http://www.aarweb.org/Meetings/Annual_Meeting/Current_Meeting/Program_Book/highlights.asp
Program Highlights
November 7-10, 2009
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
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(AAA) Books Under Discussion
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A1-105 North American Religions Section and Afro-American Religious History Group and Afro-American Religious History Theme: Albert Raboteau's No-Longer-"Invisible Institution": An Anniversary Retrospective |
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A1-126 Christianity and Academia Consultation Theme: Book Discussion of Beaty and Henry, The Schooled Heart: Moral Formation in American Higher Education (Baylor University Press, 2007) |
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A1-205 Religion and the Social Sciences Section Theme: Recent Authors Analyze Religion, Politics, and the Election |
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A1-213 Tibetan and Himalayan Religions Group Theme: The Uttaratantra Debate: Examining Competing Claims Regarding the Significance of the Uttaratantra in Classical Tibetan Buddhist Literature |
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A1-218 Law, Religion, and Culture Group Theme: Mark deWolfe Howe, The Garden and the Wilderness (University of Chicago Press, 1965) |
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A1-223 Pragmatism and Empiricism in American Religious Thought Group Theme: Roberto Unger: Pragmatism Unbound (Harvard University Press, 2007) |
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A2-118 Comparative Religious Ethics Group Theme: Critical Assessment of Arguing the Just War in Islam (Harvard University Press, 2007) by John Kelsay |
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A2-217 Comparative Studies in Hinduisms and Judaisms Group Theme: Indo–Judaic Studies in the Twenty-First Century: Current Trends and Future Trajectories in the Comparative Study of Hinduisms and Judaisms |
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A2-250 Special Topics Forum Theme: Religion and Politics in the 2008 Election Cycle: Roundtable on Amy Sullivan, The Party Faithful (Scribner, 2008) |
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A2-253 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: Progressive Religion in the West: Sarah McFarland Taylor's Green Sisters (Harvard University Press, 2007) and Gordon Lynch's The New Spirituality (I. B. Tauris, 2007) |
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A2-255 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (Walter DeGruyter, 2009) |
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A2-267 Chinese Religions Group and Confucian Traditions Group and Confucian Traditions Theme: Questioning the Spirits: The Yijing (I Ching or Classic of Changes) as a Way of Personal Spirituality in the Confucian Tradition |
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A2-277 Religion, Media, and Culture Group Theme: Author Meets Critics: Stewart Hoover, Religion in the Media Age (Routledge, 2006) |
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A2-325 Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean Group Theme: Two Recent Books on the Intersection of Latin American Art and Religion: Laura Perez’s Chicana Art (Duke University Press, 2007) and David Carrasco’s Mapa de Cuauhtinchan (University of New Mexico Press, 2007) |
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A3-118 Evangelical Theology Group Theme: Reforming the Doctrine of God (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005) by F. LeRon Shults |
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A3-209 Philosophy of Religion Section Theme: Jean-Luc Nancy’s Dis-Enclosure: Deconstruction of Christianity (Fordham University Press, 2007) |
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A3-218 Daoist Studies Group Theme: Chronicling the Dao: A Critical Appraisal of Kristofer Schipper and Franciscus Verellen's The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang (University of Chicago Press, 2005) |
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A3-220 Evangelical Theology Group Theme: Evangelical and Muslim Discussion of A Common Word and the Yale Center’s "Christian Response" |
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A3-310 Philosophy of Religion Section Theme: John Clayton's Religions, Reasons, and Gods (Cambridge University Press, 2006): A Panel Discussion |
(CCC) Special Topics Forums
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A1-100 Special Topics Forum Theme: The AAR White Paper on the Religion Major: A Forum Sponsored by the AAR Teagle Initiative What is the purpose of the major in religion? How is it changing? What are the major’s central goals, and how do they contribute to the larger aims of a liberal education? For over two years, the American Academy of Religion, through the support of the Teagle Foundation, has conducted an extensive study of the state of the religion major. Over one hundred AAR members have formally participated in some aspect of the study, and structured discussions have taken place on over a dozen campuses. This summer, the AAR/Teagle working group produced and circulated a “white paper” summarizing its findings. This session will bring working group members and the broader membership of the AAR together for an open discussion of the state of the religion major, a consideration of best practices, and an exploration of challenges to be faced in the future. |
