Dear all, Firstly a welcome to new list members, please feel free to post an introduction and contribute to discussions, post news, etc. Secondly, here is some news, in no particular order, that might be of interest ... apologies for cross-posting and please feel free to forward. Dave ************************************************************************************ Asian Religions Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Department of Religious Studies, announces a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor in the area of Asian religions, specialization and region open. In addition to demonstrating a strong scholarly profile and a dedication to undergraduate teaching, candidates should be willing to engage with Asian diasporic communities in Indianapolis, in keeping with IUPUI's mission of civic engagement as an urban research university. Candidates should have completed the Ph.D. by the time of the Fall 2010 appointment. The normal teaching load in the IU School of Liberal Arts is five courses per year for faculty maintaining a solid research agenda. Salary and fringe benefits are competitive. Final position offer is contingent on the continued availability of funding. Start date: August 1, 2010. Deadline for applications: December 15, 2009 Applicants should send a letter of application, a c.v., and three letters of recommendation to: PROF. DAVID M. CRAIG, CHAIR OF THE SEARCH COMMITTEE DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES IUPUI 425 UNIVERSITY BLVD., CA 335 INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46202-5140 ************************************************************************************ DEADLINE FOR THE CALL FOR PAPERS IS EXTENDED TO SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2009 CALL FOR PAPERS: International Conference 'POLITICS, POVERTY AND PRAYER: GLOBAL AFRICAN SPIRITUALITIES AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION' Africa International University/ NEGST, Nairobi, Kenya 22-25th July 2010 This International Conference is a unique forum intended to bring together scholars, researchers, practitioners of diverse religious traditions and spiritualities, and policy makers for intellectual exchange and dialogue. Academics and representatives of religious/spiritual communities and organisations drawn from Africa, the Caribbean, North & South America, Europe and the Middle East will explore interrelated issues on religion, spirituality, social capital, public role, definitions of and measures towards combating poverty. The production of religious and spiritual synergies forms a key focus, particularly in how and what consequences the interaction and competition between religious traditions in Africa and the African Diaspora can be within the social arena. Competition and synergy of spiritualities can actually produce movements of social service such as education, clinics, poverty alleviation schemes, sustainable development as they seek to hold market share and sustain relevance. First, the conference will provide a platform in which researchers on African and African-derived religions and spiritualities encounter practitioners of religious traditions and communities firsthand. The conference will serve as a laboratory in which scholars/researchers can test their hypotheses and/or present research findings on respective groups, with corresponding feedback from the practitioners themselves. Second, the conference attempts to stimulate and foster a common dialogue, by gathering people with diverse research expertise on the one hand, and practitioners with varied religious/spiritual backgrounds on the other, to highlight and explore how and to what extent African and diaspora religious traditions and spiritualities may cohere on the critical issues which confront the African continent, their ?faiths? in relation to the wider, global community. It is envisaged that the Conference will provide rich information on beliefs and practices of religious/spiritual traditions and how they impact on their communities and the larger society. It is intended to build synergies and forge dialogue on how religious/spiritual communities in Africa and the African Diaspora can combat poverty and foster sustainable development. The conference programme shall focus on the following and related sub-themes: religion, spiritualities and sustainable development in Africa and the African Diaspora religion/spiritualities, their definitions and alleviation of poverty religion, spirituality and politics religion/spirituality, science and technology religious, spiritual, cultural identities new approaches to interfaith dialogue and coexistence religion, spirituality and African politico-economies religion, spirituality, social capital and public role religion and war, violence, conflict resolution and management religion, spiritualities and health ethics, socio-cultural values, and social action African diasporic religions and spiritualities African and African-derived religions and spiritualities in a new global order Paper/presentation proposals based or related to one or more of the above themes are invited from the interested public: scholars, religious/spiritual communities and organisations, policy makers, and NGOs. Papers based on theoretical focus, but also pragmatic-centred research, analysis and implementation schemes that espouse the construction and negotiation of social and religious-spiritual capital within Africa and the African Diaspora (the global African community) will be encouraged. Interested panelists are invited to submit a paper/abstract proposal (max. 200 words), stating institutional affiliation, on or before 15 November 2009. Abstract proposals and all correspondences regarding the conference should be sent electronically (email) to the conference organisers: Afe Adogame ? [log in to unmask] Ishola Williams - [log in to unmask] Grace Wamue - [log in to unmask] Mark Shaw - [log in to unmask] Afe Adogame, PhD CSWC School of Divinity The University of Edinburgh New College Mound Place Edinburgh EH1 2LX UK. Tel. +44 (0)131 650 8928 Mob. +44 (0)7784 118 732 Fax. +44 (0)131 650 7952 http://www.div.ed.ac.uk/aadogame.html ************************************************************************************ The Faculty of Cultural Studies at Munich University (LMU) invites applications for a Professorship (W2) in the field of East Asian Religion and Philosophy (6 years/tenure track) Candidates demonstrating excellent research and teaching abilities in the field of East Asian Buddhism are preferred. Responsibilities include cooperation with interfaculty courses in religious studies and doctoral programs in Buddhist Studies. Prerequisites for the position are a doctoral degree, teaching skills and a record of research equivalent to a German "Habilitation", which may also be achieved as a junior professor or outside Germany. Courses may be taught in English, but acquiring a working knowledge of German is necessary and will be expected. The initial appointment will usually be for six years. After positive evaluation, the appointment can become permanent (but no sooner than 3 years after the initial appointment). In exceptional cases involving outstanding qualifications, the appointment may be permanent from the beginning. In general the age of 52 should not be exceeded at the time of appointment, though exceptions may be considered if outstanding. The University of Munich is interested in increasing the number of