2023 NAASR Annual Meeting
2023 NAASR Annual Meeting Program
Exploring the “Ecologies” of Scholarship in the Study of Religion
#naasr2023
ONLINE (PRE-CONFERENCE) PROGRAM
Saturday, November 11, 2023 (Via Zoom link)
MEET THE EDITORS: Religion in 5 Minutes Series (Equinox Publishing)
Time TBD– (1.5 hrs)
Russell McCutcheon (University of Alabama), Series Co-Editor
Natalie Avalos (University of Colorado, Boulder)
Suzanne Owen (Leeds Trinity University)
Angela Puca (Leeds Trinity University)
Teemu Tara (University of Helsinki)
Emily Crews (University of Chicago)
Rebekka King (MTSU), Presiding
BREAK (30min-1hr)
2023 KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Time/TBD– (1.5-2hrs: 45 min address with Q and A)
Leslie Dorrough Smith (Avila University)
TITLE: Pending
Annual Virtual “Happy Hour” (via Zoom link)
IN-PERSON PROGRAM
November 17-18, San Antonio, TX
Friday, November 17, 2023
Research Environment (Location TBD)
Prespondent:
Sarah Dees (Iowa State University)
Panelists:
Mostafa Amini (Harvard University) & Anwar Ouassini (Delaware State University)
Emily Crews (University of Chicago)
Allison Isidore (University of Alabama)
Rebecca Janzen (University of South Carolina)
Matt Sheedy (University of Bonn)
Javan Smith (University of North Carolina, Charlotte), Presiding
Dissemination Platform (Location TBD)
Prespondent:
Lauren Horn Griffin (Louisiana State University)
Panelists:
Jacob Barrett (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Thomas J. Carrico (Independent Scholar)
Daniel Miller (Landmark College)
Trevor Linn (University of Alabama)
Edith Szanto (University of Alabama)
Anastasia Popham (Nebraska Wesleyan University), Presiding
Institutional Climate (Location TBD)
Prespondent:
Rita Lester (Nebraska Wesleyan University)
Panelists:
Savannah Finver (Ohio State University) & Craig Martin (St. Thomas Aquinas College)
Chris Jones (Washburn University)
Matthew Baldwin (Mars Hill University)
Chris Miller (University of Ottawa)
Allison Isidore (University of Alabama), Presiding
NAASR 2023 Reception (TBD)
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Sociocultural Location (Location TBD)
Prespondent:
Sean McCloud (University of North Carolina, Charlotte)
Panelists:
Stacie Swain (University of Victoria)
Vaia Touna (University of Alabama)
Lech Trzcionkowski (Jagiellonian University)
Mary Hammer (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Xochiquetzal Luna Morales (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Camryn Melroy (Nebraska Wesleyan University), Presiding
BUSINESS MEETING (1hr directly following the panel)
NAASR 2023 Annual Meeting CFP Extension
**DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 13TH**
CALL FOR PAPERS
Exploring the Transdisciplinary “Ecology” of scholarship in the study of religion
The North American Association for the Study of Religion describes itself as an organization committed to “the historical, comparative, structural, theoretical, and cognitive approaches to the study of religion.” Since its inception, NAASR has welcomed an assorted group of scholars to work across these entrenched disciplinary boundaries and wide-ranging areas of expertise. This synergy cultivates a level of transdisciplinary inquiry into the very idea of the category of “religion” that otherwise might be unattainable. Yet, this emphasis on transdisciplinary engagement mutes the profound impact of this underlying scholarly diversity on the intellectual exchanges and disputes that arise in the so-called critical study of religion.
It is crucial to also acknowledge that many factors shape the scholar’s capacity to create, curate, and ultimately critique “religion” as an object of study. What are the unique paths that individual scholars travel to arrive at this shared endeavor? How do these differences matter? In what ways do their specific educational, institutional, and broader social locations inform their perspectives on religion and the contours of scholarly debate? Examining the elements that comprise the ecology of the field provides opportunities to sharpen our scholarly pursuits.
