IPSA RC 43 - Religion and Politics

The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity (Department for Socio-Cultural Diversity) is seeking to appoint

1. up to four researchers (wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter/innen) at the doctoral and postdoctoral level

Applicants should have a degree in anthropology, sociology, political science, or geography. Applicants for the postdoctoral positions should have an excellent PhD, publications and envisage a research career. Their research experience and publications should be relevant to the research areas of the department.

Applicants for a doctoral position should have a research project in mind for their PhD (and send a brief description of about one page), but need not have a fully developed proposal. Advanced PhD students may also apply for one- or two-year writing-up scholarships. Please note: the Max Planck Institute does not award doctorates; PhD students should independently enroll in universities. Presence at the Göttingen institute is required.

Very good spoken and written English is required.

The successful applicants will contribute to the department’s research relating to

- social interactions in contexts of diversity, - organisations, institutions and diversity (including e.g. cities or NGOs), - superdiversity and its consequences.

Initial contracts will be for two years and are renewable to up to 4 years (for PhDs) and up to six years (for postdoctoral fellows). Salary will be based on the German public service scale TVöD, level E 13 (50% for PhDs). The envisaged starting date is 1 June 2013.

The deadline for electronic (one file please) or postal applications is 6 February 2013.

Applications should include a cover letter, CV, a list of publications, and the names and contact details of two potential referees. PhD applicants in particular should send a record of university courses and performance.

Interviews will be held in the first half of March 2013.

2. two one-year postdoctoral researchers

Scholars whose research relates to the substantive concerns of the department’s research programme and whose PhDs have been submitted by 1 June 2013 are eligible to apply. The fellowship is intended to provide the basis for developing a new research project or writing the PhD thesis into publications. The fellowship holders are expected to take part in the academic life of the institute.

Fellowships will begin on 1 September or 1 October 2013.

The deadline for electronic (one file please) or postal applications is 1 June 2013. Applications should include a cover letter, CV, a list of publications, a research/writing plan for the period of the fellowship and the names and contact details of two potential referees. Please also send an electronic copy of the PhD-thesis or sample chapters. These will of course be treated confidentially.

Based on the guidelines of the Max-Planck Society, fellowships entail a monthly stipend of approximately € 1.468 to € 1.621 (German nationals) or € 2.100 to € 3.000 (foreign nationals). Stipends are not subject to income tax or obligatory social security contributions.

The Max Planck Society wishes to increase the participation of women wherever they are underrepresented; therefore, applications from women are particularly welcome.

Following its commitment to an equal opportunities employment policy, the Max Planck Society also especially encourages handicapped persons to submit their applications.

Applications should be sent to: Frau C. Albern, Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung multireligiöser und multiethnischer Gesellschaften, Hermann-Föge-Weg 11, D-37073 Göttingen (per post), or electronically to VWE@mmg.mpg.de

For further details about the positions contact Prof. Dr. Karen Schönwälder at schoenwaelder@mmg.mpg.de Call: http://www.mmg.mpg.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Stellen/2012_Ausschreibungen_researchers_postdocs.pdf

Sacred Space in Secular Institutions Please send abstracts to Chris Hewson by 15 December: chris.hewson@manchester.ac.uk

Venue: Humanities Bridgeford Street Building 1.69 (University of Manchester)

Date: Friday 18th January

The role, form and affect of sacred space(s) within ‘secular’ institutions is a theme that is increasingly attractive to scholars within the social sciences. This Socrel study day will consider how different types of organisation – including but not limited to educational establishments, hospitals and hospices, airports, public buildings, shopping centres, etc – ‘make space’ for faith, sacrality and religious practice(s) within their buildings, management structures and public offerings.

The study day will also consider: the key social, cultural and political drivers behind these spaces; precursors and ongoing developments; how such spaces are positioned within contemporary policy debates; and the practical issues practitioners should consider when designing and managing ‘sacred space’ within a secular institution. The day will be centred around three axes:

A reflection upon the wide range of institutions that contain set-aside ‘sacred space’. A close sociological reading of what ‘happens’ within these spaces on a day-to-day basis, and how this might be conceptualised methodologically. For instance, how are they ‘shared’? How can effective use be measured? A thoroughgoing assessment of the role and practice(s) of extant religious groups and traditions, within the provision and ongoing usage of these spaces.

We welcome contributions of any length (20 minute papers, 10-15 minute presentations) which address these, and any of the following questions:

What are these spaces for, and how are roles and designations contested? What is or can be sacred about these spaces? To what extent are these spaces multi-faith in either description or usage? Do these spaces demonstrate novelty or continuity with existing forms? What are the normative factors governing the development of these spaces (e.g. cohesion, diversity, customer focus, etc). Can these factors always be reconciled?

