AMERICAN ACADEMY OF RELIGION WESTERN REGION (AAR/WR)
2020 ANNUAL CONFERENCE | CALL FOR PAPERS
Claremont Graduate University | March 13-15, 2020
Claremont, California
Religion and Rites of Passage
For our 2020 conference, we traverse the wide variety of rites that make up human cultural experience and focus on Religion and Rites of Passage. From the moment of our physical and social initiations into the world through birth, up until communal recognition of our departures from society through death, our lives are marked by a number of ceremonies and rituals that define who we are and how we will identify in that world. These rites may stem from traditional religious practices of initiation, membership or belonging related to events such as marriage, pregnancy, birth, coming of age, parenting, and death, or they may arise in the context of secular culture, as one sees, for example, in ceremonies that mark a passage into political office, sports team rituals, fraternity or sorority traditions, or graduation ceremonies. How do rites of passage provide communities with aesthetic experiences through the inclusion of dance, art, and music? What are the moral ramifications that arise in the cases of certain rites (e.g. female circumcision, hazing deaths)? How do symbolism and material culture play important parts in these rites of passage? In addition to re-examining well-established rites of passage and exploring their significance to different cultures, both historically and to the contemporary world, we wish to broaden our understanding of rites of passage and seek out new possibilities of what counts as a rite of passage in the twenty-first century.
Please send an abstract (250 words) to the appropriate unit chair, as well as a program participant form (Click here for the program participant form) by October 1, 2019.
Asian American Religious Studies
A rite of passage could be perceived as a sacrament or ceremonial performance that is deemed necessary so as to mold one’s spiritual beliefs and attitudes. These rites are entangled with transitional or eventful moments in one’s life (e.g. birth, adolescence, marriage, death) marking significant milestones of a person’s spiritual growth and relationship with the sacred. They may come in various practices, usually associated with one’s religious identification and association. The issue of religious rite of passage may be a complex subject for Asian Americans. For instance, many argue that modern American society has become de-ritualized, but the dynamics of assimilation and modernization for Asian immigrants are seemingly paving the way to a revitalization of some traits of traditional ethnic ritual. As an expression of culture, how do these ceremonies relate to an immigrant’s communal identity and religious association? Do they strengthen a community religiously and ethnically? How do religious rites of passage affect one’s life as he/she advances in spiritual development and why are they still relevant? What is the significance of these rituals in preparing Asian Americans in their individual lives, as well as in their religious communities? There is a growing number of Asian American immigrants who convert to Christianity – how does this phenomenon affect culture and heritage? What challenges do these performed rituals pose to the modern American society and vice versa?
Scholars who wish to participate in the discussion may forward their proposals (250 words) and participant form to Shannon G. Toribio, shannon_toribio@ucsb.edu or Irene Ludji, irene.ludji@cgu.edu by October 1, 2019.
Buddhist Studies
The Buddhist Studies unit invites papers exploring this year's conference theme of "Religion and Rites of Passage" directly or tangentially. Of particular interest is the topic of ordination: for example, women’s ordination in the Theravada and Tibetan traditions, or issues of ordination in American bhikku- and bhikkuni-sangas. We welcome papers covering any school of Buddhism and from all disciplinary approaches. Topics of interest not related to the conference theme will also be considered as space permits.
Please submit proposals (250 words) and participant form to Alison Jameson and Jake Nagasawa: ajameson@email.arizona.edu and jnagasawa@ucsb.edu by October 1, 2019
Catholic Studies
The Catholic Studies unit invites papers that explore rites, rituals, ceremonies, and initiations that are practiced within Catholic traditions or are responding to them from without. The unit welcomes critical, cultural, ethical, historical, and theological perspectives and especially encourages papers on the following topics for its 2020 meeting: Sacraments and the Sacred - Understandings of rites qua sacraments; Cultural, philosophical, and theological perspectives on the significance of, and the boundaries of participation in, Catholic rites and sacraments. Gender and Sexuality - The gendering of rites, rituals, ceremonies, and initiations in Catholic traditions; Critical analysis of the concepts of personhood and human development that undergird gendered rites and rituals. Indigenous Rites - Indigenous reception of and resistance to Catholic rites; The future of indigenous aesthetics in Catholic ritual practices. Mysticism - The challenges to the conceptualization of and/or to the practice of Catholic rites posed by mystical traditions; Integrations of mysticism within official Catholic teachings on rites and sacraments.
Please send an abstract of 250 words as well as a completed participant form to Eva Braunstein at evabraunstein@ucsb.edu and to Justin Claravall at jclaravall@scu.edu by October 1, 2019
Ecology and Religion
Ritual and rites of passage are central aspects of religious expression. Direct interaction with the environment can shape ritual experiences, potentially deepening understandings of community, place, and human-nature relationships. From indigenous wilderness encounters to transcendental nature-walking, Christian river baptisms to Hindu purification in the Ganga river, in addition to global discourses on just transitions to convert away from extractive economies—ecology and religious transformation can be central to rites of passage. Further, environmental changes in specific bioregions can put pressure on traditional rituals, for example, in pilgrimages on foot amid record heat in Spain, Saudi Arabia, India, and Mexico.
For the 2020 AARWR meeting, the Ecology and Religion unit encourages proposals that link religion, rites of passage, and environment, broadly construed. How can rituals frame spiritual and cultural knowledge in and of the environment? How might rituals deepen or obscure human-nature relationships? How can individual-community-institutional rituals interrelate with environmental well-being? Can religious rites of passage elucidate biodiversity, climate, pollution, policy needs, and other environmentally relevant issues? How might religious ritual practices contribute to local and global ecological crises, or offer solutions and avenues for healing? Can ritual provide language for ineffable or mysterious aspects of local-regional-national-global-cosmic environments? What ecological, environmental, and/or political experiences mimic ritual, even when not categorized as religious?
The Ecology and Religion unit also welcomes submissions that address any number of broader issues and perspectives relating to religion and the environment. Please submit a participant form and one-page proposal by October 1, 2019 to both section co-chairs: Sarah Robinson-Bertoni at sarahrobinsonbertoni@gmail.com and Matthew Hartman at mhartman@ses.gtu.edu. Thank you.
Education and Pedagogy
The Education and Pedagogy Unit invites proposals in two broad areas: 1) proposals that address the teaching and academic study of religion as a rite of passage, and 2) proposals that reflect on the effective teaching of rites of passage and religious practice in a classroom setting.
You may consider: How is learning/and/or teaching a rite of passage? Pedagogies that help our students transform and broaden their worldview also challenge and provoke our students. How is this process of transformation a rite of passage? What challenges or successes have you had in the classroom that could be described as a rite of passage, either for you or for your students? Tell us about how you initiate your students into a different way of looking at the world or help them go through the rite of passage of widening or transforming their worldview or seeing their worldview with new eyes. What is the role of the instructor in this framework? If learning is a ritual and transformative pedagogy is a rite of passage, how do we deal with resistance, disruption, or other reactions to going through change in order to learn?
Alternatively, how do we teach rites of passage and religious ritual in our classrooms? What activities do we include or exclude and what are our principles of selection? Can "secular" rites of passage be treated as religious? Tell us how you bring religious rituals into the classroom experience and how you have students engage with them. Do you have students read about rituals, observe them, or participate in them? Do students analyze, interpret, or create rituals? If you have students participate in religious ritual, what are your pedagogical reasons for doing so?
Please submit a participant form and paper abstract (250 words) by October 1, 2019 to both section co-chairs: Sarita Tamayo-Moraga at stamayomoraga@scu.edu and Peter Romaskiewicz at pmr01@ucsb.edu. Thank you.
Ethics
In light of this year’s conference theme, we invite paper proposals that relate ethics (religious, philosophical, and/or social) to the subject of rites of passage. We welcome proposals from a broad range of religious traditions and ethical methodologies, as well as a wide diversity of project genres (e.g., analytic, reflective, comparative, evaluative, prescriptive, constructive). Special consideration will be given to creative interdisciplinary proposals, and to those that demonstrate fresh potential to illuminate topics of contemporary ethical concern.
Please submit a participant form and paper abstract (250 words) by October 1, 2019 to both section co-chairs: Owen Anderson at oanderson@asu.edu and Joshua Beckett at joshuabeckett@fuller.edu. Thank you.
History of Christianity
Rites of passage such as conversion, baptism, marriage, and death are central to the very essence of the Christian faith. There are others, and we plan to have two sessions that plumb the depths of Christianity’s relationship with rites of passage over the last two millennia.
We need papers that explore the myriad ways that Christianity (in all of its varieties) has interacted with rites of passage both within and outside its community of faith. This could include such topics as:
· The Christianization of pagan rites of passage;
· The struggle of indigenous communities to reconcile their traditional rituals with colonial, superimposed religion;
· Examples of how Christian rites successfully adapted to various cultures or societies;
· How tongue-speaking first takes root in a community;
· How a person passes from Christian believer to atheist (or vice versa);
· When/how mass conversions take place;
· How churches have handled complicated conversion experiences such as criminals who ostensibly convert;
· Whether Christian conversion “sticks” in particular, localized contexts.
Please remember that proposals must be primarily historical in tone and content. Proposals that are overtly theological, philosophical, or psychological will not receive priority. Your proposal may include and combine these methods, but they must be subsidiary to historical approaches.
We anticipate having two sessions of four presenters each (or three presenters and a respondent). We also anticipate commencing a third session which will review Dyron Daughrity’s recent book: The History of Christianity: Facts and Fictions. If your paper is not accepted to one of the two “rites of passage” sessions, we may invite you to serve on the book review session.
