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CALL FOR PAPERS: 'YOUTHFUL SPACES OF BELIEF'

RGS -IBG Annual International Conference: London, 1st-3rd September 2010

Session Organiser: Peter Hemming (Brunel University)

Sponsored by the RGS-IBG Children, Youth and Families Research Group

 

Religion is currently on the social and political agenda like never
before, and this development has been reflected through increasing
interest in the Social Sciences. In Geography, the 'new' geographies of
religion have gained in prominence (Kong 2001) and the issue of space
has received greater attention from other disciplines (e.g. Knott 2005).
Scholars from within the sub-discipline of geographies of childhood and
youth have also begun to consider the significance of religious beliefs
in the spaces that shape the everyday lives of children and young people
(e.g. Dwyer, Hemming, Hopkins, Olson). But the word 'belief' encompass
much more than religion. It includes ethical, moral and political views
that structure the lives of religious and non-religious children and
young people alike. These perspectives often provide innovative ways of
thinking about and understanding contemporary global issues such as the
environment and living with diversity. As such, beliefs and the way in
which they intersect with space and place will be of central concern for
both geographers and other researchers interested in children, youth and
families. 

Papers on youthful spaces of belief might include, but would not be
limited to, any of the following interdisciplinary topics:

*         The role of belief in constructing childhood and youth

*         Influences of and influences on beliefs

*         Religious education and education spaces

*         Belief and spaces of inclusion/exclusion

*         Communities of belief

*         Social cohesion

*         Emotional , affective and embodied aspects of belief

*         Belief and social identity

*         Intergenerational issues and home spaces 

*         Nationhood and belief

*         Moral and ethical geographies

*         New social movements

*         Governing beliefs

*         Transitions and the life course

*         Innovative methods for researching childhood, youth and belief

 

Please send your proposed title, along with your name, affiliation,
email address and abstract (max 250 words) to [log in to unmask]
by Friday 5th February 2010.