Ecofeminist and other "religion, gender, and environment" submissions welcome!!!

(The organization apologies for any cross-posting of this announcement.)

The International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture
Announces A Call for Papers
Second International Meeting, January 17-20, 2008

Venue:
Hotel Fiesta Inn, Morelia, Mexico
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Morelia campus

Theme:
“The Re-Enchantment of Nature across Disciplines: Critical Intersections of
Science, Ethics, and Metaphysics ”

Deadline Extended to August 1, 2007!

Scholars from diverse disciplines, members of the Society and those not-yet
members,
are cordially invited to submit papers, panels, or special workshops on this
theme, or any
other subjects pertinent to the intersection of and relationships among what can
be
understood in various ways as “religion,” “nature,” and “culture ” (for further
information
on the Society, and the affiliated peer-reviewed journal, which will publish
high-quality
work presented at this conference (see www.religionandnature.com/journal/).

The theme of this conference provides focused opportunities to explore and
evaluate both
new and established links among increasingly specialized areas within this
emerging and
exciting interdisciplinary field. We seek to critically evaluate the notions of
scientific
disenchantment and religious or spiritual re-enchantment of nature, addressing
the
intersections between science, ethics, and metaphysics in environmental thought
and
behavior, religious worldviews, and spirituality.

We are pleased to announce the featured keynote speakers:

Dr. Vandana Shiva (Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural
Resource Policy, India)

Dr. David Carrasco (Harvard University, USA)

Dr. Victor Toledo (UNAM-Morelia, Mexico)

Dr. Holmes Rolston III (Colorado State University, USA)

We invite papers that demonstrate interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts to
analyze
pressing issues of biological, anthropological, religious, ethical, historical,
philosophical,
environmental, medical, linguistic, and political concern by producing new
intersections
of knowledge production. We also invite explicit critiques and evaluations of
such
interdisciplinary collaborations that identify the potential dangers and
problems that may
arise when crossing disciplinary, religious, and political boundaries.

Over the past thirty years, scholars have observed a potential paradigm shift
from the
disenchantment to a re-enchantment of nature, as scientists and humanists from
diverse disciplines apprehend or construct values in nature, including those
they construe as
religious or spiritual. Contrary to the modernist idea of a secularized,
disenchanted, and
(often)meaningless world, contemporary environmentalisms have found in nature
ultimate value and meaning. It may be that the Western (re)discovery of ethical
and
moral principles in environmental thought and behavior may generate a greater
respect
for nature, eventually leading to sustainable subsistence and conservation
practices, a
possibility about which we invite critical reflection and research.

At the 2008 meeting of the International Society for the Study of Religion,
Nature, and
Culture in Morelia, Mexico, we seek to critically explore and evaluate the
notions of
disenchantment and re-enchantment of nature, asking questions such as:

• Does the moral story of the “spiritual,” “the intangible,” and “the sacred ”in
contemporary environmentalisms present particular opportunities and/or dilemmas
for the critical inquiry of religion, nature, and culture?
• What do current developments tell us about the relationship between science,
religion, and environmentalism in the contemporary world?
• To what extent is the quest to save nature also a quest to save individual
subjectivities from the presumed meaningless of the modern condition?
• Are we witnessing a renewal of eco-centric and/or religious worldviews, or did
they
ever decline?
• What is the role of indigenous traditional knowledge and indigenous religions
in the
Western re-enchantment of nature?
• Does the re-enchantment of nature provide an answer to the problem of meaning?
• Can we and -if so-how can we conceptualize emergent relations between the
ethical, the religious and the political in ways that do not fit the paradigms
of disenchantment/re-enchantment?

Abstract Submission:

Both individual papers (15 minutes)and full panels (1 hour and forty-five
minutes)on
these and related topics are welcome. Please also send suggestions you may have
for less
formal sessions involving workshops, roundtable discussions, film screenings, or
other
events. Younger scholars are particularly encouraged to suggest papers. The
format for
individual paper abstracts and session abstract is no more than 250 words. We
suggest
that session organizers provide their panelists with a list of questions to
address in order
to encourage integrated discussion. All paper and panel abstracts should provide
three
keywords.

When sending your abstract, please include your highest academic degree,
professional affiliation, and current status.

Deadline:

The deadline for submitting papers and panel suggestions is August 1,2007 but
earlier submissions are helpful. Please send abstracts and panel proposals to:
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You can contact the Program Co-Chairs for questions about the conference
theme:
Kristina Tiedje PhD
Faculté d'Anthropologie
Université Lumière Lyon 2
Campus Porte des Alpes, Bâtiment K
5,avenue Pierre-Mendès-France
69676 Bron Cedex, France
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Dra.Anuschka van’t Hooft
Coordinación de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades
Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí
Av.Industrias 101-A
Fracc.Talleres
78494 San Luis Potosí, SLP, Mexico
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Accommodation:
Hotel Information and Registration Information will be available on the
conference
Website at: www.religionandnature.com/society soon.

____
Posted by:
Tovis Page
PhD Candidate
Religion, Gender, Culture Program
Harvard University
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