The Islamic Studies Network brings together those working in Islamic Studies to network, discuss and share experiences to benefit students and develop good practices across the higher education sector. The network will be hosting its inaugural event in Birmingham on 25-26 May 2010. Please visit our website to register for the event and find out more about our work: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/islamicstudies. To join the network mailing list, please email - islamicstudies@heacademy.ac.uk
or visit www.jiscmail.ac.uk/ISNETWORK.
www.heacademy.ac.uk/islamicstudies
islamicstudies@heacademy.ac.uk
martedì 27 aprile 2010
Book: Vers la pensée unique. La montée de l'intolérance dans l'Antiquité tardive
l'IESR souhaite vous informer de la présentation de l'ouvrage "Vers la pensée unique. La montée de l'intolérance dans l'Antiquité tardive" (Les Belles Lettres, 2010) par son auteur Polymnia ATHANASSIADI (Université d'Athènes) dans le cadre du projet du LEM
(Laboratoire d'études sur les monothéismes) «Revisiter les monothéismes».
Les discutants seront Pierre Chuvin (Paris 10) et Jacob Schmutz (Paris 4).
Cette présentation aura lieu le mardi 11 mai 2010 à 17h30 à l'Institut européen en sciences des religions (IESR-EPHE)
14 rue Ernest Cresson (porte cochère gauche) Paris 14e
Mo Denfert-Rochereau.
Entrée libre (un stand des éditions « Les Belles Lettres » sera présent).
(Laboratoire d'études sur les monothéismes) «Revisiter les monothéismes».
Les discutants seront Pierre Chuvin (Paris 10) et Jacob Schmutz (Paris 4).
Cette présentation aura lieu le mardi 11 mai 2010 à 17h30 à l'Institut européen en sciences des religions (IESR-EPHE)
14 rue Ernest Cresson (porte cochère gauche) Paris 14e
Mo Denfert-Rochereau.
Entrée libre (un stand des éditions « Les Belles Lettres » sera présent).
CFA: Global prayers - redemption and liberation in the city
Call for applications
7 research fellowships for doctoral and postdoctoral scholars for the project Global Prayers: Redemption and Liberation in the City (1. 6.—31. 12. 2010)
Closing date: 7th of May 2010
The Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, and the Europa-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt/Oder, invite scholars to apply for seven doctoral or postdoctoral fellowships for “Global Prayers: Redemption and Liberation in the City”, a project at the Berlin-based ‘Forum Transregionale Studien’.
Aims
The research and cultural project Global Prayers aims to investigate the renaissance of religious movements and communities in the world's metropolises as it manifests itself in Pentecostal Churches, Islamization or Hindu Nationalism. We think of places where these movements are eminent and important as for example Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Mumbai, Lagos, London, Miami, Beirut or Berlin.
Global Prayers is both interdisciplinary and trans-regionally comparative. It aims to employ interlinked case studies and scientific workshops and symposia as well as cultural productions with the goal of examining the return of the religious in the metropolises of the world. The project intends to make use of a combination of different scientific and cultural methods of investigation, analysis, production and presentation.
Its aim is to generate, on the basis of these methods, new knowledge about a key social phenomenon with huge implications for the future that has so far received insufficient attention in both the sciences and the arts: the global boom of new urban religious communities that have emerged across different religions and denominations and different state and city types and have become a central feature of urban societies (see extended project description).
The research questions focus on:
— The relationship between the political and the religious within urban religious communities and their relationship to state structures (on different scales, as urban neighborhoods and the city at large)
— The relationship of religious organizations to their social base, their modes of government (government of the self and government of others)
— The relevance to and impact of the aesthetics of religious practices and rituals of the religious communities on the respective cities
— The relationship between the transnational and local dimensions of urban religious communities
— The ways in which urban space is produced and transformed by the activities of religious communities, with the term ‘urban space’ here including both an everyday (material, social, political) and a symbolic and imaginary dimension.
Project steps
The project will start in May 2010 and is expected to last until end of 2013. To begin with, the confirmation of the grant will be assured for seven months until end of 2010. Until then each grant holder is expected to conduct a preliminary study in and on one of the respective cities of research. According to the results of a first evaluation (end of 2010) each grant might be extended until the end of 2012 and after a second evaluation, for a further year.