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A1-138 Special Topics Forum Theme: ATLA Graduate Student Luncheon: Careers beyond the Academy Sponsored by the Graduate Student Committee and the American Theological Library Association The American Theological Library Association (ATLA) and the AAR Gradate Student Committee cordially invite all doctoral students attending the Annual Meeting to gather for a panel conversation about the full spectrum of careers for those with advanced degrees in Religious Studies. PhD graduates will discuss their experiences working in fields outside of university teaching. The purpose of the luncheon is to provide a relaxed atmosphere for advanced graduate students to discuss very real questions about their future within the field. Please see the online Program Book for more information about this session. RSVP for this event at here. |
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A1-200 Special Topics Forum Theme: Religion in the World of Museums Sponsored by the Public Understanding of Religion Committee America's museums have become important conduits for the dissemination of cultural information. They have also become sites of conflict as curators, artists, historians, and the museum-going public interact over what should be placed in museums and how it should be interpreted. This panel explores the ways museum curators and their staff assemble exhibitions that deal with religious topics. What are the politics involved with displaying religion? What happens behind the scenes? The panelists will discuss who creates educational materials, how they design art and historical exhibitions, and in what ways they involve (or ignore) community members. What does the museum world want us to think about when we look at representations of religion? |
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A1-300 Special Topics Forum Theme: Making Room, Making Sense: Re-visioning our Fields, Re-bordering Scholarship Sponsored by the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession Committee and the Status of Women in the Profession Committee Session 1: Myth-Making in the Normative Academy |
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A1-301 Special Topics Forum Theme: AAR Guidelines for Teaching about Religion in K-12 Schools Sponsored by the Religion in the Schools Task Force The AAR Board of Directors has approved a proposal by the Religion in the Schools Task Force to construct AAR Guidelines for Teaching about Religion in K-12 Schools. This session will focus on the first draft of this three-year initiative and is intended as an opportunity to solicit feedback from AAR members. These guidelines are written for teachers, administrators, school boards, parents, and other citizens who seek guidance regarding how to teach about religion responsibly. They will complement guidelines put out by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE), where religion is referenced but not elaborated upon. |
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A1-302 Special Topics Forum Theme: "If I Knew Then What I Know Now": Lessons for the First Year Teaching Sponsored by the Graduate Student Committee and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. The first year in a faculty position can be a daunting experience. This special topics forum addresses the teaching component of a faculty member’s life in the academy, bringing together experienced teachers from a variety of institutional settings to share their wisdom on the first years of teaching. Following short presentations by four panelists, we will break into small groups to continue discussion on issues raised. We hope that sharing pedagogical strategies will foster best practices and excellence in the teaching of religion and theology. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided by Wabash. Please join us for this exciting event! |
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A2-100 Special Topics Forum Theme: Theological Illiteracy and Its Effect on the Enterprise of Theological Education Sponsored by the Theological Education Steering Committee Theological educators observe that entering students come to seminary without formation in specific denominational and religious traditions. As a result, these students are theologically illiterate in their own tradition and yet aspire to ministry or other forms of leadership in those same traditions. What is the effect of this theological illiteracy on the enterprise of theological education? This panel seeks to explore implications for how we teach, how we form leaders, and how we define our mission as theological educators. It seeks to explore questions such as: How do scripture courses function when students no longer know Bible stories? How do field educators place persons in ministerial settings when students know nothing about church polity or history? How do we do theology or religious education when would-be pastors need basic understanding of a tradition? How can we teach interreligious dialogue when students know other traditions but not their own? |
