2012 AAR/WR Annual Meeting Calls for Papers
All proposers please note:
- Each proposer must send a
participant form
along with their proposal.
- All accepted participants on the program must be members of the
AAR (members from all regions are welcome).
- Each proposer may propose only one paper or panel for this
conference. We have set this limit in order to encourage the
participation of as many members as possible.
- Each participant may only present or respond a single time at
this conference. Should your proposal have entered the "pool" and
been accepted by more than one program unit, you must inform the
unit chairs immediately. Again, we have created this policy to
allow a maximum of participants at the conference.
One further note: AAR/WR may be adopting OP3 (the automated proposal
submission system in use at AAR National) for the 2012 conference. If
this is the case, proposals will be made through our website, not
through email to section chairs. Please check
http://regions.aarweb.org/western/
for updates on this at the end of the Summer.
Calls for Papers from Sections
Buddhist Studies:
For this year’s theme, we’re interested in the interpretation of
Buddhist texts and application of Buddhist teachings, which addresses
contemporary social issues, such as stem cell research,
sustainability, globalization, gender, discrimination, immigration,
gay rights, ecology, and others. In our rapidly changing world of
technological advance and "internet-twined" world, there is a growing
need for religious response to the ethical responsibility of using
such "tools" for the betterment of society. In keeping with the
conference’s overall theme of "Sacred Texts, Sacred Communities,"
what do Buddhist texts say about the ethical responsibility we have
to use these powerful tools to respond to the needs of social issues
we face today? For your presentations, we ask you to identify a
Buddhist text (indicate Theravada or Mahayana), discuss the
indigenous context, and provide an interpretation of Buddhist
teachings, which addresses contemporary social issues. We look
forward to your interesting presentations and follow-up discussions.
Please send your name, affiliation, title and abstract of your
presentation via email to Dr. Kenneth Lee at
klee@csun.edu.
Ecology and Religion Section:
Diverse religious communities stand witness to current ecological
realities with a variety of tools at their disposal: textual,
theo/alogical, rhetorical, legal, practical, pedagogical,
organizational, and symbolic, among others. These tools help to
frame contemporary environmental concerns, such as the multilayered
natural and nuclear disaster in Japan. The nuclear plant’s
architecture appears to reveal a misapplication of the precautionary
principle, locating essential emergency controls below the
post-tsunami water level. Tens of thousands of people living near
the Fukushima nuclear power plant have been subject to evacuation and
higher levels of radiation. Global media sources depict the heroic
self-sacrifice by the "Fukushima Fifty," bringing to light the
political problematics of determining acceptable risks by the
corporation TEPCO. Government and industry leaders consider their
roles in multi-generational responsibility for nuclear pollution,
such as contaminated air, seawater, and groundwater. Religious
communities worldwide have responded to the deepening crisis through
rituals, donations, conversations, and other means. Depending on
submissions, we hope to host a panel devoted to this crisis.
The Ecology and Religion section welcomes proposals on the tools and
topics above, as well as other writings related to religion and
ecology, nature, the environment, various sources of electrical
power, oil drilling and spills, mountaintop removal coal mining,
plastics, the Pacific Garbage Patch, medical waste, space debris,
land-use and development, modernity, genetic modification of food
plants and animals, "Franken-fish," industrialized agriculture, the
economics of subsistence farming, fish farming, water rights, oceans,
forests, climate change, global warming, natural resources,
globalization, transnational commerce and exploitative extraction,
eco-theology, ecofeminism, environmental justice, environmental
education, ecopsychology, sustainability, greening, green-washing,
Gaia, environmental ethics, anthropocentrism/speciesism, and
particular communities of animals, plants, and peoples. These topics
may be contextualized in continuity with past and future generations;
with awareness of contemporary impacts on future generations of
species, landscapes, and ecosystems; and with attention to
communities’ conceptual and practical regenerative capacities as they
move towards ecological balance, health, sustainability, or other
formidable goals. Please email one-page proposals to section chair
Sarah Robinson at
mssarahrobinson@gmail.com
by Friday, September 30, 2011. Thank you.
