Islamism versus Post-Islamism? Mapping topographies of Islamic political and cultural practices and discourses

CONFERENCE CALL FOR PAPERS

“Islamism versus Post-Islamism? Mapping topographies of Islamic political and cultural practices and discourses”

University of Frankfurt/Main, Germany
December 13-15, 2013

The general view seems to be that in countries the cultural space shaped by Islamic discourses poses a challenge for Max Weber’s thesis that the world is becoming increasingly secularized and disenchanted. Islam is not only a vital religion attracting more and more followers, it has also undergone a number of adaptations to modernity in the course of the past 100 years. In countries with laical or pluralist political traditions, scores of young people join Islamist organizations, Islamic lifestyles are immensely popular, and Islamic utopias are serving as models for social reform. In many countries of the Muslim World, recent political developments have opened a political space to transform utopian Islamic political visions into policy, developments that seem to support some scholars’ assertions of a crisis of liberal democracy and the coming of a post-secular age.

Yet, the political and civic landscapes in which the actors are (re-)negotiating socio-political orders are far more variegated and not in the least limited to purely secularist or post-secular Islamist visions. In practice, Islamic and Islamist discourses as well as reform efforts are characterized by a great deal of diversity, as well as by ambiguities and paradoxes that touch on all fields of social, economic, political, and cultural activity.

The aim of the conference is to elucidate the complexities and ambiguities of these competing discourses and efforts of cultural and political reform and to identify and contextualize some recurring features of the political landscapes currently undergoing transformation. The organizers welcome paper proposals from researchers and practitioners doing empirical work in the Muslim World or in societies with significant Muslim minorities. Since the conference will also feature an early-career scholars forum, we particularly look forward to receiving paper proposals from early-career researchers.

The conference is hosted by the Cluster of Excellence “The Formation of Normative Orders” and will take place at the Goethe-University Frankfurt/Main from December 13 to 15, 2013. Abstracts (in English or German) should not exceed 350 words and may be submitted to Prof. Dr. Susanne Schröter (s.schroeter@em.uni-frankfurt. de) by August 30, 2013.

The full CfP can also be accessed at:

https://www2.uni-frankfurt.de/47482396/Conference-CfP-Islamism-versus-Post-Islamism_.pdf