Monthly Archives: April 2012

New Book

Islam, Migrancy, and Hospitality in Europe

Literatures and Cultures of the Islamic World

Meyda Yegenoglu

Palgrave Macmillan, March 2012

ISBN: 978-0-230-12043-3, ISBN10: 0-230-12043-1,

5.500 x 8.500 inches, 268 pages,

https://us.macmillan.com/islammigrancyandhospitalityineurope/MeydaYegenoglu

This book cuts across important debates in cultural studies, literary criticism, politics, sociology, and anthropology. Meyda Yegenoglu brings together different theoretical strands in the debates regarding immigration, from Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic understanding of the subject formation, to Zygmunt Bauman’s notion of the stranger, to Etienne Balibar’s reading of Hanna Arendt’s notion of ‘right to have rights,” and to Antonio Negri’s concept of the constituent and constitutive power.

Meyda Yegenoglu is a Professor of Sociology at the Middle East Technical University.

Call for Papers: Alternative Salvations

University of Chester

18th September 2012

10:30-4:30

The Conference

To speak of salvation is, broadly, to speak about transformation from one present reality into a new, transformed and better reality. While the language of salvation itself is not necessarily found in every religious tradition, the hope of, or incentive to work towards, such transformation is a widespread characteristic of many religious traditions. In Christianity, there are a number of dominant perspectives on salvation associated with particular traditions, usually expressed in grand future eschatological narratives. But what of alternative approaches to salvation that have developed outside of established religious orthodoxies? The conference will explore how ‘unorthodox’ readings of sacred texts inform salvation experience; how life transformations outside of religious contexts might be considered spiritual; how  ideas of this-worldly salvation are politicised; how ideas of salvation are simultaneously secularised and infused with new power; what alternative salvations can be discovered within Christianity and how might they be practised. In particular, we are seeking to explore the ways that alternative religious, spiritual and secular understandings of the notion of salvation already shape, and have the potential to shape, how people live and act in Christian and post-Christian contexts.

Call for Papers

This exciting conference breaks new ground in exploring alternative approaches to salvation. Proposals for short papers are invited on any aspect of the theme of ‘alternative salvations’ as outlined here. Papers will normally be 20 minutes in length with an additional 10 minutes for discussion. Applications to submit a short paper should include:

· Proposer’s name and affiliation

· a title for the paper

· a 200 word abstract

· Details of any audio-visual equipment you will need to deliver your paper

Short paper proposals should be submitted to alternativesalvations@chester.ac.uk by no later than 4:00pm on 8th May 2012. Applicants should know the outcome of

their proposal by 18th May 2012.

Conference costs: £28 (£18 for unwaged and students) inclusive of lunch and refreshments.

More details about the conference and a booking form can be found at: https://www.chester.ac.uk/sites/files/chester/salvation%20conference.pdf

ESA Soc of Religion Bi-Annual Conference: Submission Deadline Extended 30 April

The deadline for the submission of abstracts for the ESA Sociology of Religion Research Network 34 First Bi-Annual Conference has been extended to 30 April.

Transformations of the Sacred in Europe and Beyond European Sociological Association Mid-term Conference: Research Network 34 – Sociology of Religion University of Potsdam, Germany, 3-5 September 2012 in cooperation with the German Section for the Sociology of Religion in the DGS

More information, submission and registration at: https://www.esareligion.org/bi-annual-conference/

Plenary Speakers:

Schirin Amir-Moazami, Institute for Islamic Studies, Free University of Berlin

Hubert Knoblauch, Institute for Sociology, Technical University of Berlin

Gordon Lynch, Religious Studies School of European Culture and Languages, University of Kent

Eva-Maria Schrage, Graduate School “Religion and Politics in the Cultures of Pre-modernity and Modernity”, University of Münster

Panel: Religions on the Move/Changes in Religious Cultures

Inger Furseth, Director of the Nordic Research Program NOREL, Oslo Dorota Hall, Assistant Professor at the Dep. of Religious Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw Volkhard Krech, Director of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Dynamics in the History of Religions and speaker of the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) at the University of Bochum Siniša Zrinščak, Department of Social Work, University of Zagreb

Engaging the Spirit World - Popular Beliefs and Practices in Modern Southeast Asia

Berghahn Books are pleased to announce the recent publication in of Engaging the Spirit World - Popular Beliefs and Practices in Modern Southeast Asia, edited by Kirsten W. Endres and Andrea Lauser. Additional information is provided in this online flyer which offers the book at a 50% discount: https://www.berghahnbooks.com/extras/docs/flyer/EndresEngaging_9780857453587.html

For further details on this title or any other from Berghahn Books, please visit www.berghahnbooks.com or contact Ben Parker (ben.parker@berghahnbooks.com).