The 2023 NAASR Annual Meeting will explore the “ecologies” in which scholars imagine religion. Specifically, NAASR invites proposals for papers that target one of the following “niches,” each of which establishes parameters for the scholarly process:
(1) The Research Environment—how do specific types of research spaces (ex., archival, digital, ethnographic, etc.) determine the range or type of choices that scholars can make? How do different physical spaces (ex., home office, a local coffee shop) impact the creative processes of scholarly production?
(2) Dissemination Platform—how do specific platforms for disseminating research (ex., peer-review journals, publishers, mass media, podcasts, etc.) shape the substance, form, and purpose of scholarship?
(3) Institutional Climate—how do institutions (ex., graduate training, rank/position of the scholar, administrations, public vs. private institutions, the state, markets, etc.) play a role in framing scholarship on religion?
(4) Socio-cultural Location—how does the embeddedness of the scholar in wider social structures (e.g., those related to race, gender, class, religious background, occupational history, etc.) inform their scholarly practices and pursuits?
NAASR is especially interested in sessions that can represent the breadth of the field in terms of rank (graduate students, senior scholars), areas of expertise and disciplinary training, and socio-cultural backgrounds. Paper proposals can emphasize the individual’s personal/anecdotal experiences or more general observations in relation to one of these “niches” as long as the substance of the presentations isare grounded in robust scholarly or empirical support.
Submissions for proposals should each:
1. Identify the area (one of the four immediately above) on which they will focus
2. Provide a brief (500-word max) statement that outlines the basic elements of their response to the identified theme.
The sessions for the annual meeting will follow a roundtable format exploring each of these four (4) themes. Participants will submit full papers that apply their expertise to the designated topic one month prior to the meeting (approximately early October 2023). Each session will feature a “Pre-spondent,” an invited scholar who will introduce the panelists and offer substantive remarks on the topic. Participants will have 8-10 minutes to summarize their papers and will be followed by informal discussion between panelists and the general audience for roughly one hour.
Ultimately the aim is to publish these sessions as an edited volume under the NAASR Working Papers series with Equinox publishing. Therefore, by submitting a proposal for the annual meeting, you are agreeing to eventually publish a version of this paper as a chapter in an edited volume in the NAASR working papers series.
Please submit your proposals Monday, March 13, 2023 at 5pm ET to the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdGT7xXH3Y_0wbQ3nfXKr_xMrwpwgH8m3mPuJJFMqg4J4nGDA/viewform?usp=sf_link
Direct any questions or concerns about this process to dennislorusso@gmail.com
NAASR 2023 Annual Meeting: Call for Papers
NAASR 2023 Annual Meeting
CALL FOR PAPERS
Exploring the Transdisciplinary “Ecology” of scholarship in the study of religion
The North American Association for the Study of Religion describes itself as an organization committed to “the historical, comparative, structural, theoretical, and cognitive approaches to the study of religion.” Since its inception, NAASR has welcomed an assorted group of scholars to work across these entrenched disciplinary boundaries and wide-ranging areas of expertise. This synergy cultivates a level of transdisciplinary inquiry into the very idea of the category of “religion” that otherwise might be unattainable. Yet, this emphasis on transdisciplinary engagement mutes the profound impact of this underlying scholarly diversity on the intellectual exchanges and disputes that arise in the so-called critical study of religion.
It is crucial to also acknowledge that many factors shape the scholar’s capacity to create, curate, and ultimately critique “religion” as an object of study. What are the unique paths that individual scholars travel to arrive at this shared endeavor? How do these differences matter? In what ways do their specific educational, institutional, and broader social locations inform their perspectives on religion and the contours of scholarly debate? Examining the elements that comprise the ecology of the field provides opportunities to sharpen our scholarly pursuits.
The 2023 NAASR Annual Meeting will explore the “ecologies” in which scholars imagine religion. Specifically, NAASR invites proposals for papers that target one of the following “niches,” each of which establishes parameters for the scholarly process:
(1) The Research Environment—how do specific types of research spaces (ex., archival, digital, ethnographic, etc.) determine the range or type of choices that scholars can make? How do different physical spaces (ex., home office, a local coffee shop) impact the creative processes of scholarly production?
(2) Dissemination Platform—how do specific platforms for disseminating research (ex., peer-review journals, publishers, mass media, podcasts, etc.) shape the substance, form, and purpose of scholarship?