Education and Workshops:
Submissions for papers and panels for the annual meeting of the
Western Region of the American Academy of Religion (March 2012) are
welcome on all topics in teaching religious studies or theology.
Please send all proposals to Bret Lewis. Electronic submissions are
preferred. Bret Lewis, AAR WECSOR Section Chair, Department of
Religious Studies, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ 85287
bretlewis@asu.edu.
Ethics:
Most broadly, the Ethics Section invites papers relating to this
year’s Conference Theme, "Sacred Texts, Sacred Communities" We are
also interested in papers that investigate the roots of both
inter-religious and intra-religious ethical tensions. Papers willing
to suggest serious paths to begin resolving these tensions will be
given special consideration. Additionally, the Ethics Section
continues its interest in plumbing the depths of the longstanding
popular and academic conflation and interconnectedness of the topics
of Religion and Ethics. Please submit a CV, abstract (250 words),
and AAR-WR
Program Participant Form
to Kelly Fitzsimmons Burton at
Kelly.Fitzsimmons@asu.edu.
Goddess Studies:
Goddess Studies calls for papers that explore sacred texts, both oral
and written, as repositories for the "voice" and/or "voices" of the
divine feminine, goddesses, and/or female divinities. How global
spiritual and religious communities have preserved, embraced,
negotiated, and/or suppressed the oral traditions and sacred texts
related to goddess traditions and practices will be considered.
Topics including interpretation, authority, "ownership," fluidity,
retrieval, and diversity of oral tradition and texts are encouraged.
Papers that privilege feminist and/or interdisciplinary methodologies
will be given priority for consideration. Please send the title of
your paper and an abstract (about 500 words) to Laura Truxler at
lauratruxler@gmail.com
and attach the requested information into a
word document as well. Please label the subject title of the email:
Goddess Studies 2012 CFP.
History of Christianity:
"In the history of Christianity, there are two major approaches to
sacred texts: 1) Orthodox and Roman Catholic communities argue that
scripture is part of a larger tradition, while 2) Protestants and
Independents tend to argue the principle of sola scriptura. In the
Catholic and Orthodox churches, scripture is a part of the larger
magisterium--the large body of 2000 years of teaching safeguarded by
the clergy, in particular the councils, bishops, and patriarchs. In
the Protestant and Independent churches, primacy tends to be rooted
in the scripture’s authority over the clergy. However, all Christian
traditions agree that ultimate authority belongs to Jesus Christ by
means of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the unique Son
of God. The two History of Christianity panels welcome papers that
directly or indirectly address these issues historically, with an eye
to the future." Please send proposals to co-Chairs
Marianne Delaporte and Dyron Daughrity at
mdelaporte@ndnu.edu and dyron.daughrity@pepperdine.edu.
"The History of Christianity section explores diverse trends and
global movements in the 2000-year history of this faith. With
one-third of earth’s human population being affiliated with
Christianity, this section aims to engage its rich history in all of
its colorful, manifold, and endlessly diverse complexity."
Indigenous Religions:
(not submitted)
Islamic Studies:
The Islamic Studies Section of the American Academy of
Religion/Western Region invites Scholars and Graduate Students to
submit papers and panels for the 2012 annual conference. The theme of
this year is "Sacred Texts, Sacred Communities." We invite members to
explore sacred texts, both oral and written, as repositories for the
"voice" of the sacred in religious communities around the world.