Please submit a participant form and paper abstract (250 words) by October 1, 2019 to both section co-chairs: Dyron Daughrity at dyron.daughrity@pepperdine.edu and David Houghton at davidhoughton@fuller.edu. Thank you.
Indigenous Religions
Keeping with the annual theme of “Religion and Rites of Passage,” the Indigenous Religions Unit welcomes proposals for papers that explore the wide array of rites that mark the transitions in life through cultural manifestations in ceremony, ritual and the creation of identity narratives. Specifically, we look to engage in dialogue on matters relating to the concerns and rights of the world's indigenous peoples in their struggle for the preservation and transmission of traditional wisdom. We incite inquiry on how diverse indigenous religious and spiritual traditions engage in the stages of transformation throughout life, and encourage reflections on the changes that occur at both the individual and social levels from communal practices and conversations as religious traditions define our identities through rites of passage. We encourage you to explore the spirit, motivation, and methods provided by indigenous traditions to help us address the forming of our individual, communal and an ever more interdependent identity required today for an engaged sense of spirituality.
Relevant research topics/questions may include:
● The making of meaning as purpose develops in different moments in life.
● Indigenous traditional knowledge: Generation, transmission, and protection.
● The need to put in place policies and laws that protect Indigenous rituals and traditions as a way to preserve and transmit traditional wisdom.
● The critical importance of preserving the cultures and identities of Indigenous communities to foster national inclusivity and diversity.
● Ways to contribute to the conservation of Indigenous traditions and the different manifestations of ritual.
● How can allied traditions create joint cultures of preservation and protection of diverse religious manifestations (i.e. Is it possible for religious practitioners to foster dialogue and even engage in joint forms of ritual? And if so, how would this dialogue look in practice? (should practitioners develop a new theology of togetherness? Or accept a certain level of internal division for the sake of a greater good?)
At the Indigenous Religions Unit, we are on the lookout to explore these dynamics through papers that delve into the ways of religion and rites of passage. We seek papers covering all indigenous religions and spiritual traditions, and the dialogues in between, to explore any of the junctures within culture from all disciplinary approaches.
Presenters must be members in good standing of the American Academy of Religion and register for the conference prior to their presentation. Please submit abstracts (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to the attention of the section co-chairs and Cecilia Titizano ctitizano@ses.gtu.edu, Brian Clearwater bclearwater@oxy.edu, and Yuria Celidwen celidwen@hotmail.com
We are looking forward to receiving your proposals!
Islamic Studies
2020 AAR/WR Islamic Studies Call for Papers
The AAR's Western Region Islamic Studies Unit encourages papers and panel proposals in all areas of our field of study for the upcoming 2020 conference. The 2020 general Theme focuses on “Religion and Rites of Passage.” We invite papers and panels focusing on the main theme of the conference addressing questions such as:
How do rites of passage provide Muslim communities with aesthetic experiences through the inclusion of different forms of arts? How might religion and rites passage best be understood within Islam and Islamic traditions theologically and/or culturally? How have their different forms in Islam changed throughout history? How have they developed historically and in contemporary times? What are the moral ramifications that arise in the cases of certain rites (e.g. female circumcision, hazing deaths, etc.)? How do symbolism and material culture play important parts in these rites of passage?
We also encourage papers addressing and discussing how have Muslim communities, organizations, and texts grappled with the concept of Religion and Rites of Passage.
In the context of the overall conference theme, we hope that your paper proposals will position, problematize, and offer insight on the concept of “Religion and Rites of Passage.” We encourage individual papers as well panel proposals.
Proposals or abstracts (250 words) and participant forms should be sent to: Dr. Souad T. Ali, Arizona State University at Taj_1234@msn.com and Dr. Sophia Pandya, California State University, Long Beach at Sophiapandya@yahoo.com
Jewish Studies
"The Jewish Studies unit fully embraces this year's overall conference theme of Religion and Rites of Passage. We look forward to submissions related to rites of passage in the context of Jewish tradition as pertains to Jewish rituals and ceremonies related to birth, death, coming of age, marriage, divorce, miscarriage, death of a pet, environmental passages, menstruation, seman discharge, and so forth. Other transitions are not so ritualistically noted but nevertheless worthy of focus. Micro-transitions happen daily. Rituals can be ad hoc. Fresh ways to note even these micro-metamorphoses, both internal and external, are welcome. Also worthy of note is the experience of identity intersectionality as Jews and our other identities. Of particular interest are contributions from the arts that express these transitions in creative ways."
Please submit a participant form and abstract (250 words) by October 1, 2019 to our co-chairs: Roberta Sabbath at roberta.sabbath@unlv.edu, Alexander Warren Marcus at awmarcus@stanford.edu, and Leigh Ann Hildebrand at lhildebrand@ses.gtu.edu. Thank you.
Latina, Latino, and Latin American Religion
The Latina, Latino, and Latin American Religion unit welcomes paper proposals related to U.S. Latinx and Latin American rituals and rites of passage. We encourage an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach as well as a broad range of methodologies. We recognize the complexities of Latinx and Latin American religious experience, so we encourage scholars to exercise their creativity. The influence of Western Christianity on U.S. Latinx and Latin American culture cannot be denied. However, the syncretic elements of these traditions must also be recognized and attended to. In addition, the desire to reclaim ancestral wisdom and traditions has sparked a movement amongst young U.S. Latinxs in particular. How are these rituals and rites of passage passed down through generations? Are there liberative and healing elements to these rites and rituals? How are rites and rituals commodified in neoliberal capitalist societies and at what “cost”? We invite consideration of the following themes for submission:
● Rites of passage including Marriage, Baptism, Confirmation, and Quinceañeras. We also encourage LGBTQ+ interpretations of these rites and rituals
● Rites and rituals influenced by Indigenous and African traditions broadly defined
● Rites honoring ancestors and the passage to death such as Día de los Muertos
● Rites and rituals in curanderismo: mal de ojo, susto, caida de mollera, empacho, bilis, muina
Please submit proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to:
Lauren Frances Guerra, PhD [Lauren.guerra@lmu.edu] and Marlene Ferreras, PhD [mferrer@lasierra.edu]
Nineteenth Century
The Nineteenth Century Unit provides a forum for the study of various religions around the world in the nineteenth century. This year we invite papers or panels that reflect the 2020 conference theme, Religion and Rites of Passage. We seek papers that explore rites of passage or rituals that are unique to the nineteenth century, developed in the nineteenth century, or debated in the nineteenth century. We are interested in papers that also explore nineteenth century conversion moments. We welcome papers that explore how nineteenth century people or events birthed new religious movements and/or helped midwife new movements, theologies, or modes of thought. We welcome papers that explore how major nineteenth century developments, from industrialization and urbanization to evolution, social Darwinism, and historical criticism forced new reckonings for religious leaders. Finally, we also welcome papers that explore how nineteenth century movements paved the way for World War I. We welcome all methodologies.
Please send your proposal (250 words) and participant form by October 1, 2019 via email attachment to unit chairs Christina Littlefield at christina.littlefield@pepperdine.edu and Stephan Quarles at sjquarles@live.com. If you are proposing a panel of three to four papers, please include short abstracts for each paper on the panel, and a short description of your panel theme.
Pagan Studies
For the American Academy of Religion Western Region (AAR/WR) 2020 conference the Pagan Studies Unit delves into spiritual and religious experience, focusing on the manner in which these aspects of our lives shape how and who we are in the world.
Pagan Studies covers a broad spectrum of human behaviors spanning ancient to modern spiritual, religious, and magical beliefs and practices across many cultures, countries, and ways of being in the world. These beliefs and practices may manifest as personal, solitary spiritual pursuits or as highly structure group endeavors. Perspectives shaping Pagan encounters with the invisible or the divine run the gamut from polytheistic, animistic, and shamanic to monotheistic and atheistic. All of these beliefs, practices, and perspectives shape our sense of identity on physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual levels, and the manner in which we metamorphose between stages of life, levels of power and prestige, and even the way we step into and out of our physical incarnations.
How do various aspects of ancient and modern Pagan culture’s spiritual and religious beliefs, practices, and perspectives shape our way of being in the world? Do past and contemporary Paganisms affect the way we structure and interact within time and space? How are sex, gender, gender identification, and gender expression shaped by Pagan perspectives? How are boundary crossing and life-passages—the arc of a human existence—constructed or reconstructed within Pagan belief systems? What are the expectations, the demands, the privileges, and the payoffs of our human journey within the Pagan Weltanschauung? How do Paganisms configure our relationships: how do we love, compete for resources, parent, engage in educating the young, manifest childhood, form community, or die? How do Pagan perspectives influence the manner in which we police our communities, including the ritual use of drugs and sexual engagement? How do historical and modern Pagans deal with issues of cultural appropriation, racism, sexism, warfare, and the looming threats of global warming, climate change, authoritarianism, populism, and socio-economic collapse?
Please submit proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to: Dorothea Kahena at dkviale@cpp.edu and Jeffrey Albaugh at jeffreykalbaugh@gmail.com.
Philosophy of Religion
This year, the Philosophy of Religion Unit welcomes submissions that explore “the rights of passage” in context of cultural transitions affecting the intellectual-philosophical religious landscape. Such topics include:
Please submit proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to: Dane Sawyer at dsawyer@laverne.edu and Olga Louchakova-Schwartz at olouchakova@gmail.com.
Psychology, Culture, and Religion
Keeping with the annual theme of "Religion and Rites of Passage," the Psychology, Culture, and Religion Section (PCR) welcomes proposals that explore rites of passage as psychological, cultural, religious, theological, and moral forces in our world today.