(3) Institutional Climate—how do institutions (ex., graduate training, rank/position of the scholar, administrations, public vs. private institutions, the state, markets, etc.) play a role in framing scholarship on religion?
(4) Socio-cultural lLocation—how does the embeddedness of the scholar in wider social structures (e.g., those related to race, gender, class, religious background, occupational history, etc.) inform their scholarly practices and pursuits?
NAASR is especially interested in sessions that can represent the breadth of the field in terms of rank (graduate students, senior scholars), areas of expertise and disciplinary training, and socio-cultural backgrounds. Paper proposals can emphasize the individual’s personal/anecdotal experiences or more general observations in relation to one of these “niches” as long as the substance of the presentations isare grounded in robust scholarly or empirical support.
Submissions for proposals should each:
1. Identify the area (one of the four immediately above) on which they will focus
2. Provide a brief (500-word max) statement that outlines the basic elements of their response to the identified theme.
The sessions for the annual meeting will follow a roundtable format exploring each of these four (4) themes. Participants will submit full papers that apply their expertise to the designated topic one month prior to the meeting (approximately early October 2023). Each session will feature a “Pre-spondent,” an invited scholar who will introduce the panelists and offer substantive remarks on the topic. Participants will have 8-10 minutes to summarize their papers and will be followed by informal discussion between panelists and the general audience for roughly one hour.
Ultimately the aim is to publish these sessions as an edited volume under the NAASR Working Papers series with Equinox publishing. Therefore, by submitting a proposal for the annual meeting, you are agreeing to eventually publish a version of this paper as a chapter in an edited volume in the NAASR working papers series.
Please submit your proposals Monday, March 13, 2023 at 5pm ET to the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdGT7xXH3Y_0wbQ3nfXKr_xMrwpwgH8m3mPuJJFMqg4J4nGDA/viewform?usp=sf_link
Direct any questions or concerns about this process to dennislorusso@gmail.com
NAASR 2022 Annual Meeting Program
Critique in the Study of Religion: Past, Present, and Future
#naasr2022
ONLINE (PRE-CONFERENCE) PROGRAM
Saturday, November 12, 2022 (Virtual Only), 3:00 pm EST (followed by a virtual happy hour)
NAASR Keynote Address:
Mitsutoshi Horii (Shumei University), Co-editor, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion (MTSR)
Title: “Critique for What? Critical Religion and the Problems of Modernity”
REGISTER FOR THE VIRTUAL KEYNOTE HERE.
IN-PERSON PROGRAM
November 18-20, Denver, CO
Friday, November 18, 2022
8:30 am – 9:50 am (MST) Executive Council Meeting
Convention Center, Mile High Ballroom 3C
10:00 am – 11:50 am (MST) Theory Panel
Convention Center, 103
This session features panelists who explore various theoretical formations that are
specifically relevant or applicable to the critical study of religion. What existing theoretical
frameworks should critical scholarship enlist? What unique opportunities for theory-building
does the critical study of religion present to scholars?
Pre-spondent:
Julie Ingersoll (University of North Florida)
Panelists:
Lina Aschenbrenner (University of Erfurt)
“Assemblage thinking and theory for a critical study of religion”
Jacob Barrett (University of Alabama)
Michael DeJonge (University of South Florida)
“What is constructionism? Theory for the critical study of religion?”
Lauren Horn-Griffin (University of Alabama)
Sean McCloud (University of North Carolina, Charlotte), Presiding
1:00 pm – 2:50 pm (MST) Teaching Panel
Convention Center, 103
This session considers the role of critical religious studies in classrooms. To what
degree does the critical study of religion differ from the critical pedagogies in religion? What
distinguishes critical from non-critical approaches to teaching religion? How do these
pedagogies enhance student learning?
Pre-Spondent:
Leslie Dorrough-Smith (Avila University)
Panelists:
Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand (Middle Tennessee State University)
Beverly McGuire (University of North Carolina, Wilmington)
Hussein Rashid (Independent Scholar)
“Practicing What We Teach—Critical Religious Studies in the Classroom”
John McCormack (Aurora University)
“Still in Search of Dreamtime? Finding a Pedagogical Logic for the Study of Religion”
Steven Ramey (University of Alabama)
“Pedagogical Description as Method: A Non-Linear Approach”
Andrew Durdin (Florida State University), Presiding
3:00 pm – 4:50 pm (MST) Scholar Panel
Convention Center, 103
This panel examines the relationship of the critical study of religion to its primary
constituents. The papers consider various themes, including the politics of so called critical
methodologies and assumed distinctions between critical scholarship and activism.