Particular attention should be given to how community institutions,
in their many forms and roles, exercise authority over those texts,
negotiate access to those texts, and ultimately shape the
interpretation of oral or written sacred texts among adherents and
outsiders alike. We hope to receive proposals that address such
questions as: the transformative power of the Islamic texts in
fostering times, communities and bestowing sacredness to individuals,
places and groups? Although we are particularly interested in papers
that touch directly or indirectly on the 2012 theme, you are also
welcome to submit papers having to do with Islamic Studies that are
unrelated to the topic of the conference. Proposals, no more than two
pages in length, should be sent to Co-Chair Prof. Sophia Pandya
and to co-Chair Prof. Abdullahi Gallab at
spandya@csulb.edu and abdullahi.gallab@asu.edu
Jewish studies:
We encourage papers related to this year’s theme "Scared Texts,"
especially papers on any aspect of the Torah, Talmud, Kabbalah or
Musar texts, as well as those that compare Jewish Sacred Texts with
other religious traditions. We especially invite Feminist
interpretations of Jewish texts All paper topics in Jewish Studies
will be considered. We also welcome proposed panels. Please send
paper and panel proposals to all three: Emily L. Silverman,
Miri Hunter Haruach, and Roberta Sabbath at
ebinah@gmail.com, eizorakdanit@yahoo.com, and sabbath@unlv.nevada.edu.
Latino/a and Latin American Religions Section:
Pillage, U.S. Empire and Latin@ Linguistic Diversity in the Americas
This session will explore the intersection of language, politics,
religion, U.S. culture and Empire in shaping, co-opting and
destroying Latina/o linguistic diversity in the Americas. In the
twenty-first century Neocolonialism, Structural Adjustment programs
and a corporate capitalistic mentality are stripping Latino living
bodies and lands of their linguistic, cultural and religious
particularities. Paper submissions are encouraged to reflect on this
topic in light of the role of Latino scholars and activists in
preserving Latino linguistic diversity in the Americas. Proposals
should be sent to Chair Theresa Yugar at
theresayugar@hotmail.com.
Nineteenth Century:
We invite papers or panels that reflect the 2012 conference theme,
Sacred Texts, Sacred Communities. We welcome papers that explore the
dynamic relationships between sacred texts and sacred communities in
the nineteenth century, especially papers that focus on religions or
texts unique to this time period, and those which deal with tensions
and/or resolutions of authority and interpretation. A variety of
disciplinary methods are welcome.
Please send your proposal (not to exceed 300 words) and
participant form
via email attachment to co-chairs Natalie Fawcett and Kristy Slominski
at
natalie_fawcett@umail.ucsb.edu and slominski@umail.ucsb.edu
If you are proposing a panel of 3 to 4
papers, please include short abstracts for each paper on the panel,
and a short description of your panel theme. All proposals must be
received by September 30th, 2011. The Nineteenth Century Section is
intended to provide a forum for the study of various religions around
the world in the 19th century. We especially encourage topics related
to events, people, or issues unique to this period of time. A variety
of methods are welcome.
Philosophy of Religion:
The relationship between texts and communities seems to echo the
Wittgensteinian relationship between language and life. How does linguistic
unity and diversity affect the sense of community within a socio-religious
setting? God, can speak through a text to a community. A text might be
considered sacred because a community deems it as different from common
literature, but they often see it as different because it has the potential
of being the vehicle for divine revelation and/or speech. How can the manner
in which a divine being speaks through a text be relevant? Might it even
constitute a community through that speech?
The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, by Ray Kurzweil,
has become a modern day "sacred" text among technophiles. In it, Kurzweil
predicts within the next several decades advancements in artificial
intelligence, robotics, genetics, and nanotechnology will allow humans to
radically extend their lives hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.
Kurzweil’s predictions have stirred a number of debates between scientists
and theologians including the plausibility of claims made about eternal life
from each side. Kurzweil’s followers, Singularitarians, have often been
called followers of a pseudo-religion, despite the rejection of the
existence of the supernatural and afterlife. What would be the
implications of radical life extension for the academic study of religion,
particular within philosophy of religion? How might this change the human
perspective on the inevitability of death, the afterlife, and God? How would
major philosophers or religious figures throughout history have responded to
the possibility or desirability of eternal life without death?