Topics for exploration include:
- The ways in which such rites reinforce kinship and social identity, but also in-group bias and conformity.
- The interior aspects of rites – how do rites of passage function psychologically and with identity formation? How do they help people to grow? How can they be damaging to the human psyche?
- How have rites of passage been used to maintain traditional power structures? Can these rites be reinterpreted, or must they be forsaken?
- May rites be used to create bonds between religions, or to overcome interreligious problems?
- How are rites of passage embodied? What are their effects on the body, personal health, and human flourishing?
- Examples of new/modern rites that are having a positive effect on our world today by creating social change (or the opposite!)
In addition, we also welcome interesting submissions that connect with the intersections of psychology, culture, and religion, even if they do not directly interface with this year's theme. The deadline for submissions and participant forms to unit chairs is October 1, 2019. Proposals should be no more than 250 words. Presenters must be members in good standing of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), present their paper if accepted in person, and register for the conference prior to their presentation.
Please submit abstracts (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to the attention of the section co-chairs: Hester Oberman (hoberman@arizona.email.edu, Kevin Whitesides, (kevinwhitesides@ucsb.edu); Casey Crosbie (casey.crosbie@cst.edu).
Queer Studies in Religion
Session 1: “Intersectionality, Coalition Building, LGBTQIA+ Identity and Birthing Equality”
Queer Studies in Religion seeks papers that engage around the multifaceted issue of intersectionality and LGBTQIA+ identity. We are broadly defining intersectionality to mean the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality as well as religion, physical ability, age, nationality, and home/food security, etc. We define intersectionality by not just noticing difference but how opportunity is equalized, how equal opportunity is “birthed” through the recognition of Intersectionality and equalizing opportunity. For example, we are interested in how home and food security impact LGBTQIA+ youth and elders as well as how LDS and Mormon LGBTQIA+ issues intersect in terms of public and private interactions within Mormon and other religious communities. Additionally, we are also interested in exploring how these issues impact Christian/Catholic/Evangelical queer subjects as well.
Finally, the Queer Studies in Religion session wants to emphasize any type of scholarship that explores queer (LGBTQIA+) studies in religion from queer identified or allied scholars both within and outside of the academy. Please do not hesitate to send us any scholarship, regardless of whether or not it specifically addresses the CFP.
Please send a 250-word proposal alongside the program participant form by October 1, 2019 to Queer Studies in Religion Co-Chairs John Erickson (jerickson85@gmail.com) and Marie Cartier (ezmerelda@earthlink.net).
Session 2: “Globalization and Queer Culture: Birthing the Good, the Bad, and the Fabulous”
Queer Studies in Religion seeks papers that engage the issue of globalization and human rights/LGBTQIA+ rights globally. We are looking to explore these issues in both current and historical context. For example, we are interested in how papers explore cross-cultural impacts on privilege, identity, and “cultural capital and/or deficit” (Pierre Bourdieu). For example, how does Rainbow Nation and Western notions of Pride import not only just a capitalist identity but also does it import human rights overall? Do Western notions of Pride help birth equality globally, help bring into being cultural identity, or does the West stifle native identity in favor of the rainbow?
Finally, the Queer Studies in Religion session want to emphasize any type of scholarship
that explores queer (LGBTQIA+) studies in religion from queer identified or allied
scholars both within and outside of the academy. Please do not hesitate to send us any scholarship, regardless of whether or not it specifically addresses the CFP.
Please send a 250-word proposal alongside the program participant form by October 1, 2019 to Queer Studies in Religion Co-Chairs John Erickson (jerickson85@gmail.com) and Marie Cartier (ezmerelda@earthlink.net).
2020 AAR/WR CFP – Pre-Conference Queer Caucus & Queer Studies in Religion– “Queer View”
As an annual tradition, the Queer Studies in Religion and the Queer Caucus are again sponsoring a night of queer performance and discussion Friday night before the conference. Performance artists, filmmakers and activists will be on hand to discuss their works. Details to be announced: evening start time, lineup, and venues. Please check www.aarwr.org/queer-caucus.html for updates.
If anyone in the AAR/WR has a feature or short they would like to have considered, please send your information and brief query describing the work to Queer Board Advocate Anjeanette LeBoeuf at chancelloraj@yahoo.com and Queer Studies in Religion Co-Chairs John Erickson (jerickson85@gmail.com) and Marie Cartier (ezmerelda@earthlink.net).
Religion, Science, and Technology
This Unit supports scholarship that explores the relationship of religion, theology, technology, and the natural sciences. We support research that attempts to bridge the gap between religious and scientific approaches to reality and encourage the development of constructive proposals that encourage engagement and dialogue with the sciences, along with a critical assessment of the meaning and impact of technologies for the human condition and the natural world. This year, in coordination with the conference theme “Religion and Rites of Passage,” we encourage proposals similar but not limited to the following topics:
Technology and Rites of Passage: Technology frames our experiences as individuals, communities, and societies. How have innovations in sectors like health care, automation, or social media altered societal rites of passage? Does the ease facilitated by technology diminish the significance of certain rites of passage? How do rites of passage in more technologically saturated communities or cultures differ from those of less saturated communities or cultures?
Enhancement Technology and Rites of Passage: Trans/posthumanists envision various futures in which enhancement technologies significantly alter our experiences of life. How might extended life projects impact rites of passage like marriage, parenthood, career, or death? Are rites of passage experienced online or in virtual reality just as significant as those in “real” life? Do technologies that transform biological limitations, like genetic editing, reproductive technologies, or biohacking, violate the significance of rites of passage unique to specific embodiments?
Science and Rites of Passage: The sciences can meaningfully dialogue with our religious understandings of rites of passage. What do physical, emotion, or cognitive sciences contribute to our understanding of embodied experiences of rites of passage? What can the sciences tell us of the significance of specific rites of passage? How is the significance of rites of passage created or experienced?
Science, Religion, and Rites of Passage: Science and religion as a field explores the epistemological, methodological, and communal engagement between sciences and religions. How do rites of passage in science and religion communities contribute to the relationships between these spheres? What kinds of data may we use to justify or critique the validity of certain rites of passage? Do religious rites of passage hold a special significance different than secular rites of passage?
Please submit proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to the unit co-chairs: Greg Cootsona at greg@cootsona.net and Melanie Dzugan at melaniedzugan@fuller.edu.
Religion and Social Sciences
The concept of “rites of passage” has undergone multiple redefinitions since it was first coined in 1909 by the Dutch-French anthropologist Arnold van Geppen. Religion has historically provided a framework within which rites of passage have been institutionalized; moments and events such as birth, passage into puberty and adolescence, marriage, and death are all historically well-documented cases of relevant passages in individual lives that have been made meaningful through a religious framework. The concept of “rites of passage” has now expanded so as to include both religious and secular rituals, representing both formal and informal events in a person’s life that affect and include for the individual and the collective. Despite its focus on rituals, the concept of “rites of passage” can prove analytically useful to investigate social change. Far from being static, rites of passage are performative, social, dynamic, and embodied. This call welcomes papers that expand the analytical use of “rites of passage.” This analytical redefinition can be achieved in two main ways: either by investigating the new meanings with which individual life passages are imbued, or by studying the more or less formalized passages that social groups have to go through to become part of mainstream culture. As for the first aspect, suffice here to mention the changing patterns linked to marriage in societies in which the meaning of marriage itself as a life event are dramatically changing. As for the second aspect, it is worth mentioning the examples of the processes of integration of so-called “new immigrant religions” into the American national narrative, or the struggle of non-mainstream religious groups to obtain visibility on the national scene (e.g., American Evangelicals), or the barriers to become full-fledged members of the polity imposed on certain groups, e.g., Muslims, as in the case of the civilizational and exclusivist far-right discourse currently rampaging through Europe.
We welcome all papers that address the theme of the conference and encourage papers from a variety of social science disciplines. All methodological and epistemological approaches are encouraged. We particularly appreciate diversity in methodological approaches, from comparative- historical to ethnographic and quantitative. We also welcome contributions that address the theme of the conference from a global perspective.
Please send paper proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to: socialsciencesaarwestern@gmail.com
Religion and the Arts
We welcome a wide variety of papers, workshops, and/or fully developed panels (3-4 persons) on the convergence of art, religion, and rites of passage. Art and religion are used in the broad sense of the words. For example, art includes folk, iconography, animation, performance, comedy, photography, videos, television, graffiti, and music. Religion includes something or someone of ultimate importance. Successful proposals will articulate the thesis and evidence as well as offer a preliminary discussion on how the proposal contributes to the academic study of religion. Potential and sample topics include, but are not limited to:
~ Rites of Passage in Contemporary Religious Murals
~ Women of Color, Religion, and Rites of Passage
~ Rites of Passage in Broadway or Television Shows
~ Buddhist Art, Rites of Passage, and Western Imperialism
~ Hip Hop Religion and Rites of Passage
~ Animation, Religion, and Rites of Passage
~ Any other topics related to the 2020 Theme
In addition, the Religion and arts unit has two joint panel discussions:
Co-sponsored Session (Ethics Unit + Religion & the Arts Unit) CFP: Rights of Passage: Aesthetics and ethics of women’s empowerment
100 years ago, the 19th amendment was ratified, formally granting U.S. women the right to vote. The past century has seen remarkable advances in women’s rights; however, such progress has developed unevenly and inequitably (in content, location, and access). The Ethics and Religion and Arts units are looking for paper presentations that seek to address the ethical and aesthetic/artistic aspects of women’s rights. Papers that integrate the disciplines of ethics and arts/aesthetics will receive primary consideration. Some topics may include but are not limited to:
Art and Women’s Suffrage Movement: We invite papers that take an in-depth look at art during the suffrage movement, including the use of image as propaganda and art as resistance.