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A2-101 Special Topics Forum Theme: Making Room, Making Sense: Re-visioning our Fields, Re-bordering Scholarship Sponsored by the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession Committee and the Status of Women in the Profession Committee Session 2: Re-visioning Scholarship |
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A2-102 Special Topics Forum Theme: America's War on Terror: Assessments of Its Impact on Muslims and the American Public Sponsored by the Public Understanding of Religion Committee Panelists will discuss the ways in which September 11, 2001 and the subsequent “war on terror” have affected the lives and experiences of Muslims, and shaped non-Muslim Americans’ perceptions and understandings of Islam. Of particular interest will be the ways in which responding to the tragedy of September 11 and the “war on terror” have changed the space in which Islam has been imagined and constructed. We will also consider the following questions: Are most Americans more knowledgeable about Islam now than they were ten years ago? How have Muslim Americans’ experiences and practices been shaped by public perceptions of their religion? Panelists will address these and other questions during this session co-sponsored by the Islam Section and the Public Understanding of Religion Committee. Ample time will be provided for discussion and question and answer. |
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A2-137 Special Topics Forum Theme: Mentoring Luncheon Sponsored by the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession Committee, and the Status of Women in the Profession Committee. Graduate students and new scholars have to navigate the waters of, first, the job search and, then, progress toward tenure. These steps in your career can be complicated by both personal identity issues and institutional peculiarities. At the mentoring lunch all questions about these processes are welcomed. Reserve a seat at the lunch where you can connect with established mid-career and senior scholars who will be available for conversation and networking. |
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A2-200 Special Topics Forum Theme: Art, Aesthetics, and Performance Sponsored by the International Connections Committee This forum will explore the way in which performance — in the guises of yoga, art, and filmmaking — contributes to the bodily and aesthetic bases of an academic understanding of Hinduism. At the same time, these practices help construct the identity of "India" in ancient and modern ages, and this identity also comes to include or exclude other religio-cultural institutions like Islam in South Asia. Experts in fields of yoga, Sanskrit, and film studies will contribute to the performative dimensions of South Asian religions. |
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A2-201 Special Topics Forum Theme: The Marty Forum: Wendy Doniger Sponsored by the Public Understanding of Religion Committee The recipient of the 2008 Martin Marty Award for contributions to the public understanding of religion is Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions in the University of Chicago Divinity School. Doniger has authored or co-authored numerous influential books on mythology and translations of Hindu texts, including Siva: The Erotic Ascetic; The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology; Splitting the Difference: Gender and Myth in Ancient Greece and India; The Bedtrick: Tales of Sex and Masquerade; and The Implied Spider: Politics and Theology in Myth. The Marty Forum provides an informal setting in which Doniger will talk about her work with Charles Howard Candler Professor and Professor of Early Indian Religions at Emory University, Laurie Patton. |
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A2-202 Special Topics Forum Theme: “Bringing Sexy Back”: A Town Hall Meeting for the AAR Graduate Student Community Sponsored by the Graduate Student Committee Graduate students are on the cutting edge of the academy — the newest research, the sexiest topics, the most heated struggles. The AAR Graduate Student Committee and the student director are here to address your concerns and are excited to bring you innovative new programming aimed at student needs. Please join us for a town hall meeting that will offer student members an opportunity to hear about expanded student services and network with one another. Additionally, we will discuss current trends in the academy and how such trends will impact the next generation of scholars of religion. We eagerly anticipate your presence at this important event in the life of the AAR student community and encourage you to: 1) Come discuss new graduate and undergraduate student services; 2) Meet members of the Graduate Student Committee (GSC); and 3) Greet the 2008-2009 student director. |
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A2-203 Special Topics Forum Theme: Conversation with Fred Glennon, the Excellence in Teaching Award Winner Sponsored by the Teaching and Learning Committee Join us for a conversation about teaching with this year's winner of the AAR Excellence in Teaching Award winner, Fred Glennon. |