The grant holders are expected to elaborate different regional, theoretical and methodological perspectives, to cooperate with artists involved in the project and to offer a substantial contribution to the larger theme of the project. Fellows will be expected to devote particular attention to the question of transnational linkages, as well as to the relationship between the concrete localizations and the transnational currents of urban religious communities. The main goal is to map specific routes and intersections on the basis of the knowledge acquired in the first phase of research.
Disciplines involved
— Social and Cultural Anthropology
— Religious Studies
— Cultural Geography
— Political Sciences
— Sociology
— Cultural Studies
— Urban Studies
Applications from these disciplines are welcome.
Language: English is the working language of the project.
Requirements
— Applicants should already have worked on respective topics, city or transnational routes on which their research will be conducted.
— Applicants must be prepared to do local fieldwork, travel to workshops and come to Berlin for about one month each year, to take part in a structured workshop program.
— Applicants with experience in transdiciplinary research with cultural producers or artists are welcome.
— We especially encourage international applications.
Applications must include following documents:
— A Curriculum Vitae including a list of publications
— A work sample (recent article/preliminary works/publication with relevance for the research topic)
— A research proposal in relation to the research questions of Global Prayers (two to three pages)
— The name of one referee (no letter of recommendation)
If applicants may have a research idea (in compliance with the overall research questions of Global Prayers) involving cities other than those mentioned in the project description, a comparative research idea of two or more cities, or a research idea about a transnational route, it is possible to send in an alternative application.
Funding and institutional framework
The Forum Transregionale Studien is a new research platform of the Land of Berlin designed to promote research that connects systematic and region-specific questions in a perspective that addresses entanglements and interactions beyond national, cultural or regional frames. The Forum works subsidiarily to already existing institutions and networks engaged in transregional studies and is supported by an association of the directors of research institutes and networks mainly based in Berlin.
Global Prayers is an interdisciplinary project of the Europa-Universität Viadrina and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt at the Forum Transregionale Studien; it cooperates closely with metroZones — Center for Urban Affairs e.V., Berlin, the Freie Universität Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and other research institutions in and outside of Germany.
Successful applicants will be fellows at the Forum Transregionale Studien. Stipends consist of a basic stipend (between 1200 € and 2000 € per month) and supplements (family allowance, insurance, travel and mobility) following local regulations of the DAAD.
Closing date
Applications are to be sent in digital form (PDF) until 7th of May 2010 to wisogeo@euv-frankfurt-o.de
For further information on the project Global Prayers, the Forum
Transregionale Studien, and the other cooperating institutions please visit:
— www.forum-transregionale-studien.de
— www.hkw.de
— www.metrozones.info
Contact
Global Prayers
c/o Lehrstuhl für Vergleichende Kulturanthropologie
Europa-Universität Viadrina
Große Scharrnstraße 59
15230 Frankfurt/Oder
wisogeo@euv-frankfurt-o.de
7 research fellowships for doctoral and postdoctoral scholars for the project Global Prayers: Redemption and Liberation in the City (1. 6.—31. 12. 2010)
Closing date: 7th of May 2010
The Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, and the Europa-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt/Oder, invite scholars to apply for seven doctoral or postdoctoral fellowships for “Global Prayers: Redemption and Liberation in the City”, a project at the Berlin-based ‘Forum Transregionale Studien’.
Aims
The research and cultural project Global Prayers aims to investigate the renaissance of religious movements and communities in the world's metropolises as it manifests itself in Pentecostal Churches, Islamization or Hindu Nationalism. We think of places where these movements are eminent and important as for example Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Mumbai, Lagos, London, Miami, Beirut or Berlin.
Global Prayers is both interdisciplinary and trans-regionally comparative. It aims to employ interlinked case studies and scientific workshops and symposia as well as cultural productions with the goal of examining the return of the religious in the metropolises of the world. The project intends to make use of a combination of different scientific and cultural methods of investigation, analysis, production and presentation.
Its aim is to generate, on the basis of these methods, new knowledge about a key social phenomenon with huge implications for the future that has so far received insufficient attention in both the sciences and the arts: the global boom of new urban religious communities that have emerged across different religions and denominations and different state and city types and have become a central feature of urban societies (see extended project description).