Race, Aesthetics, and Women’s Rights: We invite papers that examine areas of integration between the themes of race/racial inequality, aesthetics, and women’s rights.
Religious Grounding: We invite papers that analyze the suffrage movement as a predominantly Christian movement, as well as those that advance research about movements for the empowerment of women from the perspective of other faith traditions.
Looking back, Looking ahead: We invite papers that draw from the lives, actions, and writings of notable figures from earlier women’s movements (including pre-1920). What contributions (ethical, aesthetic, religious, philosophical, practical, etc.) might these leaders make to contemporary contestations?
Co-sponsored Session (Religion & the Arts Unit + Religion, Film, Literature Unit) CFP: Coming of Age: Rites of Passage, Religion, and YA Literature
If you ask just about anyone, they could tell you their favorite novel from Jr. High or High School. Young Adult fiction has impacted many lives, from the horrors of survival in Lord of the Flies or Hunger Games, to the crazy adventures of Harry Potter and his friends. The Religion & Arts Unit and Religion, Film, Literature unit welcome paper presentations on Religion and young adult literature. Papers focusing on the themes of coming of age, rites of passage, and other emergent topics are welcomed. Some ideas include, but are not limited to:
History of Religion in YA Literature: We welcome papers that trace religious themes in the history of YA literature. How has religion shaped (or not) coming of age stories?
Comic Books, Graphic Novels as YA Literature: With the rise in popularity in comic books (thanks to Marvel and DC film and TV) many young adults (and YA at heart!) are identifying these themes in their own rites of passage. We welcome themes related to this topic, specifically as it relates to religious intersections.
YA Literature and Identity: We welcome papers that address the intersections of race, culture, gender, sexuality, and identity as it relates to religion and YA Literature.
Please send paper proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to: Roy Whitaker at dwhitaker@mail.sdu.edu and Tamisha Tyler at tamishatyler@fuller.edu.
Religion in America
In light of the 2020 AAR/WR conference theme, Rites of Passage, the Religion in America section is encouraging papers that engage the question of community creation and belonging. An important aspect of belonging is the construction of member, creating and maintaining ground boundaries, initiation rituals, etc. We encourage brand approaches to these themes that address race, gender, sexuality, and class.
The unit is also interested in papers that address conversion within the same faith tradition. For example, Roman Catholic conversion to or from other Catholic churches or LDS conversion to or from other Mormon groups.
Please send paper proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to: Konden Smith at krsmith1@asu.edu and Cristina Rosetti at crose005@ucr.edu.
Religion, Literature, and Film
The Religion, Literature, and Film unit welcomes proposals addressing various religions or themes related to religious spirituality, practices, principles, psychology, and philosophy as presented in contemporary literature or contemporary films. We are open to proposals that explore fictional and non-fictional representations of religion and/or religious themes as represented through literature and film. Specific interests of the unit are proposals of an interdisciplinary studies approach to examining religion, literature, and film. In addition, the unit welcomes proposals that explore the relevance or non-relevance vitality or breakdown of religion as reflected in cultural or social zeitgeist.
This year the Religion, Literature, and Film unit invites papers and presentations that explore the individual’s or the collective’s Call To Duty. More precisely, the RLF unit is looking for presentations on films, documentaries, novels, short-stories, graphic novels and so forth that illustrate themes and/or characters in which there is a faith-based or spirituality-based (or lack there of) call to serve a higher being, higher power, or higher purpose.
Please send a 250-word proposal and your 2020 program participation form to unit chair Emmanuelle Patrice at empstork2233@gmail.com by October 1, 2019.
Religions of Asia
Promoting inclusivity and excellence in scholarship, this section invites individual papers from a variety of religious and cultural traditions that explore all aspects of Religions of Asia. This year, we are especially interested in papers related to the conference’s 2020 theme, Religion and Rites of Passage. How are rites of passage connected to important life moments such as birth, death, coming of age, and marriage celebrated in the context of Asian traditions? Are there also nonreligious rites of passage in Asia, celebrated, ritualized, or acknowledged for academic or professional growth, achievement in politics, or success in sports, etc.? We encourage the submission of papers that utilize interdisciplinary and nontraditional approaches to research. Other topics and themes of interest to the Religions of Asia group include: ways in which Asian religions interacts with art, music, material culture, and ideology; sacred spaces; the body as location for religious experience or ideology; religious and/or secular rituals or performances; gender and religion; religion and ecology; sacred text; or storytelling and oral tradition.
Please send abstracts (250 words) and participant forms as email attachments by October 1, 2019 to Nancy Martin nmartin@chapman.edu, Amelia Madueño lmadueno@asu.edu, and Anna Hennessey dr.amhennessey@gmail.com. We look forward to receiving your proposals.
Womanist/Pan-African
This group provides a forum for religious scholarship that engages theoretically and methodologically 1) the four-part definition of a Womanist as coined by Alice Walker, and 2) the worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous and diasporan ethnic groups of African descent. We nurture interdisciplinary scholarship, encourage interfaith dialogue, and seek to engage scholars and practitioners in fields outside the study of religion. We are particularly concerned with fostering scholarship that bridges theory and practice and addresses issues of public policy in church and society.
For our 2020 AARWR conference, the Womanist / Pan African unit offers two sessions inspired by the theme: Religion and Rites of Passage. A link to the full description of the 2020 theme is: https://www.aarwr.com/conference-themes.html
Womanist Session
What are the ceremonial and healing rituals that undergird the aesthetic experiences celebrating the diversity of female identities through dance, art, music, and food? What roles do symbolism, communalism, and material culture play for contextualizing rites of passage today as a sacred ritual, coming-of-age, or as an intergenerational social gathering? Discuss new possibilities of practicing rites of passage in the twenty-first century. Conversely, if rites and rituals bind or coerce, what counter-modalities are needed for agency?
Pan African Session
What is the significance of Rites of Passage to different cultures? What are global and moral ramifications that arise in the cases of certain rites of celebration, death and dying, or proscribed sacrifice (e.g. female circumcision, child marriage, ancestral practices)? Discuss what voice and agency intergenerational women have in determining new possibilities for practices as rites of passage in the twenty-first century. Conversely, if rites and rituals bind or coerce, what counter-modalities are needed for agency?
We are eager and excited to embark on another transforming year in Womanist and Pan African scholarship in the Western Region. We invite papers that align with broader AARWR call having a particular focus on either Womanism, Pan Africanism or both. Please submit both a 250-word proposal and the Program Participant form found at the AARWR website (https://www.aarwr.com/call-for-papers.html), to both Womanist/Pan African Unit Co-Chairs: Rev. Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble (vmiles-tribble@absw.edu) and to Rev. Ineda P Adesanya (iadesanya@ses.gtu.edu) by October 1, 2019.
Proposal Submission Note:
● Individuals whose proposals are accepted must be members of the AAR
before the conference date in order to present.
● Process: Proposals are anonymous to steering committee during the review, but visible to Chairs prior to final acceptance or rejection
● You will receive notification regarding the status of your proposal in December 2019.
● To Submit or for additional information, please contact either Unit Co-Chair
Women in Religion
The conference theme Religion and Rites of Passage asks us to consider how rituals big and small help create meaning from moments of transition. For women in religion, rites have traditionally taken two shapes: those that are performed for the community at large and those that are bound within communities of women. Rites and rituals also complexly create and limit power and possibility in these two arenas. As a unit, we are interested in exploring the significance of both of these types of rituals in order to have a robust discussion of how religious practice and specifically, rites of passage, shape women’s lives: providing structure, as vehicles for the performative creation of meaning, defining insiders and outsiders to community, etc. The unit welcomes all proposals related to the conference theme and its intersection with women’s lived experiences (broadly defined). We are particularly interested in proposals which respond to the following topics:
Please send your 250-word proposal and participant form by October 1, 2019 to unit chairs: Michelle Mueller, mbmueller@scu.edu, Brooke Nelson, brookejulianelson@gmail.com, and Sara Frykenberg, sara.frykenberg@gmail.com for consideration. We look forward to receiving your proposal.
2020 ANNUAL CONFERENCE | CALL FOR PAPERS
Claremont Graduate University | March 13-15, 2020
Claremont, California
Religion and Rites of Passage
For our 2020 conference, we traverse the wide variety of rites that make up human cultural experience and focus on Religion and Rites of Passage. From the moment of our physical and social initiations into the world through birth, up until communal recognition of our departures from society through death, our lives are marked by a number of ceremonies and rituals that define who we are and how we will identify in that world. These rites may stem from traditional religious practices of initiation, membership or belonging related to events such as marriage, pregnancy, birth, coming of age, parenting, and death, or they may arise in the context of secular culture, as one sees, for example, in ceremonies that mark a passage into political office, sports team rituals, fraternity or sorority traditions, or graduation ceremonies. How do rites of passage provide communities with aesthetic experiences through the inclusion of dance, art, and music? What are the moral ramifications that arise in the cases of certain rites (e.g. female circumcision, hazing deaths)? How do symbolism and material culture play important parts in these rites of passage? In addition to re-examining well-established rites of passage and exploring their significance to different cultures, both historically and to the contemporary world, we wish to broaden our understanding of rites of passage and seek out new possibilities of what counts as a rite of passage in the twenty-first century.
Please send an abstract (250 words) to the appropriate unit chair, as well as a program participant form (Click here for the program participant form) by October 1, 2019.