The Philosophy of Religion section invites such presentations and, as always,
presentations from other subjects related to the conference theme or
philosophy of religion. We also encourage proposals for thematic panels or
for joint sessions with other AAR units. Send proposals (100-200 words) and
participant forms
participant forms to Hester Oberman at
heoberman@msn.com
heoberman@msn.com by the due date of
September 30, 2010. All accepted participants must be members of AAR.
Psychology, Culture, and Religion:
Where, in the mind and in culture, do we hear sacred voices and read
sacred texts? Who interprets those voices and texts for us? When
can we do this for ourselves? Who are we when we do this:
hierophants? theologians? schizophrenics? PCR invites exploration of
how we, as persons and cultures, create meaning through bridging inner texts
and external representations. As always, we strongly encourage
creative proposals that challenge preconceived notions of what an
academic "paper" or "panel" should or could be. Send proposals (~200
words) and
participant form
Franz Metcalf at
franz@mind2mind.net.
PCR is an informal association of scholars and practitioners in the fields
of religion and psychology. Our members share common interests in
the relationships between religions, individuals, and the contemporary
cultures which mediate and construct them. To learn more about us,
see
http://www.pcr-aar.org/.
Queer Studies in Religion :
Queer Studies in Religion invites paper proposals on topics dealing
with queering sacred texts and communities, both oral and written, as
repositories for the "voice" of the sacred in religious and queer
communities around the world. Particular attention should be given to
how queer and non-queer communities, in their many forms and roles,
exercise authority over those texts, negotiate access to those texts,
and ultimately shape the interpretation of oral or written sacred
texts among adherents and outsiders alike. Papers will be selected on
the basis of strength of the proposal and those connecting to the
overall theme of the year’s conference of "Sacred Texts, Sacred
Communities" will be given priority. However, the section is also
willing to consider paper or panel proposals dealing with any aspect
relating to the general topic of Queer Studies in Religion. Please
send proposals to Marie Cartier and John Erickson at
ezmerelda@earthlink.net and jerickson85@gmail.com.
Religion and the Social Sciences:
This section examines the merging streams of theology/religious
studies and the social sciences. We invite proposals that explore
sociological or psychological impact on individuals or communities
resulting from interpretations of sacred texts or sacred oral
traditions. Other paper proposals are welcome that fit with the
section’s purpose. Please send proposals to Jill Snodgrass at
jillsnodgrass@yahoo.com
or Siroj Sorajjakool at
ssorajjakool@llu.edu
Religion and the Arts:
The Religion and the Arts Section seeks the submission of abstracts
that address this year’s theme of "Sacred Texts, Sacred
Communities." All papers that explore visual, literary, and/or
performing arts -- such as painting, television, video, theater,
music, and dance -- as repositories for the "voice" of the sacred in
religious communities around the world are welcome. Papers that
highlight insider/outsider dynamics and normative/non-normative
interpretations of sacred texts among marginalized members within the
arts community (e.g. women, LGBT, Native Americans, African and
African-Americans, Latinos/as) are particularly invited to submit
entries. Below is a brief list of topics that would fit this
section:
- Role of the arts community in transcribing and translating
religious texts
- Similarities and differences between secular and sacred
approaches to art history
- Use of the arts in religious communities for social and
political ends
- Relationship between religion and authority in the arts
community
- Significance of new media for artistic expression in
religious communities
Appropriation of popular and/or extracanonical texts by the
arts community
Multidisciplinary approaches to these and other related topics are
encouraged. Choices will be determined based on the quality of the
submission, its connection to the conference theme, and its cohesion
with other selections on the panel.
Please send proposals to Dirk von der Horst and Roy Whitaker at
dirkster42@yahoo.com and roy_whitaker@hotmail.com.
Please also make sure
your proposal is formatted as a .doc file, not a .docx file.
