1ST CALL
14th Nordic Conference on Religious Education
Dates: 12-15.6.2017
Theme: Dialogue, cultures and religion in learning environments and beyond
Location: School of Theology & School of Applied Sciences of Education and Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu campus
WELCOME TO NCRE2017!
In a season of change and movement there is a growing demand for new ways of interpreting the past, present and future. Many global processes such as migration, pluralism and the redefinition of citizenship challenge the traditional notions of borders concerning cultures, states and nationalities, ethnicities and religions. Arguably the early 2000’s has also shown that religion is a relevant –and sometimes even a dominant - actor in the public space. In addition, today the need for dialogue and educating for dialogue skills is increasingly being recognized. At the same time dialogue concerning religions is also becoming more inclusive: dialogue in religious education is to recognize not only the dialogue between religious traditions but also dialogue that includes non-religious traditions or takes place within religious traditions. As the many borders in our world a becoming again more transparent and cultures blended, there is an increasing need to re-examine the conceptions and theories concerning the individual, religions and education through the interplay of philosophical and theological analysis, empirical evidence and scholarly interaction.
The theme of NCRE2017 is “Dialogue, cultures and religion in learning environments and beyond”. The learning environments refer to for instance homes, and classrooms and informal and digital learning environments along with other school and church related contexts. This includes topics such as:
· Borders and de-borderisation in citizenship, nationality, cultures and identities
· Religions and non-religious traditions in various learning environments
· Dialogue, beliefs and education
· Diverse and silenced voices in religious education
· Church, state and school relations in education
· Human rights and right for religion/non-religion in education
· The individual in a pluralistic and digitalized world
One of the characteristics of the University of Eastern Finland is dialogue. First, the UEF is an outcome of a merger of two universities in 2010. Second, in Karelia the interaction between the relatively large Orthodox population and Lutheran population has shaped local culture, customs and history. Third, Karelia is located at the border area between Finland and Russia: it is a place where east meets west. Furthermore, the school of Theology at UEF is one of the few academic institutions that includes both Western and Orthodox theology. It is our wish that you would participate in the scientific dialogue in NCRE2017 in this distinctive context as our most welcome guests.
The keynotes of NCRE2017
Professor Zvi Bekerman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Professor Cok Bakker, University of Utrecht, Netherlands
Professor Mette Buchardt, University of Aalborg, Denmark
Professor Tuula Sakaranaho, University of Helsinki, Finland
Presentation forms and proposals
Similarly to the previous conference, NCRE2017 includes the following presentation formats and proposals.
Paper proposal
The papers may address aspects of the conference theme or other topics. The abstracts should be 250-300 words, full papers about 2000 words. The length of a paper may exceed this; however more time will not be given for its presentation.
Symposium proposal
We invite groups of researchers to present a theme for debate or a collection of small papers in order to shed light on a particular question. The abstract for a symposium should be 250-300 words, full contribution about 3000 words. Both should be presented for a whole symposium, and not as separate contributions. The names of presenters and discussant(s) should be included both in the abstract and the full paper.
Open forum presentation proposal
Open forum format is a very open form of presentation. Anything fresh and working is welcome here (use of short videos, pictures, open room method, posters, round table, panels, etc). This is also a form for the works and research that are very much in progress. In case of a whole open forum proposal the proposal should consist of description of the contribution and its purpose, procedure of how the discussion will take place, what questions will be touched and possible other contributors. Also questions what were raised in keynote lectures may be further developed. However, also single posters or roundtable presentations (with one or more authors) will be grouped under this presentation form. In a nutshell an open forum proposal can be (please indicate clearly):
· A whole open forum presentation
· A single open forum presentation
The abstracts should be about 250 words, full contribution 500-1000 words.
Location
School of Theology & School of Applied Sciences of Education and Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu campus.
You can reach Joensuu by train or by plane via Helsinki.
Important dates
2016
September 2nd call. Details about costs.
December 1st - December 15th Proposal submission
2017
January 31st Review results and decisions
February 28th Early bird registration fee
April 30th Conference registration ends
April 30th Deadline for full papers and contributions
Schedule
The conference will last Monday 12.6.2016 from 12.00 and until Thursday 15.6.2016 by 15.00.
Full details of conference fees will be given in September 2016. This includes information on accommodation possibilities, the preliminary schedule and the conference fee.
Contact
Email: ncre2017@uef.fi
Homepage: https://www.uef.fi/en/web/ncre2017
Local committee
Professor Martin Ubani, UEF, Chair
Risto Aikonen, UEF
Sari Havu-Nuutinen, UEF
Vesa Hirvonen UEF
Pekka Metso, UEF
Sari Murtonen UEF
Eveliina Ojala UEF
Ismo Pellikka UEF
Saila Poulter, University of Helsinki