Pre-Spondent:
Jennifer Selby (Memorial University)
Panelists:
Jason WM Ellsworth (Dalhousie University)
“Scholarly Identification in the Field: Critical Scholars and Theoretical Methodological
Implications”
Lucas Johnston (Wake Forest University)
“Scholars in Their Natural Habitats: Criticism, Vulnerability, and Exposure”
Daniel Miller (Landmark College)
“Critical Religious Studies and Engaged Scholarship”
Matt Sheedy (University of Bonn)
“Critical Religion Versus Critical Islam and Indigenous Studies: Insiders, Outsiders, Activists”
Merinda Simmons (University of Alabama)
Emily Crews (University of Chicago), Presiding
7:00 – 9:00 pm – NAASR Reception – Henry’s Tavern, Denver (co-sponsored by Equinox Publishing)
Saturday, November 19, 2022
9:00 am – 10:50 am (MST) ROUNDTABLE: On the Very Idea of “Critique”
Embassy Suites, Crestone Ballroom Salon A
This roundtable brings together a wide-ranging group of senior and established
scholars to reflect on the concept of “critique” in the study of religion. What are the contours of a
critical study of religion? What role(s) can it serve for the wider field of religious studies? What
challenges confront it?
Panelists:
Kathryn Lofton (Yale University)
Craig Martin (St. Thomas Aquinas College)
Kevin Schilbrack (Appalachian State University)
Winnifred Sullivan (Indiana University)
Robyn Walsh (University of Miami)
Rebekka King (Middle Tennessee State University), Presiding
11:00 am – 11:50 am (MST) NAASR Business Meeting
Embassy Suites, Crestone Ballroom Salon A
Sunday, November 20, 2022
12:30 PM – 2:30 PM (MST) Moving Body as Foundational to the Proper Study of Religion: A Response to and Celebration of the work of Sam Gill
CO-SPONSORED SESSION with Body and Religion Unit and Comparative Studies of Religion Unit
Convention Center-Mile High 4C (Lower Level)
Panelists:
Mary Corley Dunn (Saint Louis University)
Aaron W. Hughes (University of Rochester)
Kimberley Patton (Harvard University)
Seth Schermerhorn (Hamilton College)
Jeanette Reedy Solano (California State University, Fullerton)
John Thibdeau (University of Rochester)
Hugh B. Urban (Ohio State University)
Michael Zogry (University of Kansas)
Sam Gill, Responding
Jeffrey Stephen Lidke (Berry College), Presiding
NAASR 2022 Annual Meeting: Call for Papers
**DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 8TH**
2022 Annual Meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Religion
Call For Papers
Critique in the Study of Religion: Past, Present, and Future
The 2021 Annual Meeting addressed the idea of “crisis” as an organizing principle for practitioners and scholars of religion. Krínein (Gr.), from which the English term “crisis” derives, also gives us the word “critique.” Many of our members have sought to position NAASR as an intellectual space that emphasizes and facilitates the critical study of religion across a wide range of specializations. However, what counts as “critique” remains highly contested, as does the question of whether such a term best encapsulates the primary mission of NAASR. What exactly does “critical religious studies” imply? Is it a distinctive set of analytic approaches or rather rhetorics deployed in defense of particular intellectual or professional positions? To what degree does adopting the moniker of “critic” help or hinder our scholarly vision? In what ways can the critical study of religion make important interventions in the current intellectual trends shaping the academic study of religion today?
The program for 2022 will explore the role of “critique” in the study of religion as it applies to four areas:
1. Theory: What theoretical frameworks have been or currently are productive/useful for performing “critique” in the study of religion? And which theoretical frameworks have critical religion scholars not adequately engaged with?
2. Method: What methodological criteria should constitute a “critical” approach to studying religion — and what’s the case for these rather than others?