Religion in America:
The Religion in America Section encourages the use of diverse sources
and multiple approaches to the study of religions in America. We seek
to stimulate comparative discussion across a range of traditions
around particular themes. For the 2012 conference, the Section
invites contributors to engage the conference theme in one of two
forums:
- Broadly, working with religious traditions whose communities in
North America are challenged by questions of authority,
interpretation, practice, literacy, identity, representation and
the like--from within or from the outside-- related to their sacred
texts. Please send a proposal to Doe Daugherty and
Philip Boo Riley at
ddaught@asu.edu and priley@scu.edu.
Be sure to submit a
Program Participant Form as well.
- Specifically related to Religions in Asian America, for a joint
session with the Religions of Asia section, where our interests
revolve around the crossroads between sacred texts and communities
in America that are shaped by globalization. (See the
joint session
section as well as
Religions of Asia call
for a fuller description.
Please send a proposal to Jonathan H. X. Lee, Doe Daugherty and
Philip Boo Riley at
jlee@sfsu.edu, ddaught@asu.edu, and priley@scu.edu.
Be sure to submit a
Program Participant Form as well.
Religion, Literature, and Film:
The Religion, Literature, and Film section welcomes proposals
directly related to the 2012 conference theme: "Sacred Texts,
Sacred Communities," especially proposals for papers that examine
the interplay of religious texts and traditional or communal
expressions in current or contemporary fictional works or in current
or contemporary films. We also welcome proposals that extend the
ongoing discussion in this section as it relates to literary and
film criticism and the academic study of religion. Current AAR
members should send a 1-page proposal and a completed copy of the
AAR/WR Participation Form via email to Jon R. Stone at
jrstone@csulb.edu
Religions of Asia:
The Religions of Asia section invites papers on any topic exploring
the intersections or disjunctures of ’sacred text’ and ’sacred
community’ among Asian religious traditions. The myriad of Asian
religious traditions and expressions demonstrate a vast diversity of
approaches to texts (’sacred’ and otherwise) within religious
communities, from anti-scriptural desecration or destruction of
texts, to veneration of physical texts as repositories and conduits
of sacred power. How are ’texts’ understood to have ’sacred’
authority within diverse sacred communities? What questions and
issues arise when the ’sacred’ authority of a text is hierarchized or
contested within a sacred community or by outside forces and agents?
Or when changes in this sacred authority occur across time, space and
community? Or when the sacred authority of texts is challenged by the
interpretations of scholars studying sacred texts and sacred
communities? In addition to proposals that focus on issues
surrounding the hermeneutics of texts as sources of doctrine and
meaning conveyed linguistically, we encourage proposals that explore
the many other uses of sacred texts within Asian sacred and secular
communities, such as: text as ’talisman’ and object of protection or
power; text as tool of divination (or ’bibliomancy’ text as
liturgical, ritual or performative instruction or ’script’ text as
’object’ of veneration (and/or living embodiment of divinity); text
as carrier of aesthetic experience independent of linguistic
understanding (e.g. mantras, or oral/mental ’tools’ of meditational
or devotional focus); text as ‘mediation’ for building sacred
communities across cultural differences; text as ‘archive’ of
collective knowledge and community history; text as ‘crossings’
among diverse sacred communities and with non-sacred counterparts;
sacred text as popular vernacular literature, etc. Proposals that
re-imagine the re-defined boundaries of the term ’text’ - to include
the oral, the performed, the virtual, the embodied, the lived, etc. -
are especially welcome. We seek papers covering all religions of Asia
and from all disciplinary approaches that address any facet of the
call, directly or tangentially. Please submit proposals to Dr.