The research questions focus on:
— The relationship between the political and the religious within urban religious communities and their relationship to state structures (on different scales, as urban neighborhoods and the city at large)
— The relationship of religious organizations to their social base, their modes of government (government of the self and government of others)
— The relevance to and impact of the aesthetics of religious practices and rituals of the religious communities on the respective cities
— The relationship between the transnational and local dimensions of urban religious communities
— The ways in which urban space is produced and transformed by the activities of religious communities, with the term ‘urban space’ here including both an everyday (material, social, political) and a symbolic and imaginary dimension.
Project steps
The project will start in May 2010 and is expected to last until end of 2013. To begin with, the confirmation of the grant will be assured for seven months until end of 2010. Until then each grant holder is expected to conduct a preliminary study in and on one of the respective cities of research. According to the results of a first evaluation (end of 2010) each grant might be extended until the end of 2012 and after a second evaluation, for a further year.
The grant holders are expected to elaborate different regional, theoretical and methodological perspectives, to cooperate with artists involved in the project and to offer a substantial contribution to the larger theme of the project. Fellows will be expected to devote particular attention to the question of transnational linkages, as well as to the relationship between the concrete localizations and the transnational currents of urban religious communities. The main goal is to map specific routes and intersections on the basis of the knowledge acquired in the first phase of research.
Disciplines involved
— Social and Cultural Anthropology
— Religious Studies
— Cultural Geography
— Political Sciences
— Sociology
— Cultural Studies
— Urban Studies
Applications from these disciplines are welcome.
Language: English is the working language of the project.
Requirements
— Applicants should already have worked on respective topics, city or transnational routes on which their research will be conducted.
— Applicants must be prepared to do local fieldwork, travel to workshops and come to Berlin for about one month each year, to take part in a structured workshop program.
— Applicants with experience in transdiciplinary research with cultural producers or artists are welcome.
— We especially encourage international applications.
Applications must include following documents:
— A Curriculum Vitae including a list of publications
— A work sample (recent article/preliminary works/publication with relevance for the research topic)
— A research proposal in relation to the research questions of Global Prayers (two to three pages)
— The name of one referee (no letter of recommendation)
If applicants may have a research idea (in compliance with the overall research questions of Global Prayers) involving cities other than those mentioned in the project description, a comparative research idea of two or more cities, or a research idea about a transnational route, it is possible to send in an alternative application.
Funding and institutional framework
The Forum Transregionale Studien is a new research platform of the Land of Berlin designed to promote research that connects systematic and region-specific questions in a perspective that addresses entanglements and interactions beyond national, cultural or regional frames. The Forum works subsidiarily to already existing institutions and networks engaged in transregional studies and is supported by an association of the directors of research institutes and networks mainly based in Berlin.
Global Prayers is an interdisciplinary project of the Europa-Universität Viadrina and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt at the Forum Transregionale Studien; it cooperates closely with metroZones — Center for Urban Affairs e.V., Berlin, the Freie Universität Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and other research institutions in and outside of Germany.
Successful applicants will be fellows at the Forum Transregionale Studien. Stipends consist of a basic stipend (between 1200 € and 2000 € per month) and supplements (family allowance, insurance, travel and mobility) following local regulations of the DAAD.
Closing date
Applications are to be sent in digital form (PDF) until 7th of May 2010 to wisogeo@euv-frankfurt-o.de
For further information on the project Global Prayers, the Forum
Transregionale Studien, and the other cooperating institutions please visit:
— www.forum-transregionale-studien.de
— www.hkw.de
— www.metrozones.info
Contact
Global Prayers
c/o Lehrstuhl für Vergleichende Kulturanthropologie
Europa-Universität Viadrina
Große Scharrnstraße 59
15230 Frankfurt/Oder
wisogeo@euv-frankfurt-o.de
CFP: ISA 2011
The Call for Papers for the Annual Convention of the International Studies Association (ISA) to be held in Montreal from March 16 to 19 next year is now out.