Please send abstracts to Chris Hewson by 15 December: chris.hewson@manchester.ac.uk

POLITICS, VIOLENCE AND THE SACRED: Exploring René Girard’s thought in Security and International Studies University of Central Lancashire, UK 23-24 May 2013

“Order in human culture certainly does arise from an extreme of disorder, for such disorder is the disappearance of any and all contested objects in the midst of conflict, and it is at such a point that acquisitive mimesis is transformed into conflictual mimesis and tends toward the unification of conflict against an adversary.”

René Girard, Things Hidden since the Foundation of the World RATIONALE René Girard (1923) is arguably one of the most important scholars of our time. His corpus of reflections on religion, violence and mimetic theory has been acknowledged as one of the most striking approaches to human culture ever presented, to the point that it has been argued that his work has changed forever “the way we think about who and where we are” (Philosophy and Literature). In recent years, his thought has been studied and explored in many academic fields, including anthropology and literature, philosophy and sociology, history and psychology. These studies have generated a number of Girard-inspired research engagements and projects as witnessed by the creation of The Colloquium on Violence & Religion (COV&R) and Imitatio. Despite the strong assonance between Girardian themes and contemporary international issues and security challenges, scholars have not yet explored the implications of Girardian ideas for Security and more broadly International Relations.

The aim of the Conference is bring together a range of scholars in international relations, security, social and political theory which may develop a multidisciplinary engagement with René Girard’s work and its relevance for contemporary International Studies. A Special Issue of a journal and/or an edited volume is also envisaged as an outcome of the event.

Keynote Speakers includes:

Dr Michael Kirwan, Head of Theology, Heythrop College, University of London and author of Girard and Theology (New York & London: Continuum, 2009); Discovering Girard (London: Darton, 2004) Dr Scott Thomas, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Bath, and author of The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)

We invite potential participants from across these disciplines to submit abstracts of no more than 250 words by February 15th 2013 drawing upon, but not limited to, such issues as: THEORY

The relation between violence, the sacred and the “political” Comparisons between Girard’s thought and that of other classical thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, Carl von Clausewitz, Reinhold Niebuhr, Carl Schmitt, Max Weber, Hans Morgenthau, George Bataille, Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben Religion, sovereignty and the sacrality of borders The international system and the “mimetic” balance of power The transcendence/immanence split and political mediation Christendom, political theologies and the origins of modernity War, peace and the victimization process Biopolitics and the sacrality of violence

ISSUES AND CASE STUDIES

“Mimetic rivalry” and foreign policy Fundamentalisms, extremisms and the scapegoat theory Terrorism, human security and “sacrifice” Capitalism, desire and the victimization of the “other” Revolutions, “mimetic desire” and the scapegoat Nuclear deterrence, imitation mechanism and (in)stability Financial crises and the vicious circle of rivalry

Please send abstracts with “2013 Girard Conference” in subject line to:

Dr Antonio Cerella: acerella@uclan.ac.uk Conference blog: http://renegirard2013.wordpress.com/

Please address any inquiries to:

Dr Antonio Cerella Lecturer in International Relations School of Education and Social Sciences University of Central Lancashire Preston PR1 2EH Lancashire, UK Office: +44 (0) 1772 892798

29th Annual Conference of the Association for Israel Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, 24-26 June 2013

Deadline for submissions 10 January 2013. Contact: mkresnick@international.ucla.edu; information http://www.aisisraelstudies.org/ucla2013.ehtml

IRNRD New Delhi Conference Week 2012 Religion and Democracy: Local Questions, Global Perspectives

New Delhi 10-14 December 2012

Marking the fifth year of the collaboration and scholarly work within the framework of the IRNRD, the Network has organized a series of scholarly events that include two conferences and two workshops. The themes of these events will reflect on issues bearing special importance for the contemporary discourse on the problems concerning religion, politics and democracy. At the same time, the thematic components and the design of these events express the ‘philosophy’ behind the five-year long scholarly undertaking of the Network: the inter- and multi-disciplinary character of the research, the combination of theoretical and empirical work, as well as our conviction regarding the importance of the intellectual traffic between the different cultural and religious contexts.

http://irnrdelhi2012.blogspot.be/

CALL FOR PAPERS: MUSLIM PARTICIPATION IN CONTEMPORARY GOVERNANCE Academic Workshop followed by Report Launch Event

Venue: Bishopsgate Institute, East London, UK Date: 31 January 2013

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Professor Tariq Modood (Bristol University)

Humera Khan (An-Nisa Society)

Dilwar Hussain (Islamic Society of Britain)

This Workshop will bring together academic contributors from Britain and across Europe to discuss Muslim participation in forms of contemporary governance. Over the past decade, Muslims in many European states have emerged as participants in governance at different levels and across a range of policy domains. Important changes in this regard include the increased presence of Muslims in: structures of political representation; participatory initiatives concerned with social cohesion, faith-based social welfare programmes or countering violent extremism; a range of local democratic and consultative forums and bodies; lobbying and advocacy for equalities legislation both at the state-level and EU-level; and increasingly sophisticated political coalitions for the acknowledgement and diminution of Islamophobia.

