Call for Proposals

Of SacredCrossroads: Cultural Studies and the Sacred

A special issueof Open Cultural Studies

Theseventh International Association for Cultural Studies Crossroads conferenceheld at the University of the West Indies (Jamaica) was themed “Of SacredCrossroads”. The conference call for papers asked for a consideration of issuessurrounding the dialogue between humanity and spirituality. In the face ofincreasing materialism and consumerism, as well as the prevailing emphasis onscience and technology in contemporary society, participants contemplated thepolitics of the intersection between Cultural Studies and the sacred, while celebratingthe intangible heritage of humankind--that found in religion, art, dance, song,oratory, healing, re-creation, performance, ritual, belief systems, ethics, globalizationand communication, among others. 

Cultural Studies is not a discipline that immediately calls to mind reflectionon matters of the sacred. However, since the 2008 iteration of the conference, issues of the sacred have continued to be a concern amongst a community of Cultural Studies scholars. Cultural Studies is known for identifying distinct,multi-disciplinary perspectives, and in this special issue the papers willdemonstrate a willingness to critique the role of the sacred in daily life andan openness to thinking about its representation in everyday culturalexpressions, from literature to music to food to politics and beyond.

The Special Issue

Thisis a call for proposals to be published as a special issue that concerns itselfwith offering new ways in which the sacred is represented in the popular realmor communicated at the intersection of the secularization of society and itsinherent ideological, philosophical, existential and methodological crises.

Theissue will present a variety of voices, some new, some experienced, allwrestling with ideas about and perspectives on the sacred. The special issuewill have a truly international scope, both in subject and voice. Each essay willprovide a different perspective on the sacred, revealing, through a Cultural Studieslens, diversity of practices, multifaceted nature of beliefs, ceremony, andritual.

Details of Submission

Expressionsof interest and submission of abstracts should be sent no later than March 15, 2018 to the Editor, Dr.Sonjah Stanley Niaah at [log in to unmask]

The finaldate for submission of full papers is April30, 2018 via the following online submissionsystem (http://www.editorialmanager.com/culture). On accessing the onlinesubmission system authors must select "Special Issue:  Of SacredCrossroads—Cultural Studies and the Sacred."

Sonjah Stanley Niaah | Ph.D. 
Senior Lecturer, Cultural Studies & Head, Institute of Caribbean Studies
University of the West Indies at Mona