http://www.isanet.org/montreal2011/call-for-papers.html
As working group on RELIGION, SECURITY AND IR, we encourage members of the group to organise panels and present papers. In addition, it might be useful to know that the Global Development Section (GDS) if ISA also welcomes any panel or paper proposals on the following or related themes:
1. Religion(s) and Development
2. Religion(s), Conflict and Security
3. Religion(s) and Global Governance
4. Religion(s) and International Political Theory
5. Secularism in International Relations
In order to ensure a greater chance of acceptance, it is recommended that you join GDS first. Please see http://www.isanet.org/gds/ which is coordinated by Dr G.Shani
http://www.isanet.org/montreal2011/call-for-papers.html
As working group on RELIGION, SECURITY AND IR, we encourage members of the group to organise panels and present papers. In addition, it might be useful to know that the Global Development Section (GDS) if ISA also welcomes any panel or paper proposals on the following or related themes:
1. Religion(s) and Development
2. Religion(s), Conflict and Security
3. Religion(s) and Global Governance
4. Religion(s) and International Political Theory
5. Secularism in International Relations
In order to ensure a greater chance of acceptance, it is recommended that you join GDS first. Please see http://www.isanet.org/gds/ which is coordinated by Dr G.Shani
EUREL newsletter
Nous vous signalons la parution du onzième numéro de la newsletter du site Eurel sur l´actualité de la sociologie et du droit des religions en Europe. Cette newsletter est accessible en ligne à l´adresse suivante: http://www.eurel.info/FR/index.php?choix=formulaire_lettre_information
We are happy to inform you that the eleventh newsletter of the Eurel website, which provides news on sociology and law of religions in Europe, has now been issued. The newsletter is available online: http://www.eurel.info/EN/index.php?choix=formulaire_lettre_information
We are happy to inform you that the eleventh newsletter of the Eurel website, which provides news on sociology and law of religions in Europe, has now been issued. The newsletter is available online: http://www.eurel.info/EN/index.php?choix=formulaire_lettre_information
Female Islamic Leadership research network
Female Islamic Leadership Research Network.
The network aims to connect the growing number of academics interested in female religious authority and leadership in Islamic communities worldwide. This research network is an outgrowth of a conference on contemporary female Islamic authority held at St Antony's College, University of Oxford in October 2009, but its scope is wider than that of the conference and includes all aspects of female Islamic leadership, historical and contemporary.
If this description fits you, please join us!
The virtual backbone of the network is a JISC mailing list and a 'Mailing List' group on Academia.edu. More information and detailed joining instructions are at:
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sant1959/Mailing%20List.html
The network aims to connect the growing number of academics interested in female religious authority and leadership in Islamic communities worldwide. This research network is an outgrowth of a conference on contemporary female Islamic authority held at St Antony's College, University of Oxford in October 2009, but its scope is wider than that of the conference and includes all aspects of female Islamic leadership, historical and contemporary.
If this description fits you, please join us!
The virtual backbone of the network is a JISC mailing list and a 'Mailing List' group on Academia.edu. More information and detailed joining instructions are at:
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sant1959/Mailing%20List.html
CFP: south asian migration and diaspora + religion and conflict in south asia
Nordic Summer University - Summer Session 24-31 July, 2010
Study Circle 3
South Asia in the 21st Century: Explorations in Multidisciplinary Methodology
Call for Papers!!
This workshop will have two separate themes:
1. South Asian Migration and Diaspora (coordinators Peter B. Andersen and Igor Kotin)
2. Religion and Conflict in South Asia (coordinators Stig Toft Madsen and David Hansen (to be confirmed)
The first theme is a continuation of the workshop in the summer of 2009.
The second theme is the theme originally slated for the summer of 2010.
The two themes will be scheduled separately, but the intention is to let the themes enrich each other in the final discussions.
Theme 1. South Asian Migration and Diaspora
Various patterns of migration have created different South Asian diaspora communities in the Africa, the Caribbean, North America and Europe. In Europe, the research environment has mainly focused on the economic integration of migrant groups into the host community's labour market. The aim of this workshop is to investigate how culture, and the
organisation of culture, constructs various aspects of migration,
integration and diaspora formation.
Under the overall theme "South Asia in the 21st Century: Explorations in
Multidisciplinary Methodology", the workshop invites papers covering:
* The Historical Depth and Geographical Dissemination of South Asian
Migration
* South Asian Diasporas in the Nordic Countries: Identity, Community
Organization and Culture
* The Reflections of Migration in Art, Literature and Music
* Cultural Interaction between Diasporas, Home Communities and Host
Communities
* Migration of Religions, Religions of Migrants: Hinduism, Sikhism,
Jainism and South Asian Islam Overseas
Overseas migration from India is an old phenomenon, but during the last
fifty years it has become a global phenomena of great importance. With
approximately 1.6 billon inhabitants, the migratory potential of South
Asia is huge. Many pull and push factors influence migration, but
opportunities for employment, higher income, education, professional
careers, security and equality are important pull factors.