Asian American Religious Studies
A rite of passage could be perceived as a sacrament or ceremonial performance that is deemed necessary so as to mold one’s spiritual beliefs and attitudes. These rites are entangled with transitional or eventful moments in one’s life (e.g. birth, adolescence, marriage, death) marking significant milestones of a person’s spiritual growth and relationship with the sacred. They may come in various practices, usually associated with one’s religious identification and association. The issue of religious rite of passage may be a complex subject for Asian Americans. For instance, many argue that modern American society has become de-ritualized, but the dynamics of assimilation and modernization for Asian immigrants are seemingly paving the way to a revitalization of some traits of traditional ethnic ritual. As an expression of culture, how do these ceremonies relate to an immigrant’s communal identity and religious association? Do they strengthen a community religiously and ethnically? How do religious rites of passage affect one’s life as he/she advances in spiritual development and why are they still relevant? What is the significance of these rituals in preparing Asian Americans in their individual lives, as well as in their religious communities? There is a growing number of Asian American immigrants who convert to Christianity – how does this phenomenon affect culture and heritage? What challenges do these performed rituals pose to the modern American society and vice versa?
Scholars who wish to participate in the discussion may forward their proposals (250 words) and participant form to Shannon G. Toribio, shannon_toribio@ucsb.edu or Irene Ludji, irene.ludji@cgu.edu by October 1, 2019.
Buddhist Studies
The Buddhist Studies unit invites papers exploring this year's conference theme of "Religion and Rites of Passage" directly or tangentially. Of particular interest is the topic of ordination: for example, women’s ordination in the Theravada and Tibetan traditions, or issues of ordination in American bhikku- and bhikkuni-sangas. We welcome papers covering any school of Buddhism and from all disciplinary approaches. Topics of interest not related to the conference theme will also be considered as space permits.
Please submit proposals (250 words) and participant form to Alison Jameson and Jake Nagasawa: ajameson@email.arizona.edu and jnagasawa@ucsb.edu by October 1, 2019
Catholic Studies
The Catholic Studies unit invites papers that explore rites, rituals, ceremonies, and initiations that are practiced within Catholic traditions or are responding to them from without. The unit welcomes critical, cultural, ethical, historical, and theological perspectives and especially encourages papers on the following topics for its 2020 meeting: Sacraments and the Sacred - Understandings of rites qua sacraments; Cultural, philosophical, and theological perspectives on the significance of, and the boundaries of participation in, Catholic rites and sacraments. Gender and Sexuality - The gendering of rites, rituals, ceremonies, and initiations in Catholic traditions; Critical analysis of the concepts of personhood and human development that undergird gendered rites and rituals. Indigenous Rites - Indigenous reception of and resistance to Catholic rites; The future of indigenous aesthetics in Catholic ritual practices. Mysticism - The challenges to the conceptualization of and/or to the practice of Catholic rites posed by mystical traditions; Integrations of mysticism within official Catholic teachings on rites and sacraments.
Please send an abstract of 250 words as well as a completed participant form to Eva Braunstein at evabraunstein@ucsb.edu and to Justin Claravall at jclaravall@scu.edu by October 1, 2019
Ecology and Religion
Ritual and rites of passage are central aspects of religious expression. Direct interaction with the environment can shape ritual experiences, potentially deepening understandings of community, place, and human-nature relationships. From indigenous wilderness encounters to transcendental nature-walking, Christian river baptisms to Hindu purification in the Ganga river, in addition to global discourses on just transitions to convert away from extractive economies—ecology and religious transformation can be central to rites of passage. Further, environmental changes in specific bioregions can put pressure on traditional rituals, for example, in pilgrimages on foot amid record heat in Spain, Saudi Arabia, India, and Mexico.
For the 2020 AARWR meeting, the Ecology and Religion unit encourages proposals that link religion, rites of passage, and environment, broadly construed. How can rituals frame spiritual and cultural knowledge in and of the environment? How might rituals deepen or obscure human-nature relationships? How can individual-community-institutional rituals interrelate with environmental well-being? Can religious rites of passage elucidate biodiversity, climate, pollution, policy needs, and other environmentally relevant issues? How might religious ritual practices contribute to local and global ecological crises, or offer solutions and avenues for healing? Can ritual provide language for ineffable or mysterious aspects of local-regional-national-global-cosmic environments? What ecological, environmental, and/or political experiences mimic ritual, even when not categorized as religious?
The Ecology and Religion unit also welcomes submissions that address any number of broader issues and perspectives relating to religion and the environment. Please submit a participant form and one-page proposal by October 1, 2019 to both section co-chairs: Sarah Robinson-Bertoni at sarahrobinsonbertoni@gmail.com and Matthew Hartman at mhartman@ses.gtu.edu. Thank you.
Education and Pedagogy
The Education and Pedagogy Unit invites proposals in two broad areas: 1) proposals that address the teaching and academic study of religion as a rite of passage, and 2) proposals that reflect on the effective teaching of rites of passage and religious practice in a classroom setting.
You may consider: How is learning/and/or teaching a rite of passage? Pedagogies that help our students transform and broaden their worldview also challenge and provoke our students. How is this process of transformation a rite of passage? What challenges or successes have you had in the classroom that could be described as a rite of passage, either for you or for your students? Tell us about how you initiate your students into a different way of looking at the world or help them go through the rite of passage of widening or transforming their worldview or seeing their worldview with new eyes. What is the role of the instructor in this framework? If learning is a ritual and transformative pedagogy is a rite of passage, how do we deal with resistance, disruption, or other reactions to going through change in order to learn?
Alternatively, how do we teach rites of passage and religious ritual in our classrooms? What activities do we include or exclude and what are our principles of selection? Can "secular" rites of passage be treated as religious? Tell us how you bring religious rituals into the classroom experience and how you have students engage with them. Do you have students read about rituals, observe them, or participate in them? Do students analyze, interpret, or create rituals? If you have students participate in religious ritual, what are your pedagogical reasons for doing so?
Please submit a participant form and paper abstract (250 words) by October 1, 2019 to both section co-chairs: Sarita Tamayo-Moraga at stamayomoraga@scu.edu and Peter Romaskiewicz at pmr01@ucsb.edu. Thank you.
Ethics
In light of this year’s conference theme, we invite paper proposals that relate ethics (religious, philosophical, and/or social) to the subject of rites of passage. We welcome proposals from a broad range of religious traditions and ethical methodologies, as well as a wide diversity of project genres (e.g., analytic, reflective, comparative, evaluative, prescriptive, constructive). Special consideration will be given to creative interdisciplinary proposals, and to those that demonstrate fresh potential to illuminate topics of contemporary ethical concern.
Please submit a participant form and paper abstract (250 words) by October 1, 2019 to both section co-chairs: Owen Anderson at oanderson@asu.edu and Joshua Beckett at joshuabeckett@fuller.edu. Thank you.
History of Christianity
Rites of passage such as conversion, baptism, marriage, and death are central to the very essence of the Christian faith. There are others, and we plan to have two sessions that plumb the depths of Christianity’s relationship with rites of passage over the last two millennia.
We need papers that explore the myriad ways that Christianity (in all of its varieties) has interacted with rites of passage both within and outside its community of faith. This could include such topics as:
· The Christianization of pagan rites of passage;
· The struggle of indigenous communities to reconcile their traditional rituals with colonial, superimposed religion;
· Examples of how Christian rites successfully adapted to various cultures or societies;
· How tongue-speaking first takes root in a community;
· How a person passes from Christian believer to atheist (or vice versa);
· When/how mass conversions take place;
· How churches have handled complicated conversion experiences such as criminals who ostensibly convert;
· Whether Christian conversion “sticks” in particular, localized contexts.
Please remember that proposals must be primarily historical in tone and content. Proposals that are overtly theological, philosophical, or psychological will not receive priority. Your proposal may include and combine these methods, but they must be subsidiary to historical approaches.
We anticipate having two sessions of four presenters each (or three presenters and a respondent). We also anticipate commencing a third session which will review Dyron Daughrity’s recent book: The History of Christianity: Facts and Fictions. If your paper is not accepted to one of the two “rites of passage” sessions, we may invite you to serve on the book review session.
Please submit a participant form and paper abstract (250 words) by October 1, 2019 to both section co-chairs: Dyron Daughrity at dyron.daughrity@pepperdine.edu and David Houghton at davidhoughton@fuller.edu. Thank you.
Indigenous Religions
Keeping with the annual theme of “Religion and Rites of Passage,” the Indigenous Religions Unit welcomes proposals for papers that explore the wide array of rites that mark the transitions in life through cultural manifestations in ceremony, ritual and the creation of identity narratives. Specifically, we look to engage in dialogue on matters relating to the concerns and rights of the world's indigenous peoples in their struggle for the preservation and transmission of traditional wisdom. We incite inquiry on how diverse indigenous religious and spiritual traditions engage in the stages of transformation throughout life, and encourage reflections on the changes that occur at both the individual and social levels from communal practices and conversations as religious traditions define our identities through rites of passage. We encourage you to explore the spirit, motivation, and methods provided by indigenous traditions to help us address the forming of our individual, communal and an ever more interdependent identity required today for an engaged sense of spirituality.
Relevant research topics/questions may include:
● The making of meaning as purpose develops in different moments in life.
● Indigenous traditional knowledge: Generation, transmission, and protection.
● The need to put in place policies and laws that protect Indigenous rituals and traditions as a way to preserve and transmit traditional wisdom.
● The critical importance of preserving the cultures and identities of Indigenous communities to foster national inclusivity and diversity.
● Ways to contribute to the conservation of Indigenous traditions and the different manifestations of ritual.
