International conference "Contesting Religious Identities"

International conference "Contesting Religious Identities"
Utrecht University, October 13th-15th, 2010

Organized by the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (INTEGON) of the Department of Religious Studies and Theology of Utrecht University.

Conference Abstract:

In the Western world, religion has come strongly to the fore again. It is back on the public stages of 'secular' society, influencing political and social discourses by raising questions about identity, power, rationality, law and safety. Its 'return' however is rather ambiguous. On the one hand, shifting cultural and political frameworks (re-)shape, (re)invent and appropriate religious identities. On the other hand these identities enhance and re-inform cultural and political frameworks. How to understand these different roles religions play? How to understand the ambiguous return of religion on the stages of Western society?
To explore these questions, the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (INTEGON) of Utrecht University organizes the international conference 'Contesting Religious Identities'. The aim of the conference is to build on interdisciplinary insights to analyze the historical and cultural production of religious identities. The organizing committee has chosen three foci:

1. Bodies, Gestures & Rituals,
2. Media, Images & Texts, and
3. Territories, Movements & Diasporas.

Keynote Speakers:

Main Theme:

- Prof. Nilüfer Göle (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris),
- Prof. Joerg Rieger (Southern Methodist University, Dallas)

Bodies, Gestures & Rituals:

- Prof. Tina Pippin (Agnes Scott College)

Media, Images & Texts

- Prof. dr. Jolyon Mitchell (Edinburgh University)

Territories, Movements & Diasporas

- Prof. Claudia Camp (Texas University),
- Prof. Patrick Eisenlohr (Utrecht University)


Deadline for proposing relevant papers: 30 March 2010