South Asian migration has changed significantly through history. The
Indian diaspora in the Age of Merchants (11th-18th century) followed the
movement of traders and merchants, religious and other specialists,
seafarers and slaves. Migration in the Age of Colonial Capital
(19th-early 20th century) involved the forced movement of people and the
movement of indentured labourers from India to many parts of the British
Empire, particularly those with plantation economies. It also saw the
beginning of free migration and the continuation of merchant activity in
both traditional areas and in territories newly opened by the expansion
of the empire. The mid-20th century post-colonial movement of people
from South Asia to Western countries and the related re-migration
involved business people and professionals to new and, in some cases,
formerly prohibited areas such as Australia. Now the diversity of the
South Asian diasporas is great: 'twice migrants' from East Africa,
refugees from the civil war in Sri Lanka, IT workers from Tamil Nadu,
nurses from Kerala, descendants of plantation workers from Bangladesh,
Bihar and Bengal, business people from Pakistan and so on.
Contributions may focus on the cultural and social life of the diaspora,
the ways in which language and religious values and practices have been
adopted and transformed, how some languages became languages of
communication and the sacred languages of religion, how popular culture,
theatre, cinema, music, dance, fashion and cuisine have evolved, and the
important role of sports, including cricket.
Within each country with a substantial South Asian population, there are
a number of local and national organizations that centre around
religious affiliation, cultural background, regional languages, regional
origin in the subcontinent, or particular cultural spheres, including
music, art, dance or sport. The transnational connections, communication
technologies, and increased purchasing power have made it easier for
them to establish contacts with communities elsewhere. The South Asian
diasporas are now a complex confluence of many discrete life worlds,
languages and histories. South Asian writers such as V.S. Naipaul,
Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Rohinton Mistry, Amitav Ghosh, Jumpa
Lahiri, and Vikram Seth, as well as Bollywood and Tamil movies have made
diaspora life known to a general Western audience and generated global
interest in the South Asian diasporas.
Theme 2. Religion and Conflict in South Asia
Religious violence continues to be coupled to political conflicts in
South Asia. Such violence challenges not only the writ of government and
the capacity of the security sector, but also the values and daily life
of people in general. This applies most obviously to Pakistan and
Afghanistan, where Islamist religious violence is currently at a peak,
but it also applies to India, which is largely at the receiving end of
Islamism. In Bangladesh, the current government has taken unprecedented
steps to limit the scope for religion in politics. In Sri Lanka, a
long-running civil war has been brought to a violent end exposing
unexpected intra-religious elite conflicts. In Nepal, religion (read:
Hinduism) has lost much of it political clout, while Maoism has gained
currency. Here, left extremism seems to have crowded out religious
fundamentalism. The rise of Maoism is also felt in India, but here
Hindutva revivalism retains a central political position. Thus, in each
of the South Asian countries, religious arguments and religiously
inspired violence have at times structured political debates and
conflicts - while in other instances political conflicts do not wear the
cloak of religious.
Granted the frequency, scale and impact of religiously inspired violence
in South Asia, the region invites renewed examination of political
violence in a global perspective. On that basis, the workshop will ask:
What are the lessons that students of religious and nonreligious
conflict may derive from South Asia? Do political conflicts in South
Asia follow religious fault lines? To what extend does
Islamic extremism define regional political relations? How do religious
and nonreligious civil conflicts influence relations between the South
Asian region, the Middle East, and the West?
The session will also take stock of the capacity of religious movements
to moderate virulent expressions of faith. Within Islam, Sufism has
often been seen as a moderating factor with its rich blend of Hindu,
Buddhist and Zoroastrian culture. In Pakistan and India, religious
leaders have issued fatwas condemning the theories of jihad promoted by
Salafis, Talibanis and others. The question is how such
counter-movements fare in today's South Asia.
Finally, the workshop invites contributions on the role of the media in
reporting religious and nonreligious conflicts in South Asia. Where
doses conflict journalism stand today?
General information:
Language: The presentation at the NSU summer session may be in the
Nordic languages or in English. This workshop will be conducted in
English to encourage non-Nordic participation.