The workshop will feature a day of research on and discussion of developments in the study of Muslim participation in forms of contemporary governance. This will be followed by a public Report Launch Event in the evening, featuring a research presentation from the AHRC/ESRC project Muslim Participation in Contemporary Governance: a two and a half year study of developments in Muslim participation in governance at national level and in three local case-study areas of Birmingham, Leicester and Tower Hamlets. At this Report Launch Event policy makers and Muslim civil society actors will respond to the project’s Report, and debate the key issues relating to the participation of Muslims in governance and public life in Britain.

We are particularly pleased to invite research from other European countries as well as from the British context, that will complement the work being done in Britain by our AHRC/ESRC project on Muslim Participation in Contemporary Governance in the UK. Authors of the papers selected for the day workshop will have an opportunity to be invited as contributors to an edited volume comparing developments in Muslim participation in governance in Britain and Europe.

Abstracts for papers on the following topics (and other cognate topics) are invited:

• Muslim representation through electoral politics, representative bodies, and other modes
• Community-based and partnership approaches to policing and counter-terrorism
• Muslim agency, governmentality, and the everyday state
• The development of Muslim civil society organisations
• Coordinated campaigns and lobbying on Islamophobia
• Muslim mobilisations in relation to multiculturalism, equalities, diversity, and cohesion
• The participation of Muslims and Muslim organisations in the ‘faith sector,’ in inter faith activities, and in faith-based service delivery
• Muslim mobilisations that link domestic, EU-level, and/or international governance
• Comparisons of Muslim participation in governance across states

Please submit abstracts of up to 300 words to Dr Therese O’Toole, Professor Tariq Modood, and Dr Daniel Nilsson DeHanas, (mpcg.uk@gmail.com). Abstracts must be submitted by Noon on 15 December 2012 to be considered for inclusion.

For details on the Muslim Participation in Contemporary Governance (MPCG) project, please visit: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/ethnicity/projects/muslimparticipation/

MPCG is a project of the Centre for Ethnicity and Citizenship, in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol. The project is led by Dr Therese O’Toole, and funded by the Religion & Society Programme of the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council in the UK.

=========================================== Dr Daniel Nilsson DeHanas Centre for Ethnicity and Citizenship School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies University of Bristol 11 Priory Road Bristol BS8 1TU Phone: +44 (0)790 807 5719

Research Centre: http://bris.ac.uk/ethnicity

Muslim Participation in Contemporary Governance Project: http://bris.ac.uk/ethnicity/projects/muslimparticipation

Young American Muslims: Dynamics of Identity

By Nahid Afrose Kabir, University of South Australia

http://www.euppublishing.com/book/9780748669936

This book presents a journey into the ideas, outlooks and identity of young Muslims in America today. Based on around 400 in-depth interviews with young Muslims from Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Virginia, all the richness and nuance of these minority voices can be heard.

Many young Americans cherish an American dream, 'that all men are created equal'. And the election of America's first black President in 2008 has shown that America has moved forward. Yet since 9/11 Muslim Americans have faced renewed challenges, with their loyalty and sense of belonging being questioned. Chapters include: Introduction: My Journey and the 'Muslim Question'; Identity Matters; The Culture Debate; What Does it Take to be an American?; Reflections on the American Media; Barack Hussein Obama and Young Muslims' Political Awareness; The Palestinian Question; From Here to Where?

November 2012 248 pp o HB o 978 0 7486 6993 6 HB Special Price: £70.00 £56.50

Nahid Afrose Kabir is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding, University of South Australia. She was a visiting fellow (2009 - 2011) at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University, USA. Dr Kabir is the author of Muslims in Australia: Immigration, Race Relations and Cultural History (London: Routledge 2005), and Young British Muslims: Identity, Culture, Politics and the Media (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 2010).

Contemporary religion in historical perspective: engaging outside academia

The Open University, Milton Keynes – 15-16 May 2013

What is the relevance of research on historical and contemporary religion for today? How might such research inform current debates on religion, and the practice and self-understanding of religious groups and practitioners? What might historical perspective bring to research on contemporary religion? This conference will address such issues under the broad theme of ‘contemporary religion and historical perspective’. There will be two parallel streams. The first is ‘engaging with the past to inform the present’ and the relevance of religious history for the contemporary context. The second is ‘the public value of research on contemporary religion’; here papers on cross-cultural identities and new religions and popular spiritualities are particularly welcomed.