3. Teaching: How should critical religious studies manifest in pedagogy? Is the critique deployed in producing scholarship about religion the same as the critique used in teaching that scholarship, i.e., in religious studies pedagogy? If so, in what sense? If different, how are they different?
4. Scholar: Does being a critical scholar require distance from or disinterest in our data? If so, to what degree? Is being a critical scholar of religion incompatible pursuing other political and activistic commitments? If not, how does one balance these responsibly?
NAASR invites submissions that substantially respond to any one of these four provocations and explore the implications for the field. Submissions for possible respondents must each:
1. Identify the area (one of the four immediately above) on which they will focus
2. Provide a brief (500-word max) statement that outlines the basic elements of their response to the identified theme.
The sessions for the annual meeting will follow a roundtable format exploring each of these four (4) themes. Participants will submit full papers that apply their expertise to the designated topic one month prior to the meeting (approximately early October 2022). Each session will feature an invited scholar who will introduce the panelists and offer substantive remarks on the topic. Participants will have six minutes to summarize their papers and will be followed by informal discussion between panelists and general audience for roughly one hour. Ultimately the aim is to publish these sessions as an edited volume under the NAASR Working Papers series with Equinox publishing.
We welcome scholars from diverse areas of expertise and disciplinary training.
Please upload submissions on our Google Form: https://forms.gle/tBGymCaYpdT9MwJ89 no later than 5pm EST March 8, 2022.
Email any questions to dennislorusso@gmail.com
NAASR MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: JANUARY 31, 2022
NAASR Media and Communications Coordinator
NAASR is looking for a graduate student or early career scholar to coordinate its social media and other online communications. Under the supervision of NAASR President, Vice-President and Secretary/Treasurer, this individual will support social media content creation and operations.
This position will come with a Travel and Conference honorarium.
Responsibilities:
- Monitor NAASR social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).
- Create cross-platform content promoting activities, publications, and other initiatives by NAASR and NAASR members.
- Promote NAASR’s position as a scholarly society dedicated to historical, critical, and social scientific approaches to the study of religion, as well as a relentlessly reflexive critique of the theories, methods, and categories used in such study.
Qualifications:
- Enthusiastic and knowledgeable about social media.
- Excellent organizational and communication skills.
- Ability to take and upload digital photos.
- Initiative, sound judgement, and ability to work independently and complete assigned tasks within identified timeframes.
- Keen attention to detail when proofreading, copyediting, and fact-checking.
- Comfortable utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, WordPress.
- Familiarity with Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Email template program.
Opportunities:
- Gain valuable social media experience and proficiency in communicating to a large audience.
- Learn how to participate in a creative and collaborative content-production process.
- Network with NAASR members and other scholars in the field of religious studies and cognate fields.
Applications:
Email applications to NAASR President, Rebekka King (rebekka.king@mtsu.edu) by January 31, 2022.
To apply, send your CV, a brief cover letter describing how you can contribute to NAASR communications, and how the position might be beneficial to you. Please attach 2 – 3 examples of your best work on any social media platform.
This position is a volunteer position, which includes a travel stipend to attend the NAASR annual meeting.
2022 Membership
NAASR membership has more benefits than ever.
It’s that time of year again! Please be sure to renew your membership early so that you are able to take advantage of all the benefits NAASR has to offer. By renewing early, you will have longer access to MTSR online, and you will ensure that you receive hard copy versions of the Bulletin’s Volume 51 issues.
Other benefits:
As a NAASR member, you receive an online subscription to NAASR’s journal Method and Theory in the Study of Religion. This includes advanced articles online. Members can access the content on the Brill website https://brill.com/ with either existing account details (for renewing members) or by setting up a new account (new members). If you are a lifetime member and would like to get the online membership to MTSR, you may pay for it on the membership page using the bottom “pay now” option.
New in 2021, NAASR began partnering with The Bulletin for the Study of Religion (Equinox Publishing) and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, along with a generous donation from a supporter, to provide all NAASR members with a subscription to The Bulletin. This will include a print subscription, mailed to each member, in addition to online access. You will receive an email from Equinox with login information for your online account.
As a NAASR member, you also receive a 25% discount on books at Equinox.
To renew or join, simply go to the membership tab on our website.