Fee: The fee covers boarding and lodging. Travel costs to the conference
site will be supported for participants from the Nordic countries as
announced on the NSU homepage; see http://www.nsuweb.net/wb/. NSU will
not subsidize the travel costs of non-Nordic participants, but the
coordinators of this workshop will try to subsidize a few non-Nordic
participants. More information about this later.
Registration:
The registration procedure will be announced by NSU around Easter, but
please contact us as soon as possible and send us a preliminary title
and abstract (200-250 characters) of your paper by April 30, 2010.
Please include your name, title, affiliation, phone number, email
address, and postal address.
For theme 1 please email title and abstract, etc. to Peter B. Andersen,
Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen, peterba@hum.ku.dk ,
+45-35 32 91 90/+45-35 42 81 53 with a copy to Katrine Herold, Project
Coordinator, NIAS-Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Leifsgade 33,
DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Katrine.Herold@nias.ku.dk, +45-35 32 95 04.
For theme 2 please mail title and abstract, etc. to Stig Toft Madsen,
Fil. Dr., stm@ruc.dk with a copy to Katrine Herold, Project
Coordinator, NIAS-Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Leifsgade 33,
DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Katrine.Herold@nias.ku.dk, +45-35 32 95 04.
Looking forward to see you in Finland!
Peter Birkelund Andersen and Stig Toft Madsen
April 19, 2010
Study Circle 3
South Asia in the 21st Century: Explorations in Multidisciplinary Methodology
Call for Papers!!
This workshop will have two separate themes:
1. South Asian Migration and Diaspora (coordinators Peter B. Andersen and Igor Kotin)
2. Religion and Conflict in South Asia (coordinators Stig Toft Madsen and David Hansen (to be confirmed)
The first theme is a continuation of the workshop in the summer of 2009.
The second theme is the theme originally slated for the summer of 2010.
The two themes will be scheduled separately, but the intention is to let the themes enrich each other in the final discussions.
Theme 1. South Asian Migration and Diaspora
Various patterns of migration have created different South Asian diaspora communities in the Africa, the Caribbean, North America and Europe. In Europe, the research environment has mainly focused on the economic integration of migrant groups into the host community's labour market. The aim of this workshop is to investigate how culture, and the
organisation of culture, constructs various aspects of migration,
integration and diaspora formation.
Under the overall theme "South Asia in the 21st Century: Explorations in
Multidisciplinary Methodology", the workshop invites papers covering:
* The Historical Depth and Geographical Dissemination of South Asian
Migration
* South Asian Diasporas in the Nordic Countries: Identity, Community
Organization and Culture
* The Reflections of Migration in Art, Literature and Music
* Cultural Interaction between Diasporas, Home Communities and Host
Communities
* Migration of Religions, Religions of Migrants: Hinduism, Sikhism,
Jainism and South Asian Islam Overseas
Overseas migration from India is an old phenomenon, but during the last
fifty years it has become a global phenomena of great importance. With
approximately 1.6 billon inhabitants, the migratory potential of South
Asia is huge. Many pull and push factors influence migration, but
opportunities for employment, higher income, education, professional
careers, security and equality are important pull factors.
South Asian migration has changed significantly through history. The
Indian diaspora in the Age of Merchants (11th-18th century) followed the
movement of traders and merchants, religious and other specialists,
seafarers and slaves. Migration in the Age of Colonial Capital
(19th-early 20th century) involved the forced movement of people and the
movement of indentured labourers from India to many parts of the British
Empire, particularly those with plantation economies. It also saw the
beginning of free migration and the continuation of merchant activity in
both traditional areas and in territories newly opened by the expansion
of the empire. The mid-20th century post-colonial movement of people
from South Asia to Western countries and the related re-migration
involved business people and professionals to new and, in some cases,
formerly prohibited areas such as Australia. Now the diversity of the
South Asian diasporas is great: 'twice migrants' from East Africa,
refugees from the civil war in Sri Lanka, IT workers from Tamil Nadu,
nurses from Kerala, descendants of plantation workers from Bangladesh,
Bihar and Bengal, business people from Pakistan and so on.
Contributions may focus on the cultural and social life of the diaspora,
the ways in which language and religious values and practices have been
adopted and transformed, how some languages became languages of
communication and the sacred languages of religion, how popular culture,
theatre, cinema, music, dance, fashion and cuisine have evolved, and the
important role of sports, including cricket.
