2014
Celebrating Chinua Achebe’s Legacy, University of London, 24-25 October 2014
We are organising a conference to commemorate Chinua Achebe’s work and influence, and to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Arrow of God, which many consider Achebe’s greatest novel. The conference will be held at the University of London Senate House, October 24-25, 2014, and will consist of keynotes and readings by leading writers, alongside a round table discussion featuring Professor Simon Gikandi and other distinguished academics.
We also envisage several carefully selected panel discussions, one or more focussing on Arrow of God , and one or more considering Achebe’s legacy and influence. We invite proposals for 20 minute panel presentations, and are particularly interested in papers which offer new and innovative approaches to Arrow of God or which examine contemporary writing.
Please send abstracts of not more than 200 words to Professor Lyn Innes (cli@kent.ac.uk) no later than April 16, 2014. Those chosen to participate in the panels will be notified by the end of May.
Conference Organizing Committee: Dr Alastair Niven (Chair); Professor Lyn Innes; Dr Mark Mathuray(Royal Holloway, London); Dr Zoe Norridge (Kings College London); Dr Ranka Primorac (Southampton)
2014
8th GloPent conference on ‘Pentecostalism & Development’, SOAS, London, 5-6 September 2014
Conference Theme
Pentecostal Christianity (including its many variants) has undoubtedly become one of the major religious forces in the so-called “developing world”. This has major implications for numerous parameters crucial to development initiatives, such as politics, social relations, inter-religious affairs, gender roles, and household economics. However, the academic analysis of these implications has been constrained by a number of factors. First, Pentecostalism’s emphasis on individual conversion and its outer-worldly ontology have tended to eclipse the multiple and even contradictory ways the movement has engaged with the practice of development. Second, the academic debate about Pentecostalism’s impact on development has been controversial, with opinions varying between attributing Pentecostals with a new “Protestant Ethic” leading to an “upward social mobility” and seeing them complicit with the development failures of the “gatekeeper state”. Finally, in development studies the role of religions has largely been seen as problematic or simply ignored, which is a lack now gradually being addressed by new publications and development programmes.
Given this current re-appraisal of the role of religions in development studies and the need for a reassessment of Pentecostalism’s influence on development initiatives, the conference addresses a highly relevant theme. Three keynotes will frame the conference debate by addressing the most pressing conceptual questions from the disciplinary vantage points of cultural anthropology, development studies, and religious studies. Issues of practice will be explored in a panel discussion featuring experts actively involved in development initiatives with Pentecostal actors. In addition, the conference will offer workshops in two parallel sessions, addressing specific themes of the conference topic and presenting ongoing research on Pentecostal and Charismatic movements.
Call for Papers
We invite contributions to the parallel session workshops at the conference.
Papers may address the conference theme and/or present current research projects on Pentecostal and Charismatic movements worldwide. The parallel sessions will be grouped according to topical focus and with a special interest in interdisciplinary exchange. Should you wish to organize a full panel, please contact the conference organizer before soliciting and submitting abstracts.
Please send your title and a 150-200 word abstract to joerg.haustein@soas.ac.uk by 30 April. Selections will be confirmed by 31 May at the latest.
2014
IAHR 21st World Congress, Erfurt, Germnany 23-29 August 2015: Call for Panel Proposals
You are invited to propose panels for the 21st IAHR World Congress, Erfurt, Germany, 23-29 August 2015, within the thematic framework of our Congress” “Dynamics of Religions: Past and Present”, which will be addressed in four interrelated fields: “Religious Communities in Society: Adaptation and Transformation”; “Practices and Discourses: Innovation and Tradition”; “The Individual: Religiosity, Spiritualities and Individualization”; and “Methodology: Representations and Interpretations”. Click HERE for a further description of these four areas.
We encourage you to propose panels for our Congress at this point as well as to approach your colleagues and friends who you think would be interested in participating in our Congress and present their ideas and projects there.This Call is for Panels only. If you are looking for presenters to participate in you panel, please make use also of our Facebook page as a discussion forum. Our Call for Papers will follow in the next months.
Each panel lasts two hours. Panel papers should be limited to 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of panel participants. Panel conveners are asked to approach possible participants from different nations to reflect the scope and internationality of the IAHR Congress.