Annual dues:
- $75 for faculty members
- $39 for graduate students, contingent/adjunct faculty, and retired faculty
- $400 for a six-year faculty membership
Please also be sure to fill out the google form with any updates to your email and mailing addresses.
We look forward your continued support in 2022.
Keynote Address Friday, November 12, 7pm
NAASR Annual Meeting 2021
NAASR 2021 Annual Meeting Program
Religion and the Study of Religion in Times of “Crisis”
#naasr2021
CONFERENCE PROGRAM (VIRTUAL)
Friday, November 12, 2021
NAASR Keynote Address: Crisis? What Crisis? The Study of Religion is Always in Crisis
7:00 PM- 9:00 PM (EST)—Links to Virtual Session Pending
Aaron Hughes (University of Rochester)
Saturday, November 12, 2021
Roundtable: Critiquing Crisis in Higher Education
11:00 AM- 1:00 PM (EST)—Links to Virtual Session Pending
Panelists:
Emily Crews (University of Chicago)
Lauren Horn Griffin (University of Alabama)
James Dennis LoRusso (Unaffiliated Scholar)
Russell McCutcheon (University of Alabama)
Craig Martin (St. Thomas Aquinas College)
Suzanne Owen (Leeds Trinity University College)
James Dennis LoRusso (Unaffiliated), Presiding
LOCUS: Landmarks in Religious Adaptations in the Face of Crisis
1:30 PM- 3:30 PM (EST)
Description:
Moments of crisis provide a rich backdrop to observe how religion and religious groups themselves adapt and, sometimes, even thrive. History has shown that in times of political, cultural or social distress, religion offers people alternatives to cope with a crisis. At the same time, religion, either understood in institutional or communal terms, can be a force of change, prompting members and non-members to rethink and recreate the social milieu. Further, a religion itself changes by adapting its practices to the needs of the time. In this sense, a crisis may change religion, but religion also changes the way we approach and understand crisis.
This panel presents and discusses three instances of religious teachings, practices, and/or institutions adapting to crises in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Russia. It theorizes that religions are not fixed entities but live constructions that, especially at times of crisis, adapt themselves at different levels, consolidating, changing, or enriching their place in society.
Panelists:
Xochiquetzal Luna (Wilfred Laurier University),
“’Social Church’ and ‘Pragmatic’ Relationship with the State: The Wager of the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico and Orthodox Church in Russia in Times of Crisis”
Gustavo Moura (Wilfrid Laurier University)
“Yoga’s ‘Flexibility’ in Brazil During the COVID-19 Pandemic”
Ben Szoller (University of Waterloo)
“Across the Land: How Subsidiarity and Solidarity Informed Catholic Responses to ‘Crisis’ in North America”
Ashley Lebner (Wilfrid Laurier University/Balsillie School of International Affairs), Responding
Doaa Shalabi (University of Waterloo), Presiding
LANGUAGE: Theorizing Crisis as “A Turning Point”
4:00 PM- 6:00 PM (EST)
Description:
The etymology of the term crisis (from the Greek krisis) denotes a “decisive turning point.” While initially concerned with the progression of a disease, it captures the moment in which change is perceived as inevitable “for better or worse.” The papers in this panel examine the social rhetoric that emerges in historical moments of rupture, resistance, and reconstitution. Focusing on the relationships between language and authority, this panel offers theoretical, historical, and philosophical analyses of distinct case studies conceptualized as crises and the decision-making strategies employed by social agents.
Panelists:
Zoe Anthony (University of Toronto)
“Profit and Loss: The New Time of Crisis”
Aaron Treadwell (Middle Tennessee State University)
“Tongues of Fire: The Relationship Between Black Liberation Theology and Arson in the South”
Karen Zoppa (University of Winnipeg)
“Force of Law: Resources in Derrida for Rethinking Policing”
Andrew Durdin (Florida State University), Responding
Jacob Barrett (University of Alabama), Presiding
NAASR 2021 VIRTUAL RECEPTION
7:00 PM- 9:00 PM
Sunday, November 14, 2021
LEXICON: Crisis as Method in the Study of Religion
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM (EST)
Description:
Like all academic disciplines, the study of religion has developed in response to intellectual and social crises. Looking at the rise of neoliberalism, the propagation of conspiracy theories, and the critique of essentialism, the papers in this panel consider the impact of such frameworks on the larger work of teaching and theorizing religious studies as a discipline. How have crises become paradigms that are replicated in publications and pedagogies? Echoing Bruce Lincoln’s “Theses on Methods,” this panel considers different projects of persuasion exemplified in the critical study of religion in and through crisis.