Within each country with a substantial South Asian population, there are
a number of local and national organizations that centre around
religious affiliation, cultural background, regional languages, regional
origin in the subcontinent, or particular cultural spheres, including
music, art, dance or sport. The transnational connections, communication
technologies, and increased purchasing power have made it easier for
them to establish contacts with communities elsewhere. The South Asian
diasporas are now a complex confluence of many discrete life worlds,
languages and histories. South Asian writers such as V.S. Naipaul,
Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Rohinton Mistry, Amitav Ghosh, Jumpa
Lahiri, and Vikram Seth, as well as Bollywood and Tamil movies have made
diaspora life known to a general Western audience and generated global
interest in the South Asian diasporas.
Theme 2. Religion and Conflict in South Asia
Religious violence continues to be coupled to political conflicts in
South Asia. Such violence challenges not only the writ of government and
the capacity of the security sector, but also the values and daily life
of people in general. This applies most obviously to Pakistan and
Afghanistan, where Islamist religious violence is currently at a peak,
but it also applies to India, which is largely at the receiving end of
Islamism. In Bangladesh, the current government has taken unprecedented
steps to limit the scope for religion in politics. In Sri Lanka, a
long-running civil war has been brought to a violent end exposing
unexpected intra-religious elite conflicts. In Nepal, religion (read:
Hinduism) has lost much of it political clout, while Maoism has gained
currency. Here, left extremism seems to have crowded out religious
fundamentalism. The rise of Maoism is also felt in India, but here
Hindutva revivalism retains a central political position. Thus, in each
of the South Asian countries, religious arguments and religiously
inspired violence have at times structured political debates and
conflicts - while in other instances political conflicts do not wear the
cloak of religious.
Granted the frequency, scale and impact of religiously inspired violence
in South Asia, the region invites renewed examination of political
violence in a global perspective. On that basis, the workshop will ask:
What are the lessons that students of religious and nonreligious
conflict may derive from South Asia? Do political conflicts in South
Asia follow religious fault lines? To what extend does
Islamic extremism define regional political relations? How do religious
and nonreligious civil conflicts influence relations between the South
Asian region, the Middle East, and the West?
The session will also take stock of the capacity of religious movements
to moderate virulent expressions of faith. Within Islam, Sufism has
often been seen as a moderating factor with its rich blend of Hindu,
Buddhist and Zoroastrian culture. In Pakistan and India, religious
leaders have issued fatwas condemning the theories of jihad promoted by
Salafis, Talibanis and others. The question is how such
counter-movements fare in today's South Asia.
Finally, the workshop invites contributions on the role of the media in
reporting religious and nonreligious conflicts in South Asia. Where
doses conflict journalism stand today?
General information:
Language: The presentation at the NSU summer session may be in the
Nordic languages or in English. This workshop will be conducted in
English to encourage non-Nordic participation.
Fee: The fee covers boarding and lodging. Travel costs to the conference
site will be supported for participants from the Nordic countries as
announced on the NSU homepage; see http://www.nsuweb.net/wb/. NSU will
not subsidize the travel costs of non-Nordic participants, but the
coordinators of this workshop will try to subsidize a few non-Nordic
participants. More information about this later.
Registration:
The registration procedure will be announced by NSU around Easter, but
please contact us as soon as possible and send us a preliminary title
and abstract (200-250 characters) of your paper by April 30, 2010.
Please include your name, title, affiliation, phone number, email
address, and postal address.
For theme 1 please email title and abstract, etc. to Peter B. Andersen,
Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen, peterba@hum.ku.dk ,
+45-35 32 91 90/+45-35 42 81 53 with a copy to Katrine Herold, Project
Coordinator, NIAS-Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Leifsgade 33,
DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Katrine.Herold@nias.ku.dk, +45-35 32 95 04.
For theme 2 please mail title and abstract, etc. to Stig Toft Madsen,
Fil. Dr., stm@ruc.dk with a copy to Katrine Herold, Project
Coordinator, NIAS-Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Leifsgade 33,
DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Katrine.Herold@nias.ku.dk, +45-35 32 95 04.
Looking forward to see you in Finland!
Peter Birkelund Andersen and Stig Toft Madsen
April 19, 2010
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