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A2-250 Special Topics Forum Theme: Religion and Politics in the 2008 Election Cycle: Roundtable on Amy Sullivan, The Party Faithful (Scribner, 2008) Sponsored by the Journal of the American Academy of Religion Three panelists, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Brian Hehir, and Emilie Townes, will discuss Amy Sullivan's The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats Are Closing the God Gap. Sullivan will reply to their thoughts, and a conversation will ensue, with time for questions from the audience. |
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A2-251 Special Topics Forum Theme: Religion and the Environment in South Asia: A Discussion with Vandana Shiva Sponsored by the International Connections Committee In this discussion and presentation, Dr. Shiva, a renowned physicist, activist, and ecologist, discusses religion, indigenous peoples, and the preservation of the environment. |
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A2-300 Special Topics Forum Theme: Comparative Theology and the Interreligious / International Encounter Sponsored by the International Connections Committee *CANCELLED* |
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A2-301 Special Topics Forum Theme: Ask the Experts: Turning the Dissertation into a Marketable “Scholarly Trade” Book Sponsored by AAR and Publishers Weekly As university presses feel the squeeze of financial constraints and the library market shrinks with each passing year, young scholars face more pressure than ever as they launch their careers and face the old admonition to “publish or perish.” In this special publishing session, a panel of acquisition editors and authors will discuss the topic of turning a dissertation into a marketable “scholarly trade” book, answering some of the most common questions posed by young scholars: what is a “publishable” dissertation topic? How can I find and query a publisher? How should I revise my dissertation to make it more accessible to a general audience? Should I broaden my topic? What are the hot projects right now that editors are seeking to acquire? This panel will be useful to young scholars who are currently revising their dissertations for publication, but also to graduate students who are still choosing a topic or writing their dissertations. At least half an hour will be devoted to an “ask-the-experts” session where panelists will answer audience members’ questions. |
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A3-100 Special Topics Forum Theme: The Influence of Religion on Women's Legal Rights in India Sponsored by the International Connections Committee |
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A3-101 Special Topics Forum Theme: The Elephant in the Room: Contingent Faculty and the Profession Sponsored by the Academic Relations Committee Data presented by the American Association of University Professors demonstrate that the proportion of faculty holding tenured or tenure eligible positions is declining. This national trend is evident at every type of institution of higher learning. Moreover, the trend affects people: the scholars who hold adjunct or contingent positions of various sorts, their families, their colleagues, and their students. In this special topics forum, we will provide information about the present situation and launch a discussion of how best to respond. We will consider both personal responses and institutional policies and practices toward fair treatment of contingent faculty, collegial relationships among all faculty, and productive working conditions for teaching, learning, and research. While we do not anticipate solving the "problem," we do hope to foster constructive public conversation. |
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A3-200 Special Topics Forum Theme: Thinking about Religion and Sustainability: Gottlieb's A Greener Faith (Oxford University Press, 2006) and Beyond Sponsored by the Sustainability Task Force Taking Roger Gottlieb's book on religious environmentalism as a jumping off point, panel members will discuss and contextualize current movements in religion and sustainability. In particular, the panel will address what the Academy's role is in relationship to sustainability concerns and how scholars of religion can bring broader attention to these issues in meaningful ways. |
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A3-201 Special Topics Forum Theme: Who Does Service Learning Serve? A Hybrid Workshop with Interactive Dialogue Sponsored by the Teaching and Learning Committee In this interactive session, we will be defining service-learning, sharing experiences and resources, discussing the roles of institutions and community partners, and examining the ideas of leadership, social change, and transformative education. Our goals are information, inspiration, and integration of the various theories and practices in service-learning and the concrete pedagogical payoffs. |