To propose a panel, please submit a general proposal of the panel as well as individual proposals of all papers included in the panel. Both panel and papers of a proposed panel will be evaluated by the Academic Program Committee to ensure a high academic standard of the Congress program. We therefore ask panel conveners to submit the proposals of all prospective panel participants of a proposed panel as indicated by the submission form. Proposals of panels and of papers should not exceed 150 words.
The deadline for submission of proposals is Sunday, September 14, 2014. All proposals must be submitted electronically via the IAHR 2015 website. This site will be available for submissions from Sunday, September 1, 2013 through Sunday, September 14, 2014. As part of the submission process, you will be asked to indicate the area in which you would like your proposal considered. Your proposal will then be forwarded to the appropriate member of the Academic Program Committee.
You will receive notice concerning the status of your proposal as soon as possible and certainly before March 1, 2015. If your panel or paper has been accepted by the Academic Program Committee, please note that you will have to register as Congress participant before May 15, 2015 to be included in the Congress program.
Congress Websites: www.iahr2015.org; www.uni-erfurt.de/iahr
Contact: iahr@uni-erfurt.de
2014
AAR African Religions Group
Statement of Purpose
This Group provides a forum for the discussion of research on the multiple religious traditions of Africa, methodological issues in the study of the religions of Africa, and African religious responses to ethical and social issues affecting the continent. The Group encourages the participation of African and non-African scholars in the leadership of the Group and in participation in its programs.
Leadership
Chair: Joseph Hellweg, jhellweg@fsu.edu; Mary Nyangweso, wangilam@ecu.edu
Steering Committee
Adriaan van Klinken, a.vanklinken@leeds.ac.uk; Afe Adogame, a.adogame@ed.ac.uk; Albert K. Wuaku, wuakua@fiu.edu; Danoye Oguntola-Laguda, danoyeoguntola@yahoo.com
Dianna Bell, bell.dianna@gmail.com
Call for Papers for the AAR Annual Meeting at San Diego, CA., USA, November 22-25, 2014
This Group encourages critical inquiry about religions originating in Africa as well as all those practiced there. Proposals should go beyond description; they should analyze the conceptual tools and methods employed. We invite individual papers, paper sessions, and roundtable proposals on the following five themes relevant to any region of the African continent (North, West, East, Central, Southern, and the Horn):
• Religious dimensions of violence, displacement, and politics in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo 20 years after the Rwandan genocide
• Religious responses to and reflections on the ecological and environmental impact of international development and climate change
• LGBTIQ women in Africa
• Mental health and religion in Africa
• African religions and agriculture
The deadline for proposal submission is Monday, March 3, 5:00 PM EST
For questions or support, email support@aarweb.org.
2014
SSSR Student Travel Awards
This year The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (http://www.sssrweb.org/) is encouraging international students to participate and to consider submitting applications for travel funding to its annual conference, to be held in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 31 – November 2, 2014.
Travel assistance to help defray the costs of attending the annual meetings is available for graduate students. Formal application using the form supplied is required for consideration (Application). Applicants are asked include an abstract of their paper and to provide their contact information, name of their academic advisor, academic program status (MA, ABD, on the job market, etc.), if they have attended the SSSR meetings before, their SSSR program status (presenting, co-author but not presenting, etc.), and any additional sources of funding such as departmental travel assistance or some similar funding.
Application Form: www.sssrweb.org/pdf/Student_Travel_Award_Application_2012.doc
Applicants should download the form, fill out all the required information and submit electronically by March 31, 2014. This is the same as the deadline for submitting a paper abstract or session proposal. SSSR has instituted a policy of mandatory preregistration and prepayment for 2014 with a deadline of May 31. Therefore, award winners will be notified by April 30 (same day as notification of paper or session acceptance) so they can plan accordingly.
Please send applications to:
Gabriel Acevedo, Chair, Student Travel Awards Committee, Gabriel.Acevedo@usta.edu
Applications received after the deadline will not necessarily receive consideration. Awardees will be notified by email by April 30, and the award checks will be distributed IN PERSON at the SSSR meeting.
