Welcome from AARWR President, Dr. Anna M. Hennessey, Ph.D.
Dear Members of the AAR/WR Community:
As your new President of the American Academy of Religion, Western Region, the time of pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement are of importance and great concern to us all. The experiences of universal suffering, economic and social upheaval, and the work of social justice are bringing us closer together. The AAR/WR community has built stronger connections over the past few months and is working closely to address our rapidly changing world.
I write to you shortly after the successful completion of our 2020 Annual Conference, which was devoted to the theme of Religion and Rites of Passage. The event, which turned into a Virtual Conference, was one that we as a community scrambled to put together in a single week as a response to the unfortunate cancellation of our in-person conference due to the spread of COVID-19. I regret that the circumstances necessitated the rapid change. The good news from this experience is that we built a brand new way of sharing our research and ideas. The creation and participation in this conference seemed to be a rite of passage in itself, transforming those involved and birthing a new understanding of both collegiality and the transmission of knowledge.
As an interdisciplinary scholar and author with a background in Religious Studies, Art History, and Philosophy, and currently a Visiting Scholar with the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion (BCSR) at the University of California, Berkeley, I am also interested in ways that our work as scholars both interprets and can have an impact on public life. This year, the AAR/WR’s conference theme, Religious Studies after COVID-19: Religion’s Role in times of Pandemic, Sustainability, Marginalized Communities, Social & Economic Justice will bring into focus the many challenges that our world is facing at this time. We are honored that the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), located in Berkeley, California, has agreed to host our 2021 conference March 19-21, 2021.
In light of the continued spread of COVID-19 in California and concern for the wellbeing of our members, the AAR/WR Board of Directors voted in July 2020 to work in close conjunction with the Graduate Theological Union in the organization of a virtual/hybrid conference in 2021. While we are dismayed that our community will again not be together in-person for its 2021 event, we are already developing an exciting, innovative, and welcoming conference for everyone involved. More details will be forthcoming in the fall 2020.
Thank you and I look forward to serving you this year.
Best wishes,
Anna M. Hennessey, Ph.D.
Visiting Scholar, Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion
University of California, Berkeley
Book: Imagery, Ritual, and Birth: Ontology Between the Sacred and the Secular
Dear Members of the AAR/WR Community:
As your new President of the American Academy of Religion, Western Region, the time of pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement are of importance and great concern to us all. The experiences of universal suffering, economic and social upheaval, and the work of social justice are bringing us closer together. The AAR/WR community has built stronger connections over the past few months and is working closely to address our rapidly changing world.
I write to you shortly after the successful completion of our 2020 Annual Conference, which was devoted to the theme of Religion and Rites of Passage. The event, which turned into a Virtual Conference, was one that we as a community scrambled to put together in a single week as a response to the unfortunate cancellation of our in-person conference due to the spread of COVID-19. I regret that the circumstances necessitated the rapid change. The good news from this experience is that we built a brand new way of sharing our research and ideas. The creation and participation in this conference seemed to be a rite of passage in itself, transforming those involved and birthing a new understanding of both collegiality and the transmission of knowledge.
As an interdisciplinary scholar and author with a background in Religious Studies, Art History, and Philosophy, and currently a Visiting Scholar with the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion (BCSR) at the University of California, Berkeley, I am also interested in ways that our work as scholars both interprets and can have an impact on public life. This year, the AAR/WR’s conference theme, Religious Studies after COVID-19: Religion’s Role in times of Pandemic, Sustainability, Marginalized Communities, Social & Economic Justice will bring into focus the many challenges that our world is facing at this time. We are honored that the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), located in Berkeley, California, has agreed to host our 2021 conference March 19-21, 2021.
In light of the continued spread of COVID-19 in California and concern for the wellbeing of our members, the AAR/WR Board of Directors voted in July 2020 to work in close conjunction with the Graduate Theological Union in the organization of a virtual/hybrid conference in 2021. While we are dismayed that our community will again not be together in-person for its 2021 event, we are already developing an exciting, innovative, and welcoming conference for everyone involved. More details will be forthcoming in the fall 2020.
Thank you and I look forward to serving you this year.
Best wishes,
Anna M. Hennessey, Ph.D.
Visiting Scholar, Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion
University of California, Berkeley
Book: Imagery, Ritual, and Birth: Ontology Between the Sacred and the Secular