Social scientists examine Islam and the lives of Muslims: 18 May 2012

Dear colleagues,

Registration is now open for an exciting ‘expert seminar’ sponsored by the Islamic Studies Network on 18 May 2012 at London Metropolitan University. Please register on our website here: Social Scientists examine Islam and the lives of Muslims

The event will consist of four 30 minute presentations, followed by 30 minutes discusssion time for each of the following speakers:

· Nilu Ahmed (Swansea University): Mosques, media and mehfils: changing religious meanings and practice among first generation Bangladeshi women in London

· Professor Shaheen Ali (University of Warwick): Balancing Multiculturalism, Legal Pluralism and Muslim Women’s Rights: A Critical Look at Shari’a Councils in Britain

· Dr Nasar Meer (Northumbria University): Misrecognising Muslim Consciousness in Europe

· Dr Sara Silvestri (City University London): Unpacking and repacking Islam and the political

Respondents: Professors Mona Siddiqui (University of Edinburgh) and Jeff Haynes (London Metropolitan University)

Chair/convenor: Max Farrar (Emeritus Professor, Leeds Met University)

A full programme is available online.

Yukleyen, Ahmet (2012) Localizing Islam in Europe:Turkish Islamic Communities in Germany and the Netherlands (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press)

In the twentieth century, Muslim minorities emerged in Europe seeking work, a refuge from conflict, and higher life standards. As a result, thereare now more than 12 million Muslims in Western Europe. As these immigrants became permanent residents, the Islamic communities they developed had to respond to their European context, reinterpreting Islam in accordance with local conditions. In Localizing Islam in Europe, Yükleyen brings this adaptation to light, demonstrating how Islam and Europe have shaped one another and challenging the idea that Islamic beliefs are inherently antithetical to European secular, democratic, and pluralist values.

Yûkleyen compares five different forms of religious communities among Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands and Germany that represent a spectrum from moderate to revolutionary Islamic opinions. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, he finds that, despite differences in goals and beliefs, these communities play an intermediary role, negotiating between the social and religious needs of Muslims and the socioeconomic, legal, and political context of Europe. Yûkleyen’s rich ethnography shows that there is no single form of assimilated and privatized “European Islam” but rather Islamic communities and their interpretations and practices that localize Islam in Europe.

“Ahmet Yükleyen provides a clear and convincing account of the different orientations of the major Turkish religious institutions in Germany and the Netherlands. All those interested in Islam in Europe today should read this book.”—John R. Bowen, author of Can Islam Be French? Pluralism and Pragmatism in a Secularist State

“A compelling and important contribution to our understanding of Islam in Europe.”—Esra Özyürek, University of California, San Diego

“Ahmet Yukleyen’s Localizing Islam in Europe cuts through the shrill debates to provide a rich and authoritative portrait of the lived reality of Muslims adapting to life in Europe. His insights will be invaluable for student, scholars, and policymakers alike.” -Peter Mandaville, George Mason University, author of Global Political Islam _______________________________________________

The UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific 2012 Lecture series

“Globalisation and Americanisation: Religious and Sporting Minorities;

Mormons and Australian Basketball”

By

Professor Fred Woods

Brigham Young University

May 10, 4-6 pm,

Monash University Caulfield campus

The Link Theatre bldg S 2.30

Melways p 68 (F,1)

Dr. Fred E. Woods completed a B.S. degree in Psychology (1981) and a M.S. degree in International Relations (1985) from Brigham Young University.  In 1991 he earned a Ph.D. in Middle East Studies from the University of Utah with an emphasis in Hebrew Bible.  He is a professor at Brigham Young University in the department of Church History & Doctrine. Dr. Woods has lectured at many universities in America and internationally and is the author of several books and many articles. Professor Woods is a bridge builder among peoples of varied cultures and faiths.  His most recent books are Gathering to Laie (co-authored, 2011) and Mormon Yankees: Giants On and Off the Court  (Spring 2012)

The UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific  (UNCIIR-AP) supports and conducts policy relevant research in interreligious relations, promotes interreligious and intercultural understanding  through seminars, publications and participation in policy debates, and direct involvement in efforts to reduce intergroup tensions. The UNCIIR-AP works with the United Nations – Alliance of Civilizations, and governments at all levels in the region. With Associates and Fellows in Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia the UNCIIR-AP works through UNESCO’s UNITWIN program to foster links among Universities in the region. The UNCIIR-AP is part of the School of Political and Social Inquiry.