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A3-202 Special Topics Forum Theme: Theology of Hope and Healing for a Divided Nation Sponsored by the Theological Education Steering Committee The United States is ailing from a history of racial division, experiencing religious tensions in the wake of September 11, worried about strained international relations, and polarized by internal struggles. In the presidential campaign, we have seen indications of this hurt, but we have also seen possibilities of healing. As in previous presidential elections, religious rhetoric has played a prominent role during the primary season and in the general election. While religion scholars stand ready to offer critical analyses of public religious discourse, can engaged scholars and learned religious leaders offer constructive proposals that can offer hope for the public life of this pluralistic nation? Can we understand such offerings as contributions to the public understanding of religion? How might reflective religious leaders and scholars offer theologies of healing for an ailing nation? We invite our distinguished speakers to offer just such theologies on the eve of the election. |
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A3-300 Special Topics Forum Theme: The Future of LGBT Studies in Religion Sponsored by the Status of LGBTIQ Persons in the Profession Task Force What is the future of LGBT studies in religion? What new directions does the field need to explore and what existing areas of study need further attention? Furthermore, how are we to set about working toward that — or those — future(s)? What needs to happen now to ensure that our varied visions of the future of LGBT studies in religion can come to pass? Please join panelists Mark Jordan, Heather White, Janet Jakobsen, Benjamin Reynolds, Farah Zeb, and Rebecca Alpert for an in-depth discussion of these and other issues in this growing subfield. |
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A3-301 Special Topics Forum Theme: How to Publish Your Book: Advice from Oxford University Press and from the Editors of the AAR Book Series and JAAR Sponsored by the Publications Committee, Journal of American Academy of Religion, and Oxford University Press Founded on the premise that scholars know best what books are needed in the fields of religion and theology, the AAR publishing program with Oxford University Press (OUP) produces quality scholarship for religion scholars and their students. OUP is a premier international publisher; and the AAR has published hundreds of titles, many of which have become essential tools in the development of our field and in the training of new scholars. AAR/OUP books are published in five series: Academy Series; Reflection and Theory in the Study of Religion Series; Religion, Culture, and History Series; Religion in Translation Series; and Teaching Religious Studies Series. The JAAR editor will also discuss essay publishing. This panel provides the opportunity to hear from experienced OUP and AAR editors and ask any and all questions you might have about publishing in the AAR/OUP Series. There will also be an opportunity to speak individually with an editor. |
(DDD) Wildcard Sessions
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A1-201 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: On the Relation between A/Theism and the Political; or, The Political Theology of the Void, Parmenides, and St. Paul |
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A2-103 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: The Legacy of Nathan A. Scott Jr. |
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A2-204 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: The End Is Not What It Used to Be: The Taming of the Apocalyptic Movements in American Religions |
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A2-205 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: Remembering and Forgetting in the Formation of Religious Subjectivities |
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A2-206 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: The Post-secular Turn in Literary Studies |
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A2-253 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: Progressive Religion in the West: Sarah McFarland Taylor's Green Sisters (Harvard University Press, 2007) and Gordon Lynch's The New Spirituality (I. B. Tauris, 2007) |
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A2-254 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: Spirituality: Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Measurement |
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A2-255 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (Walter DeGruyter, 2009) |
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A2-302 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: The Potterian Way of Death: J. K. Rowling's Conception of Mortality |
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A2-303 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: Women of Color and the Study of Religion and Theology |
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A2-304 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: Religious Conversions |
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A3-302 ***Wildcard Session Other Theme: Fathers and Sons: The Influence of Evangelists Walter Maier, Percy Crawford, Merv Rosell, Jack Wyrtzen, and Charles Woodbridge on Fundamentalism in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s |
(EEE) Sessions Honoring AAR Award Winners