● How can allied traditions create joint cultures of preservation and protection of diverse religious manifestations (i.e. Is it possible for religious practitioners to foster dialogue and even engage in joint forms of ritual? And if so, how would this dialogue look in practice? (should practitioners develop a new theology of togetherness? Or accept a certain level of internal division for the sake of a greater good?)
At the Indigenous Religions Unit, we are on the lookout to explore these dynamics through papers that delve into the ways of religion and rites of passage. We seek papers covering all indigenous religions and spiritual traditions, and the dialogues in between, to explore any of the junctures within culture from all disciplinary approaches.
Presenters must be members in good standing of the American Academy of Religion and register for the conference prior to their presentation. Please submit abstracts (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to the attention of the section co-chairs and Cecilia Titizano ctitizano@ses.gtu.edu, Brian Clearwater bclearwater@oxy.edu, and Yuria Celidwen celidwen@hotmail.com
We are looking forward to receiving your proposals!
Islamic Studies
2020 AAR/WR Islamic Studies Call for Papers
The AAR's Western Region Islamic Studies Unit encourages papers and panel proposals in all areas of our field of study for the upcoming 2020 conference. The 2020 general Theme focuses on “Religion and Rites of Passage.” We invite papers and panels focusing on the main theme of the conference addressing questions such as:
How do rites of passage provide Muslim communities with aesthetic experiences through the inclusion of different forms of arts? How might religion and rites passage best be understood within Islam and Islamic traditions theologically and/or culturally? How have their different forms in Islam changed throughout history? How have they developed historically and in contemporary times? What are the moral ramifications that arise in the cases of certain rites (e.g. female circumcision, hazing deaths, etc.)? How do symbolism and material culture play important parts in these rites of passage?
We also encourage papers addressing and discussing how have Muslim communities, organizations, and texts grappled with the concept of Religion and Rites of Passage.
In the context of the overall conference theme, we hope that your paper proposals will position, problematize, and offer insight on the concept of “Religion and Rites of Passage.” We encourage individual papers as well panel proposals.
Proposals or abstracts (250 words) and participant forms should be sent to: Dr. Souad T. Ali, Arizona State University at Taj_1234@msn.com and Dr. Sophia Pandya, California State University, Long Beach at Sophiapandya@yahoo.com
Jewish Studies
"The Jewish Studies unit fully embraces this year's overall conference theme of Religion and Rites of Passage. We look forward to submissions related to rites of passage in the context of Jewish tradition as pertains to Jewish rituals and ceremonies related to birth, death, coming of age, marriage, divorce, miscarriage, death of a pet, environmental passages, menstruation, seman discharge, and so forth. Other transitions are not so ritualistically noted but nevertheless worthy of focus. Micro-transitions happen daily. Rituals can be ad hoc. Fresh ways to note even these micro-metamorphoses, both internal and external, are welcome. Also worthy of note is the experience of identity intersectionality as Jews and our other identities. Of particular interest are contributions from the arts that express these transitions in creative ways."
Please submit a participant form and abstract (250 words) by October 1, 2019 to our co-chairs: Roberta Sabbath at roberta.sabbath@unlv.edu, Alexander Warren Marcus at awmarcus@stanford.edu, and Leigh Ann Hildebrand at lhildebrand@ses.gtu.edu. Thank you.
Latina, Latino, and Latin American Religion
The Latina, Latino, and Latin American Religion unit welcomes paper proposals related to U.S. Latinx and Latin American rituals and rites of passage. We encourage an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach as well as a broad range of methodologies. We recognize the complexities of Latinx and Latin American religious experience, so we encourage scholars to exercise their creativity. The influence of Western Christianity on U.S. Latinx and Latin American culture cannot be denied. However, the syncretic elements of these traditions must also be recognized and attended to. In addition, the desire to reclaim ancestral wisdom and traditions has sparked a movement amongst young U.S. Latinxs in particular. How are these rituals and rites of passage passed down through generations? Are there liberative and healing elements to these rites and rituals? How are rites and rituals commodified in neoliberal capitalist societies and at what “cost”? We invite consideration of the following themes for submission:
● Rites of passage including Marriage, Baptism, Confirmation, and Quinceañeras. We also encourage LGBTQ+ interpretations of these rites and rituals
● Rites and rituals influenced by Indigenous and African traditions broadly defined
● Rites honoring ancestors and the passage to death such as Día de los Muertos
● Rites and rituals in curanderismo: mal de ojo, susto, caida de mollera, empacho, bilis, muina
Please submit proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to:
Lauren Frances Guerra, PhD [Lauren.guerra@lmu.edu] and Marlene Ferreras, PhD [mferrer@lasierra.edu]
Nineteenth Century
The Nineteenth Century Unit provides a forum for the study of various religions around the world in the nineteenth century. This year we invite papers or panels that reflect the 2020 conference theme, Religion and Rites of Passage. We seek papers that explore rites of passage or rituals that are unique to the nineteenth century, developed in the nineteenth century, or debated in the nineteenth century. We are interested in papers that also explore nineteenth century conversion moments. We welcome papers that explore how nineteenth century people or events birthed new religious movements and/or helped midwife new movements, theologies, or modes of thought. We welcome papers that explore how major nineteenth century developments, from industrialization and urbanization to evolution, social Darwinism, and historical criticism forced new reckonings for religious leaders. Finally, we also welcome papers that explore how nineteenth century movements paved the way for World War I. We welcome all methodologies.
Please send your proposal (250 words) and participant form by October 1, 2019 via email attachment to unit chairs Christina Littlefield at christina.littlefield@pepperdine.edu and Stephan Quarles at sjquarles@live.com. If you are proposing a panel of three to four papers, please include short abstracts for each paper on the panel, and a short description of your panel theme.
Pagan Studies
For the American Academy of Religion Western Region (AAR/WR) 2020 conference the Pagan Studies Unit delves into spiritual and religious experience, focusing on the manner in which these aspects of our lives shape how and who we are in the world.
Pagan Studies covers a broad spectrum of human behaviors spanning ancient to modern spiritual, religious, and magical beliefs and practices across many cultures, countries, and ways of being in the world. These beliefs and practices may manifest as personal, solitary spiritual pursuits or as highly structure group endeavors. Perspectives shaping Pagan encounters with the invisible or the divine run the gamut from polytheistic, animistic, and shamanic to monotheistic and atheistic. All of these beliefs, practices, and perspectives shape our sense of identity on physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual levels, and the manner in which we metamorphose between stages of life, levels of power and prestige, and even the way we step into and out of our physical incarnations.
How do various aspects of ancient and modern Pagan culture’s spiritual and religious beliefs, practices, and perspectives shape our way of being in the world? Do past and contemporary Paganisms affect the way we structure and interact within time and space? How are sex, gender, gender identification, and gender expression shaped by Pagan perspectives? How are boundary crossing and life-passages—the arc of a human existence—constructed or reconstructed within Pagan belief systems? What are the expectations, the demands, the privileges, and the payoffs of our human journey within the Pagan Weltanschauung? How do Paganisms configure our relationships: how do we love, compete for resources, parent, engage in educating the young, manifest childhood, form community, or die? How do Pagan perspectives influence the manner in which we police our communities, including the ritual use of drugs and sexual engagement? How do historical and modern Pagans deal with issues of cultural appropriation, racism, sexism, warfare, and the looming threats of global warming, climate change, authoritarianism, populism, and socio-economic collapse?
Please submit proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to: Dorothea Kahena at dkviale@cpp.edu and Jeffrey Albaugh at jeffreykalbaugh@gmail.com.
Philosophy of Religion
This year, the Philosophy of Religion Unit welcomes submissions that explore “the rights of passage” in context of cultural transitions affecting the intellectual-philosophical religious landscape. Such topics include:
- How would or does broadening philosophy of religion to include Asian, African, and the Americas’ perspectives alter traditionally “Western” subjects, issues, and topics in philosophy of religion? We encourage proposals touching on or investigating non-Western philosophical or oriented approaches to philosophy of religion.
- What is or should be the relationship between philosophy, technology, and religion? How is or does popular culture influence or affect philosophy of religion directly or indirectly, and how can (or cannot) philosophers of religion utilize these mediums to discover or uncover philosophical and religious “truth”? How are these mediums transforming what it means to study “religion” in contemporary culture, particularly since these mediums appear to be transforming what religion “is”?
- In line with the conference theme, what is a rite of passage in zeitgeist? How does one distinguish philosophically religious and secular rites of passage (and is there a framework upon which we can confidently make that distinction)? How do rites of passage transform the epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical frameworks, perspectives, and moods through which one engages with the world? In what sense do rites of passage connect with the phenomenology or experience of the individual and his/her/their relationship to the world? How does “truth” change, alter, or transform as a result of rites of passage? In what sense do self and identity arise from but also are altered by one’s completion of a rite of passage?
- What kinds of metaphysical, epistemological, or ethical frameworks hinder or aid progress towards studying race, racism, and religion philosophically? How might we go about shifting, altering, or changing the subject matter or perspective of philosophy of religion to more adequately engage questions of race, racism, and religion? In addition, what are “race,” “racism,” and “religion,” respectively, and how do they relate or interact with one another? More broadly, how does the practice and discipline of philosophy stem from, relate to, or arise out of culture and from the personal confessions, issues, and perspectives of its author(s)? In addition, in what sense do religions utilize metaphysical, epistemological or ethical philosophical notions and concepts to define, understand, or conceive of “race,” “racism,” or “religion”? And from the ground up, what kind of “forward looking” philosophical principles or frameworks could, when put into practice, globally or locally construct meaningful insight into questions of religion, race, and racism? What would such a philosophy of religion look like? What meta-ethical questions or social issues would remain?