Panelists:
Carmen Celestini (University of Waterloo/Centre on Hate, Bias, and Extremism)
“Pop Goes the People—Populism, Panics, and Pandemics”
Michael DeJonge (University of South Florida)
“The Crisis of World Religions and the Critique of Essentialism”
Matt Sheedy (University of Bonn)
“Enlarging Religious Studies, Wither-ing Neoliberalism”
Erin Roberts (University of South Carolina), Responding
Allison Isidore (University of Alabama), Presiding
LOCUTION: Upending the Discipline—A Critical Roundtable on Crisis
1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Description:
“There is no crisis to which academics will not respond with a seminar.” – Marvin Bressler (1923-2010)
This year’s AAR Presidential Theme calls for “thinking about the actual human implications of religion in a world upended.” Given NAASR’s work as a critical engagement, this roundtable brings together senior and early-career scholars to assess this stated aim. What does it mean to frame the world which we study as a “world upended”? How can we think critically about not just crisis itself but also about what is constructed as “crisis”? What are the implications to our scholarly endeavors and our profession if responding to “crisis” becomes our modus operandi? How does this framework privilege certain voices or interests over others within the field (or within the objects of study)?
Panelists:
Merinda Simmons (University of Alabama)
Jeremy Posadas (Austin College)
Adrian Hermann (University of Bonn)
Robyn Walsh (University of Miami)
Rebekka King (Middle Tennessee State University), Presiding
NAASR 2021 BUSINESS MEETING
4:00 PM- 5:00 PM (EST)
New Collaboration Between NAASR, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and The Bulletin for the Study of Religion
We have an exciting announcement for members. Thanks to a generous donation, NAASR will be partnering with The Bulletin for the Study of Religion (Equinox Publishing) and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, to provide all NAASR members with a subscription to the Bulletin. This will include a print subscription, mailed to each member, in addition to online access.
Renew Membership here: NAASR Website
Update address here: Google Forms NAASR Member Information
A bit more about the Bulletin:The Bulletin for the Study of Religion is one of the longest, continually-running publications in the North American field. Published by Equinox and produced by the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama, the Bulletin begins a new chapter as a magazine for the international field. Richard Newton serves as Editor of this feature-based publication that highlights currents at all the sites where scholars carry out their work. With field-oriented peer-reviewed articles, department-level innovations, and conversations with colleagues, the Bulletin keeps you in the loop. Want to learn more about the Digital Humanities? We’ve got you covered with The Download. Trying to put your academic skills and knowledge to work. Take a look at those who’ve done it well in The Profession. Got a burning question, Sage D’Vice’s column will help you work it out. All this and more is in the new Bulletin! And NAASR is excited to share that each member will receive a subscription–a fitting way to celebrate fifty years of the Bulletin!
We are very happy to be working with Richard Newton, the new Editor of the Bulletin, to bring this long-established (this is the 50 year anniversary) and newly-revamped publication to your homes or offices each quarter.
To be sure you receive all issues, please renew your membership ASAP, and to be sure we have the correct mailing address for you, please fill out the GOOGLE FORM with your most recent information. If you have already paid for 2021 (or are a lifetime member) but are unsure which address you have on file with us, please fill out the Google form. You can add a note to me in the comment box letting me know you are just updating your info.
Deadline to renew membership or join in order to receive all 2021 issues in print is April 23. If you pay dues later, you may miss the first issue, and we cannot send back issues. Please be sure to renew your NAASR membership for 2021 now. Our new partnership with Equinox and the University of Alabama will be in addition to the online subscription to Method & Theory in the Study of Religion (Brill) that you already receive as a NAASR member. That will continue as well.
Renew Membership here: NAASR Website
Update address here: Google Forms NAASR Member Information
naasr.com 