The backdrop for this conference is the growing acknowledgement that Religious Studies and other disciplines must engage with the wider society. Public ‘engagement’ takes many forms - from extensive projects to ad hoc engagement and involving diverse activities such as media work, lectures, workshops and online engagement. This conference will include practitioner perspectives on different themes, and reflect also on the ways in which academic research on religion might engage with communities of interest and place and private; interact with public and third sector institutions and organisations; and influence public discourse and the social, cultural and environmental well-being of society.

We invite paper and panel proposals for either stream. Papers could include case studies of previous or ongoing outreach, knowledge exchange or public engagement. Topics discussed might include (but are not limited to):

integrating ‘religious history’ and contemporary religious practitioners;
the relevance of historical research on religion for contemporary debates on religion; and for present-day religious groups, organisations and institutions;
intersections between research on contemporary religion and present-day contemporary understanding and practice of religion;
the idea of ‘applied’ or ‘public’ Religious Studies;
methodological, theoretical and ethical issues relating to Religious Studies and knowledge exchange;
relationships between academic and practitioner, or academic institution(s) and non-academic ‘partner’ and their implications and challenges.

Confirmed speakers include Ronald Hutton (Bristol), Steven Sutcliffe (Edinburgh), David Voas (Essex) and John Wolffe (Open University).

The conference is organised by the Open University’s Religious Studies Department.

Cost: £20 per day + £20 for conference dinner on the evening of 15 May. Lunch and refreshments (except conference dinner) are included in the day cost; but we ask attendees to book/fund their own accommodation (advice on local hotels and B&Bs available on request).

Please send proposals to Dr John Maiden ( j.maiden@open.ac.uk) by 25 January 2013. To book, please contact Taj Bilkhu ( t.bilkhu@open.ac.uk) by 23 March 2013.

International Symposium The Hizmet Movement and Peacebuilding: Global Cases

Rumi Forum and major academic centers in Washington area will hold an international symposium on the Hizmet Movement and peacebuilding, in Washington, DC, on October 24-26, 2013.

Description

The symposium will address the peacebuilding efforts/impact of the Hizmet (Gülen) Movement institutions worldwide. Peacebuilding, broadly defined, include activities like education, inter-faith and intra-faith dialogue, advocacy, conflict resolution, and peace education which can create trust and cooperation over ethnic, religious and other divisions. The Hizmet Movement established hundreds of educational and communal organizations and institutions in over 140 countries, most of which suffer from internal conflicts and communal divisions, such as Sudan, Philippines, Kosovo, Northern Iraq, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Tajikistan, South Africa, and Nigeria. These organizations and institutions engage in various peacebuilding initiatives that foster inclusiveness, build capacity, and create shared spaces. The symposium will assess the societal impact of these initiatives under thematic and regional categories.

Call for Paper

The symposium seeks to engage the societal impact of the Hizmet Movement and invites contributions from across the social sciences, humanities, and fields of professional and community practice that critically explore the intersection of the movement and peacebuilding. We encourage paper proposals in these two broad topic areas: (1) Regional focus: Peacebuilding initiatives of Hizmet organizations and institutions in different parts of the world such as Turkey, the Balkans, Central Asia, Middle East, Africa, North America, Australiasia, and comparison of such initiatives across regions (2) Thematic focus: The Hizmet movement’s approach to peacebuilding as it compares and contrasts with other secular and faith-based, ethnic and non-ethnic, global and regional, and governmental and non-governmental initiatives around the world

Proposal Guidelines

Proposals should include the title of the paper, biographies of the authors, and an abstract not to exceed 300 words in length, which describes the substance of the paper and relation to symposium theme. All proposals should be sent to the program committee (info@peacebuilding2013.org) by March 1, 2013. Accepted authors should submit complete papers by September 1, 2013. Accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings.

Advisory Board

Muhammad Abu-Nimer (Professor and Director of Peacebuilding and Development Institute, American University); Gertrude Conway (Professor of Philosophy, Mount St. Mary’s University); Rev. Ian S. Markham (Dean and President, Virginia Theological Seminary); Thomas Michel, S. J. (Research Fellow, Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University); Wilhelmus Valkenberg (Ordinary Professor of Religion and Culture, The Catholic University of America); Emre Celik (President, Rumi Forum)

For more information contact the program committee at info@peaceduilding2013.org

Rumi Forum was founded in 1999 with the mission to foster interfaith and intercultural dialogue, stimulate thinking and exchange of opinions on supporting and fostering democracy and peace all over the world and to provide a common platform for education and information exchange.

www.rumiforum.org