female faculty members. Women, therefore, are especially encouraged to apply. The University supports dual career couples. The University is an equal opportunity employer and handicapped candidates with equal qualifications will be given preference. Applications will include: a letter explaining your interest, a detailed cv, a list of courses taught, a list of publications. Please submit applications by December 6, 2009 to the following address: Dean, Faculty of Cultural Studies, Munich University (LMU), Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, D-80539 Munich, Germany. Applications may also be sent via electronic mail (pdf) to <[log in to unmask]> Contact information: Prof. Dr. Klaus Vollmer, LMU Japan Center Munich University, Department of Asian Studies Chair of Japanese Studies Oettingenstrasse 67, D-80538 Muenchen Tel.: ++49 (0)89-2180-9804 Fax: ++49 (0)89-2180-9801 email: [log in to unmask] http://www.japan.uni-muenchen.de ************************************************************************************ Second Call for papers The 4th Christina Conference on Gender Studies - Gender, Nature and Culture 20-22 May 2010, University of Helsinki, Finland The 4th Christina conference explores the complex connections among gender, nature and culture. Recent research has increasingly viewed nature and culture as inherently entangled and inseparable, suggesting that nature is often understood through discourses of gender and, conversely, that gender is made sense of through historically contingent assumptions about nature. Building on this growing body of scholarship, the conference asks how this mutual intertwining of nature, culture and gender has been theorized, represented and experienced in the past as well as the present. The conference aims to be a meeting point for researchers from different disciplines. The conference is organized by the research project “Representing and Sensing Nature, Landscape and Gender” (Academy of Finland) and Gender Studies, University of Helsinki. The conference has three thematic foci: * We explore how advances in genomics, evolutionary biology and other fields of science have refashioned cultural discourses of gender, and how cultural representations of gender and nature have changed the ways in which scientific projects are formulated or popularized. * We ask how works of art (in visual arts, literature, film,etc.)have imagined and rethought gendered assumptions implicit in the conceptual distinction between nature and culture that has been so prominent in Western culture. * We focus on everyday experiences and the ways in which daily practices reinforce or challenge cultural assumptions about the connection between gender and nature. While addressing these issues, we also explore how assumptions about gender, nature and culture take shape through discourses of sexuality, ethnicity and other intersecting categories of difference. Keynote speakers Rosi Braidotti, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Sarah Franklin, London School of Economics, UK Marja-Liisa Honkasalo, Linköping University, Sweden Priscilla Wald, Duke University, USA The Organizing Committee is pleased to invite abstracts for individual 20-minute presentations. Research groups can also suggest sessions of several papers. Abstracts should not exceed 300 words. Abstracts should be submitted using the online submission form available on the conference website. The deadline for submissions is 15 December 2009. For more information, visit http://www.helsinki.fi/kristiina-instituutti/conference *********************************************************************************** Dear colleagues, Details of a vacancy at the Higher Education Academy for an Academic Coordinator (Islamic Studies) are available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/vacancies/detail/vacancy_1007_2009 The deadline for applications is 06/11/09. Best wishes, Rebecca Dr Rebecca O'Loughlin Academic Coordinator (Theology) Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies Department of Theology and Religious Studies University of Leeds LS2 9JT UK URL: http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk<http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/> Tel: +44 (0)113 343 1166 Fax: +44 (0)113 343 3654 Email: [log in to unmask] *********************************************************************************** RESEARCH STUDENTSHIP The Society, Religion and Belief Research Group at the University of Derby is offering a full-time “Religion and Society” programme studentship on: “The Christian Churches and Developments in the UK: Discrimination and Human Rights Policy, Law and Practice, 2000-2010”. This studentship is linked with a three year AHRC/ESRC “Religion and Society” programme project (AH/H016074/1) on “Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales: Theory, Policy and Practice (2000-2010)”. If successful, and meeting the AHRC eligibility criteria for awards (which include residency criteria) you’ll receive £13,290 with fees paid at the UK/EU level. The studentship is based at our Kedleston Road site and must begin by 4th January 2010. For more information or to apply, please contact the Research Office on 01332 591060 or [log in to unmask], quoting reference EHSPW094a. This is a re-advertisement. Interview date: 18 November 2009 Deadline for applications is 9.00am, 11 November 2009 *********************************************************************************** Intensive Summer Program on World Religions 2010: Globalizing Religions: Conflict or Conflict Resolution? http://www.bu.edu/cura/calendar/summer/ The Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA) at Boston University conducts an annual summer seminar. It is organized by the well-known sociologist of religion Peter L. Berger, co-sponsored with the School of Theology of Boston University, under the guidance of Dean John Berthrong. The seminar is generously funded by the Henry Luce Foundation's Henry R. Initiative on Religion and International Affairs. The program is an intensive two-week seminar on special topics in religion and world affairs. The 2010 program will run June 13-25. It will examine the world's major religious traditions, in each case asking the following questions: How has each tradition globalized? Has it contributed to conflict or conflict resolution? The seminar is designed for professional residents of the United States, with some coming from abroad, who are concerned with the international role of religion in politics, economics and social change. Those particularly encouraged to apply are journalists, policy analysts (in or out of government), and educators. The program is taught by a combination of faculty from Boston University and other universities, as well as by active or former members of the foreign policy community. Details of the 2010 summer seminar will be posted here once the program is finalized. CURA will provide housing and meals for all participants. Travel fellowships will be available on a competitive basis. To apply, send a one-page letter of interest, along with a brief CV, and an indication whether assistance with travel is required, to: Ms. Laurel Whalen, Administrator Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs 10 Lenox Street Brookline, MA 02446 Email: [log in to unmask] Fax: (617)-353-6408 Application Deadline: March 31, 2010 This email was independently scanned for viruses by McAfee anti-virus software and none were found