Pilgrimage and Sacred Places in Central and Eastern Europe: Place, Politics and Religious Tourism

University of Zadar, Croatia

27-30 September 2012

John Eade (University College London and University of Roehampton), Mario Katic (University of Zadar, Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology), Božena Krce Miocic (University of Zadar, Department of Tourism and Communication Sciences) and Tomislav Klarin (University of Zadar, Department of Tourism and Communication Sciences)

Call for Papers

With the global expansion of travel and tourism more and more people are engaged in what can be broadly described as religious tourism. According to the UNWTO, for example, in 2008 300 million tourists claimed that their trips were motivated in one way or another by religion. Pilgrimage plays a key role in such religious tourism and it is now attracting the attention of a wide variety of experts, e.g. religious leaders, those involved in the travel and tourism industry and academic researchers.

Theoretical debates are moving beyond earlier communitas and contestation models and a more global reach is emerging as researchers explore beyond W. Europe and the Americas, examine the increasing religious diversity caused by global migration and investigate the intimate, historic links between pilgrimage, sacred places, politics and tourism. In this conference we want to contribute to this widening focus by bringing together academics from different disciplines and travel and tourism professionals to explore pilgrimage across Eastern Europe broadly conceived as extending beyond W. Europe. In this way we seek to look at different religious traditions, e.g. Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim, and territorial ties (local, national, transnational, global).

We invite papers which will explore:

• Construction and deconstruction of sacred places • Embodied spaces and body as a mediator • Pilgrimage as a form of religious tourism • Relationship between travel and tourism industry • Pilgrimage and territorial boundaries • Politics and Pilgrimage in the past and today • Pilgrimage in memories and narratives • Tourist ab/use of pilgrimage and sacred places • Tourist perspectives on the pilgrimage journey • Secular pilgrimage and tourism • The realm of pilgrimage / tourism experience

Keynote speakers:

Josef Langer, University of Klagenfurt

Glenn Bowman, University of Kent

John Eade, University College London/University of Roehampton

Program committee:

Josef Langer (University of Klagenfurt), Glenn Bowman (University of Kent), John Eade (University College London/University of Roehampton), Jurica Pavicic (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb), Nikša Alfirevic (Faculty of Economics, University of Split), Marijana Belaj (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb), Božena Krce Miocic (Department of Tourism and Communication Sciences, University of Zadar), Mario Katic (Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Zadar).

Submission details:

Abstracts (up to 350-words in Word doc.), with contact details and affiliation, should be sent to the conference E-mail address (pilgrimageandsacred@gmail.com), or to Božena Krce Miocic (krceb@unizd.hr) or Mario Katic (makatic@unizd.hr) by 1th May 2012.

You will be informed about acceptance or non-acceptance of your proposal by 15th May 2012.

Conference participation fees

Participation fee is € 50

The participation fee includes all symposium proceedings, daytime refreshments, excursions to the Croatian royal city and a pilgrimage place of Nin, and tourist guidance through Zadar.

Accommodation and website

Accommodation is not included in the conference fee. Further information about travel, accommodation and conference program will be available on the conference website: www.pilgrimageandsacred.info

We look forward to seeing you in Zadar in September 2012!

MELLON POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP IN ISLAMIC FEMINIST STUDIES

WHEATON COLLEGE

NORTON, MA

The Womens Studies Program at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, will offer a one-year postdoctoral fellowship in Islamic Feminist Studies in 2012-2013.

The Womens Studies Program at Wheaton College is pleased to announce a

one- year postdoctoral fellowship supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The fellow will pursue research and teach three courses in the Womens

Studies Program during the appointment, including Transnational

Feminisms, Introduction to Womens Studies or Feminist Theory, and a

course in his or her area of specialty. Womens Studies is

particularly interested in scholars of Islamic Feminism working on critical sexualities, but welcomes applications from all scholars in this field.

The salary is $45,000 with full benefits and a research allocation of

$1,500 during the 2012 2013 academic year.

Wheaton is a private coeducational liberal arts college of 1550 students located within easy commuting distance of Boston and Providence. Womens Studies has a rich history at Wheaton College which is a stimulating environment in which to pursue feminist research. The broad interdisciplinary nature of Womens Studies will allow the selected fellow to become fully integrated into the life of the college. The fellow also will participate in seminars and other activities organized by Womens Studies. The fellow will be mentored by a senior scholar in the Womens Studies Program, and our faculty have significant mentoring experience with new teachers in postdoctoral and junior faculty appointments. We seek candidates who are committed to strengthening their teaching in a liberal arts setting.

Candidates should submit a CV, cover letter, evidence of teaching effectiveness, sample syllabi including a brief description of the specialized course the candidate would like to offer, and 3 letters of recommendation to Kim Miller, Coordinator of Womens Studies at miller_kim@wheatoncollege.edu. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Applicants must have finished all requirements for the PhD by August 27, 2012.