- What new, ignored, or disregarded topics, issues, or subjects deserve attention from those in the field of philosophy of religion today? Explore one of these topics, issues, or subjects.
- We also welcome proposals that investigate particular or individual philosophers, religious thinkers, theologians, or prominent social or political figures in terms of their insights, reflections, or ideas that contribute to the study of religion, or topics within the field of philosophy of religion.
Please submit proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to: Dane Sawyer at dsawyer@laverne.edu and Olga Louchakova-Schwartz at olouchakova@gmail.com.
Psychology, Culture, and Religion
Keeping with the annual theme of "Religion and Rites of Passage," the Psychology, Culture, and Religion Section (PCR) welcomes proposals that explore rites of passage as psychological, cultural, religious, theological, and moral forces in our world today.
Topics for exploration include:
- The ways in which such rites reinforce kinship and social identity, but also in-group bias and conformity.
- The interior aspects of rites – how do rites of passage function psychologically and with identity formation? How do they help people to grow? How can they be damaging to the human psyche?
- How have rites of passage been used to maintain traditional power structures? Can these rites be reinterpreted, or must they be forsaken?
- May rites be used to create bonds between religions, or to overcome interreligious problems?
- How are rites of passage embodied? What are their effects on the body, personal health, and human flourishing?
- Examples of new/modern rites that are having a positive effect on our world today by creating social change (or the opposite!)
In addition, we also welcome interesting submissions that connect with the intersections of psychology, culture, and religion, even if they do not directly interface with this year's theme. The deadline for submissions and participant forms to unit chairs is October 1, 2019. Proposals should be no more than 250 words. Presenters must be members in good standing of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), present their paper if accepted in person, and register for the conference prior to their presentation.
Please submit abstracts (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to the attention of the section co-chairs: Hester Oberman (hoberman@arizona.email.edu, Kevin Whitesides, (kevinwhitesides@ucsb.edu); Casey Crosbie (casey.crosbie@cst.edu).
Queer Studies in Religion
Session 1: “Intersectionality, Coalition Building, LGBTQIA+ Identity and Birthing Equality”
Queer Studies in Religion seeks papers that engage around the multifaceted issue of intersectionality and LGBTQIA+ identity. We are broadly defining intersectionality to mean the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality as well as religion, physical ability, age, nationality, and home/food security, etc. We define intersectionality by not just noticing difference but how opportunity is equalized, how equal opportunity is “birthed” through the recognition of Intersectionality and equalizing opportunity. For example, we are interested in how home and food security impact LGBTQIA+ youth and elders as well as how LDS and Mormon LGBTQIA+ issues intersect in terms of public and private interactions within Mormon and other religious communities. Additionally, we are also interested in exploring how these issues impact Christian/Catholic/Evangelical queer subjects as well.
Finally, the Queer Studies in Religion session wants to emphasize any type of scholarship that explores queer (LGBTQIA+) studies in religion from queer identified or allied scholars both within and outside of the academy. Please do not hesitate to send us any scholarship, regardless of whether or not it specifically addresses the CFP.
Please send a 250-word proposal alongside the program participant form by October 1, 2019 to Queer Studies in Religion Co-Chairs John Erickson (jerickson85@gmail.com) and Marie Cartier (ezmerelda@earthlink.net).
Session 2: “Globalization and Queer Culture: Birthing the Good, the Bad, and the Fabulous”
Queer Studies in Religion seeks papers that engage the issue of globalization and human rights/LGBTQIA+ rights globally. We are looking to explore these issues in both current and historical context. For example, we are interested in how papers explore cross-cultural impacts on privilege, identity, and “cultural capital and/or deficit” (Pierre Bourdieu). For example, how does Rainbow Nation and Western notions of Pride import not only just a capitalist identity but also does it import human rights overall? Do Western notions of Pride help birth equality globally, help bring into being cultural identity, or does the West stifle native identity in favor of the rainbow?
Finally, the Queer Studies in Religion session want to emphasize any type of scholarship
that explores queer (LGBTQIA+) studies in religion from queer identified or allied
scholars both within and outside of the academy. Please do not hesitate to send us any scholarship, regardless of whether or not it specifically addresses the CFP.
Please send a 250-word proposal alongside the program participant form by October 1, 2019 to Queer Studies in Religion Co-Chairs John Erickson (jerickson85@gmail.com) and Marie Cartier (ezmerelda@earthlink.net).
2020 AAR/WR CFP – Pre-Conference Queer Caucus & Queer Studies in Religion– “Queer View”
As an annual tradition, the Queer Studies in Religion and the Queer Caucus are again sponsoring a night of queer performance and discussion Friday night before the conference. Performance artists, filmmakers and activists will be on hand to discuss their works. Details to be announced: evening start time, lineup, and venues. Please check www.aarwr.org/queer-caucus.html for updates.
If anyone in the AAR/WR has a feature or short they would like to have considered, please send your information and brief query describing the work to Queer Board Advocate Anjeanette LeBoeuf at chancelloraj@yahoo.com and Queer Studies in Religion Co-Chairs John Erickson (jerickson85@gmail.com) and Marie Cartier (ezmerelda@earthlink.net).
Religion, Science, and Technology
This Unit supports scholarship that explores the relationship of religion, theology, technology, and the natural sciences. We support research that attempts to bridge the gap between religious and scientific approaches to reality and encourage the development of constructive proposals that encourage engagement and dialogue with the sciences, along with a critical assessment of the meaning and impact of technologies for the human condition and the natural world. This year, in coordination with the conference theme “Religion and Rites of Passage,” we encourage proposals similar but not limited to the following topics:
Technology and Rites of Passage: Technology frames our experiences as individuals, communities, and societies. How have innovations in sectors like health care, automation, or social media altered societal rites of passage? Does the ease facilitated by technology diminish the significance of certain rites of passage? How do rites of passage in more technologically saturated communities or cultures differ from those of less saturated communities or cultures?
Enhancement Technology and Rites of Passage: Trans/posthumanists envision various futures in which enhancement technologies significantly alter our experiences of life. How might extended life projects impact rites of passage like marriage, parenthood, career, or death? Are rites of passage experienced online or in virtual reality just as significant as those in “real” life? Do technologies that transform biological limitations, like genetic editing, reproductive technologies, or biohacking, violate the significance of rites of passage unique to specific embodiments?
Science and Rites of Passage: The sciences can meaningfully dialogue with our religious understandings of rites of passage. What do physical, emotion, or cognitive sciences contribute to our understanding of embodied experiences of rites of passage? What can the sciences tell us of the significance of specific rites of passage? How is the significance of rites of passage created or experienced?
Science, Religion, and Rites of Passage: Science and religion as a field explores the epistemological, methodological, and communal engagement between sciences and religions. How do rites of passage in science and religion communities contribute to the relationships between these spheres? What kinds of data may we use to justify or critique the validity of certain rites of passage? Do religious rites of passage hold a special significance different than secular rites of passage?
Please submit proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to the unit co-chairs: Greg Cootsona at greg@cootsona.net and Melanie Dzugan at melaniedzugan@fuller.edu.
Religion and Social Sciences
The concept of “rites of passage” has undergone multiple redefinitions since it was first coined in 1909 by the Dutch-French anthropologist Arnold van Geppen. Religion has historically provided a framework within which rites of passage have been institutionalized; moments and events such as birth, passage into puberty and adolescence, marriage, and death are all historically well-documented cases of relevant passages in individual lives that have been made meaningful through a religious framework. The concept of “rites of passage” has now expanded so as to include both religious and secular rituals, representing both formal and informal events in a person’s life that affect and include for the individual and the collective. Despite its focus on rituals, the concept of “rites of passage” can prove analytically useful to investigate social change. Far from being static, rites of passage are performative, social, dynamic, and embodied. This call welcomes papers that expand the analytical use of “rites of passage.” This analytical redefinition can be achieved in two main ways: either by investigating the new meanings with which individual life passages are imbued, or by studying the more or less formalized passages that social groups have to go through to become part of mainstream culture. As for the first aspect, suffice here to mention the changing patterns linked to marriage in societies in which the meaning of marriage itself as a life event are dramatically changing. As for the second aspect, it is worth mentioning the examples of the processes of integration of so-called “new immigrant religions” into the American national narrative, or the struggle of non-mainstream religious groups to obtain visibility on the national scene (e.g., American Evangelicals), or the barriers to become full-fledged members of the polity imposed on certain groups, e.g., Muslims, as in the case of the civilizational and exclusivist far-right discourse currently rampaging through Europe.
We welcome all papers that address the theme of the conference and encourage papers from a variety of social science disciplines. All methodological and epistemological approaches are encouraged. We particularly appreciate diversity in methodological approaches, from comparative- historical to ethnographic and quantitative. We also welcome contributions that address the theme of the conference from a global perspective.