Jonathan H. X. Lee, Charles Townsend, and Thien-Huong Ninh at
jlee@sfsu.edu, ctown001@ucr.edu, and ninh@usc.edu
Womanist/Pan African:
The Womanist/Pan African section seeks papers that address this
year’s theme of Sacred Texts and Sacred Communities. We are open to
all topics from all disciplines. We seek papers and panels that
challenge the very definition of a sacred text and a sacred
community. We are interested in both academic and popular
interpreters that are given or take the authority to define the
sacred. Especially, the interpretations of those who have been
marginalized in many "sacred" communities: lay people, women, people
of color, two-thirds world citizens, children, queer, and the
disabled. We welcome papers that place traditional scholars and texts
in dialogue with newer methodologies and postmodern perspectives.
For example: How are the canonized texts and scholars being redefined
within a culture of social media and technology? Please send
proposals to Paula McGee at
paulamcgee@aol.com
Women and Religion :
We invite papers relevant to Women & Religion, including papers
concerning women’s roles in various religious traditions, religion &
feminisms, women’s spiritualities, issues of gender and sexuality in
religious traditions, race, class and gender, masculinity/femininity,
etc. We especially invite papers relevant to the 2012 conference
theme, "Sacred Texts, Sacred Communities" papers that address
women’s engagement with and reinterpretations of sacred texts - both
women working within traditional religious communities, and women who
are outsiders to those traditions, forging their own religious paths
alone or in a community.
Proposals for this section should be sent via e-mail to BOTH of its
co-chairs: Ann Wertman and Chandra Alexandre at
awertman@asu.edu and calexandre@bayareacouncil.org. All participants must
send a
participant form
along with their proposal. All accepted participants on the program must be
members of the AAR.
Calls for Co-Sponsored Sessions
Religions of Asia and Religion in America co-sponsored panel:
Religions in Asian America
Religions of Asia and Religion in America invites paper proposals on
the topic of sacred texts and sacred communities within/among Asian
America/ns. The intersection, interplay, and interface of sacred
texts and sacred communities among Asian American subjects and social
groups reveal diverse expressions, influences, and juxtapositions of
texts and (de)formation of communities. What constitutes sacred text
and community in Asian America? How does sacred text emerge, and in
what form does it appear in Asian American communities? How does
sacred text inform the creation of a religious or non-religious
community? How does a community, secular or sacred, create and
translate "sacred" text? How does sacred text facilitate the
interplay between religious and non-religious trajectories of Asian
American social and racialized bodies? How do living human subjects
manage or negotiate attempts to conform or deliberately contradict
words with flesh? Individually or communally, how do living human
subjects manage or negotiate attempts to conform, or deliberately
contradict, words with flesh and practice? Examinations of sacred
texts and communities may reveal conformity to, or deliberate
attempts to subvert and transgress written dogma or ethos of a sacred
community and hegemonic assimilative forces. The crossroads between
sacred text and community in the age of globalization reveal complex
capillaries and paths in the development of religious expressions,
communities, and subjects as a circumstance of time, "racial,"
cultural, social, political, and economic conditions. We seek papers
from all disciplinary approaches that address any facet of the call,
directly or tangentially. Please send a proposal to Jonathan H. X.
Lee, Doe Daugherty, and Philip Boo Riley at
jlee@sfsu.edu, ddaught@asu.edu, and priley@scu.edu.
Be sure to submit a
program participant form as well.
Joint Session for Queer Studies in Religion and Religion and Arts
Queer Studies in Religion and Religion and Arts invite paper
proposals on any topic dealing with the intersection of religion,
queer studies, and the arts (for example, painting, music, video,
performance art, spoken word, architecture). Papers will be
selected on the basis of the strength of the proposal. Those papers
connecting to the overall theme of the year’s conference of "Sacred
Texts, Sacred Communities" will be given priority. Please send
proposals to Marie Cartier, John Erickson, Roy Whitaker, and
Dirk von der Horst at
ezmerelda@earthlink.net, jerickson85@gmail.com, roy_whitaker@hotmail.com, and dirkster42@yahoo.com
