May or may not be on topic.
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Call for Papers/Participants: Opening up the study of Sufism for the 21st century
A. The cover story
What:
An edited volume of eight to ten chapters of 7-8,000 words each written
by a scholar and/or published Sufi to be ready by July 2012 for a
roundtable conference in New Zealand August 2012.
The actual book:
This is going to be a companion volume published by Continuum to offer a
survey of current research but also to give more practical guidance on
research in the field, including research methods and subject-specific
resources.
B. The Scoop
I
have only just agreed to edit this project if I could gather up a
certain kind of team and the publishers have given me a few weeks to
gather the team.
A couple of the team members
necessarily will reflect current approaches to the study of sufism.
These are the starting points for any new approach to the study of
Sufism. We build on the shoulders of our predecessors.
This
announcement is for individuals who want to go beyond the existing
postmodern paradigm in whatever dimension they choose to focus.
My
motivation in this project is to re-balance the embarrassing situation
whereby what is important for actual practitioners is hardly considered
by scholars anymore. The subjective and trans-rational aspects of Sufi
practice are almost totally ignored. One of the most enlivening
transformative activities on the planet is largely dis-enchanted in
academic Sufi literature.
Postmodernism has taught us
to be aware of ethnocentrism but few in academia are aware of the
pervading cognocentrism. This is one of the gaping holes in Sufi studies
today. There are many others. Please let me know what they are and how
you would like to fill them with enchantment.
Please contact Art Buehler at [log in to unmask] if you are interested. Please enclose a 100-word abstract and a three sentence bio.