Please send paper proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to: socialsciencesaarwestern@gmail.com
Religion and the Arts
We welcome a wide variety of papers, workshops, and/or fully developed panels (3-4 persons) on the convergence of art, religion, and rites of passage. Art and religion are used in the broad sense of the words. For example, art includes folk, iconography, animation, performance, comedy, photography, videos, television, graffiti, and music. Religion includes something or someone of ultimate importance. Successful proposals will articulate the thesis and evidence as well as offer a preliminary discussion on how the proposal contributes to the academic study of religion. Potential and sample topics include, but are not limited to:
~ Rites of Passage in Contemporary Religious Murals
~ Women of Color, Religion, and Rites of Passage
~ Rites of Passage in Broadway or Television Shows
~ Buddhist Art, Rites of Passage, and Western Imperialism
~ Hip Hop Religion and Rites of Passage
~ Animation, Religion, and Rites of Passage
~ Any other topics related to the 2020 Theme
In addition, the Religion and arts unit has two joint panel discussions:
Co-sponsored Session (Ethics Unit + Religion & the Arts Unit) CFP: Rights of Passage: Aesthetics and ethics of women’s empowerment
100 years ago, the 19th amendment was ratified, formally granting U.S. women the right to vote. The past century has seen remarkable advances in women’s rights; however, such progress has developed unevenly and inequitably (in content, location, and access). The Ethics and Religion and Arts units are looking for paper presentations that seek to address the ethical and aesthetic/artistic aspects of women’s rights. Papers that integrate the disciplines of ethics and arts/aesthetics will receive primary consideration. Some topics may include but are not limited to:
Art and Women’s Suffrage Movement: We invite papers that take an in-depth look at art during the suffrage movement, including the use of image as propaganda and art as resistance.
Race, Aesthetics, and Women’s Rights: We invite papers that examine areas of integration between the themes of race/racial inequality, aesthetics, and women’s rights.
Religious Grounding: We invite papers that analyze the suffrage movement as a predominantly Christian movement, as well as those that advance research about movements for the empowerment of women from the perspective of other faith traditions.
Looking back, Looking ahead: We invite papers that draw from the lives, actions, and writings of notable figures from earlier women’s movements (including pre-1920). What contributions (ethical, aesthetic, religious, philosophical, practical, etc.) might these leaders make to contemporary contestations?
Co-sponsored Session (Religion & the Arts Unit + Religion, Film, Literature Unit) CFP: Coming of Age: Rites of Passage, Religion, and YA Literature
If you ask just about anyone, they could tell you their favorite novel from Jr. High or High School. Young Adult fiction has impacted many lives, from the horrors of survival in Lord of the Flies or Hunger Games, to the crazy adventures of Harry Potter and his friends. The Religion & Arts Unit and Religion, Film, Literature unit welcome paper presentations on Religion and young adult literature. Papers focusing on the themes of coming of age, rites of passage, and other emergent topics are welcomed. Some ideas include, but are not limited to:
History of Religion in YA Literature: We welcome papers that trace religious themes in the history of YA literature. How has religion shaped (or not) coming of age stories?
Comic Books, Graphic Novels as YA Literature: With the rise in popularity in comic books (thanks to Marvel and DC film and TV) many young adults (and YA at heart!) are identifying these themes in their own rites of passage. We welcome themes related to this topic, specifically as it relates to religious intersections.
YA Literature and Identity: We welcome papers that address the intersections of race, culture, gender, sexuality, and identity as it relates to religion and YA Literature.
Please send paper proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to: Roy Whitaker at dwhitaker@mail.sdu.edu and Tamisha Tyler at tamishatyler@fuller.edu.
Religion in America
In light of the 2020 AAR/WR conference theme, Rites of Passage, the Religion in America section is encouraging papers that engage the question of community creation and belonging. An important aspect of belonging is the construction of member, creating and maintaining ground boundaries, initiation rituals, etc. We encourage brand approaches to these themes that address race, gender, sexuality, and class.
The unit is also interested in papers that address conversion within the same faith tradition. For example, Roman Catholic conversion to or from other Catholic churches or LDS conversion to or from other Mormon groups.
Please send paper proposals (250 words) and participant forms by October 1, 2019 to: Konden Smith at krsmith1@asu.edu and Cristina Rosetti at crose005@ucr.edu.
Religion, Literature, and Film
The Religion, Literature, and Film unit welcomes proposals addressing various religions or themes related to religious spirituality, practices, principles, psychology, and philosophy as presented in contemporary literature or contemporary films. We are open to proposals that explore fictional and non-fictional representations of religion and/or religious themes as represented through literature and film. Specific interests of the unit are proposals of an interdisciplinary studies approach to examining religion, literature, and film. In addition, the unit welcomes proposals that explore the relevance or non-relevance vitality or breakdown of religion as reflected in cultural or social zeitgeist.
This year the Religion, Literature, and Film unit invites papers and presentations that explore the individual’s or the collective’s Call To Duty. More precisely, the RLF unit is looking for presentations on films, documentaries, novels, short-stories, graphic novels and so forth that illustrate themes and/or characters in which there is a faith-based or spirituality-based (or lack there of) call to serve a higher being, higher power, or higher purpose.
Please send a 250-word proposal and your 2020 program participation form to unit chair Emmanuelle Patrice at empstork2233@gmail.com by October 1, 2019.
Religions of Asia
Promoting inclusivity and excellence in scholarship, this section invites individual papers from a variety of religious and cultural traditions that explore all aspects of Religions of Asia. This year, we are especially interested in papers related to the conference’s 2020 theme, Religion and Rites of Passage. How are rites of passage connected to important life moments such as birth, death, coming of age, and marriage celebrated in the context of Asian traditions? Are there also nonreligious rites of passage in Asia, celebrated, ritualized, or acknowledged for academic or professional growth, achievement in politics, or success in sports, etc.? We encourage the submission of papers that utilize interdisciplinary and nontraditional approaches to research. Other topics and themes of interest to the Religions of Asia group include: ways in which Asian religions interacts with art, music, material culture, and ideology; sacred spaces; the body as location for religious experience or ideology; religious and/or secular rituals or performances; gender and religion; religion and ecology; sacred text; or storytelling and oral tradition.
Please send abstracts (250 words) and participant forms as email attachments by October 1, 2019 to Nancy Martin nmartin@chapman.edu, Amelia Madueño lmadueno@asu.edu, and Anna Hennessey dr.amhennessey@gmail.com. We look forward to receiving your proposals.
Womanist/Pan-African
This group provides a forum for religious scholarship that engages theoretically and methodologically 1) the four-part definition of a Womanist as coined by Alice Walker, and 2) the worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous and diasporan ethnic groups of African descent. We nurture interdisciplinary scholarship, encourage interfaith dialogue, and seek to engage scholars and practitioners in fields outside the study of religion. We are particularly concerned with fostering scholarship that bridges theory and practice and addresses issues of public policy in church and society.
For our 2020 AARWR conference, the Womanist / Pan African unit offers two sessions inspired by the theme: Religion and Rites of Passage. A link to the full description of the 2020 theme is: https://www.aarwr.com/conference-themes.html
Womanist Session
What are the ceremonial and healing rituals that undergird the aesthetic experiences celebrating the diversity of female identities through dance, art, music, and food? What roles do symbolism, communalism, and material culture play for contextualizing rites of passage today as a sacred ritual, coming-of-age, or as an intergenerational social gathering? Discuss new possibilities of practicing rites of passage in the twenty-first century. Conversely, if rites and rituals bind or coerce, what counter-modalities are needed for agency?
Pan African Session
What is the significance of Rites of Passage to different cultures? What are global and moral ramifications that arise in the cases of certain rites of celebration, death and dying, or proscribed sacrifice (e.g. female circumcision, child marriage, ancestral practices)? Discuss what voice and agency intergenerational women have in determining new possibilities for practices as rites of passage in the twenty-first century. Conversely, if rites and rituals bind or coerce, what counter-modalities are needed for agency?
We are eager and excited to embark on another transforming year in Womanist and Pan African scholarship in the Western Region. We invite papers that align with broader AARWR call having a particular focus on either Womanism, Pan Africanism or both. Please submit both a 250-word proposal and the Program Participant form found at the AARWR website (https://www.aarwr.com/call-for-papers.html), to both Womanist/Pan African Unit Co-Chairs: Rev. Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble (vmiles-tribble@absw.edu) and to Rev. Ineda P Adesanya (iadesanya@ses.gtu.edu) by October 1, 2019.
Proposal Submission Note:
● Individuals whose proposals are accepted must be members of the AAR
before the conference date in order to present.
● Process: Proposals are anonymous to steering committee during the review, but visible to Chairs prior to final acceptance or rejection
● You will receive notification regarding the status of your proposal in December 2019.
● To Submit or for additional information, please contact either Unit Co-Chair
Women in Religion
The conference theme Religion and Rites of Passage asks us to consider how rituals big and small help create meaning from moments of transition. For women in religion, rites have traditionally taken two shapes: those that are performed for the community at large and those that are bound within communities of women. Rites and rituals also complexly create and limit power and possibility in these two arenas. As a unit, we are interested in exploring the significance of both of these types of rituals in order to have a robust discussion of how religious practice and specifically, rites of passage, shape women’s lives: providing structure, as vehicles for the performative creation of meaning, defining insiders and outsiders to community, etc. The unit welcomes all proposals related to the conference theme and its intersection with women’s lived experiences (broadly defined). We are particularly interested in proposals which respond to the following topics:
- Rites and rituals of birthing and motherhood, as they define and challenge notions of “womanhood” within various religious traditions
- Women’s initiation into Western (neo)liberal citizenship or productivity: the way in which rites and rituals define women as sexual laborers or surrogates, the gender performativity of the ‘working woman,’ exclusion from these categories for reason of age, race, sexuality, ability status, etc.
- Rites of humanization, dehumanization and mechanization: de-initiation from communities of ‘women,’ women as cyborgs, women becoming monster/other, etc.
- Rituals of ordination and other ceremonies, hierarchies of authority, and the role of ritual in confirming and/or subverting women’s authority
Please send your 250-word proposal and participant form by October 1, 2019 to unit chairs: Michelle Mueller, mbmueller@scu.edu, Brooke Nelson, brookejulianelson@gmail.com, and Sara Frykenberg, sara.frykenberg@gmail.com for consideration. We look forward to receiving your proposal.