vatican, where you can find further information).

We congratulate Prof Gerrie ter Haar for this new book.

Update: Leiden University has made Black Minds Matter freely available online at the moment, visit https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/handle/1887/3244218

Research Opportunity for AASR Member Graduate Students

The history of the AASR is an important one and something that we must continually keep up-to-date as one marker of the study of religions in Africa. However, and you will notice this if you visit our website, we need to write the history of the last decade (2010-2020). It was a critical decade for the Association with many conferences held, ideas shared, and continued growth in the study of religions in Africa.

Accordingly, we are interested in partnering with an AASR Member Graduate Student to write this history. The task is to interview some of the essential voices (we will connect you with them), read through various documents from the decade, and then write a comprehensive history of the years 2010-2020 for our records (with a condensed version published on our website). You are more than welcome to use this research as part of your studies, and we will provide a USD 750 Honorarium and a complimentary 2022 Membership Fee.

Only Graduate Students who are members of the AASR are eligible to apply. To apply for this opportunity, please email the following to secretary@a-asr.org:

• An up-to-date C.V.
• The name and contact information for one reference
• A 350-word response outlining why you wish to take on this task and what qualifies you to do so.

The deadline for applications is November 15, 2021.

Inaugural Lecture: Professor Adriaan van Klinken:

Join AASR member Adriaan van Klinken on his inaugural professorial lecture titled “Reimagining Christianity and Sexual Diversity in Africa” at the Leeds University Centre for African Studies (LUCAS) and the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (PRHS) on Thursday 28 October, 4:30pm.

Adriaan is Professor of Religion and African Studies at the University of Leeds, and Extraordinary Professor at the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), in the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice. At Leeds, he is Director of both the Centre for Religion and Public Life and the Leeds University Centre for African Studies. His prolific research is predominantly focused on the intersection of religion, gender, and sexuality in contemporary African settings.

You can register here if you wish to attend in person, or join the event via live-stream.