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A2-201 Special Topics Forum Theme: The Marty Forum: Wendy Doniger Sponsored by the Public Understanding of Religion Committee The recipient of the 2008 Martin Marty Award for contributions to the public understanding of religion is Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions in the University of Chicago Divinity School. Doniger has authored or co-authored numerous influential books on mythology and translations of Hindu texts, including Siva: The Erotic Ascetic; The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology; Splitting the Difference: Gender and Myth in Ancient Greece and India; The Bedtrick: Tales of Sex and Masquerade; and The Implied Spider: Politics and Theology in Myth. The Marty Forum provides an informal setting in which Doniger will talk about her work with Charles Howard Candler Professor and Professor of Early Indian Religions at Emory University, Laurie Patton. |
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A2-330 Special Topics Forum Theme: Religion and the Arts Award: Betye and Alison Saar In multiple media, prints, collage, assemblage, sculpture, and installation, Betye Saar (b. 1926) and Alison Saar (b. 1956) push the boundaries and categories of art and religion. With works in the collections of the finest arts institutions and museums, the two have been hailed as “conjure women of the arts.” Each one practices a synthetic art, creating material shape for persistent spiritual and cultural questions of identity, ethnicity, race, religion, and gender. Betye Saar’s Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972) has acquired virtual iconic status. The shrines and altars she creates explore mysticism and vodou as well as racial and sexual politics. Alison Saar’s installations, objects, and sculptures pursue relations among spiritualities in African cultural diaspora. Each one of these women might be justifiably hailed as an insider artist for persuasively, creatively bringing personal encounters with visionary, vernacular, and “outsider” arts of many cultures to public attention. |
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(FFF) Especially for Students
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A1-302 Special Topics Forum Theme: "If I Knew Then What I Know Now": Lessons for the First Year Teaching Sponsored by the Graduate Student Committee and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. The first year in a faculty position can be a daunting experience. This special topics forum addresses the teaching component of a faculty member’s life in the academy, bringing together experienced teachers from a variety of institutional settings to share their wisdom on the first years of teaching. Following short presentations by four panelists, we will break into small groups to continue discussion on issues raised. We hope that sharing pedagogical strategies will foster best practices and excellence in the teaching of religion and theology. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided by Wabash. Please join us for this exciting event! |
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A1-407 Student Members' Party Halloween? All Saints Day? Dia de los Muertos? Regardless of what you want to celebrate, join other AAR student-members at the annual AAR Student Members' Party. There will be music, drinks, and the opportunity to meet and greet other AAR student members. You will even receive one free drink ticket, and you may walk away with some fabulous kitsch! Bring your dancing shoes if you are up for it! |
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A2-202 Special Topics Forum Theme: “Bringing Sexy Back”: A Town Hall Meeting for the AAR Graduate Student Community Sponsored by the Graduate Student Committee Graduate students are on the cutting edge of the academy — the newest research, the sexiest topics, the most heated struggles. The AAR Graduate Student Committee and the student director are here to address your concerns and are excited to bring you innovative new programming aimed at student needs. Please join us for a town hall meeting that will offer student members an opportunity to hear about expanded student services and network with one another. Additionally, we will discuss current trends in the academy and how such trends will impact the next generation of scholars of religion. We eagerly anticipate your presence at this important event in the life of the AAR student community and encourage you to: 1) Come discuss new graduate and undergraduate student services; 2) Meet members of the Graduate Student Committee (GSC); and 3) Greet the 2008-2009 student director. |
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A3-134 Rethinking the Field Consultation Theme: Part 1— Anybody Up There?: An Interview with Anthony Pinn on African-American Humanism; Part 2 — Past, Present, Other: Rethinking the Study of Ancient Religion Part 1 — Anybody Up There?: An Interview with Anthony Pinn on African-American Humanism The field of African-American Religious Studies is not monolithic; Anthony Pinn’s work is a testament to this fact. In fact, Pinn’s accomplishments amount to a new field: African-American Humanism. Unlike traditional panels, this session will be an interactive discussion with Pinn. We ask the audience to come with questions directed towards our central theme: How does African-American Humanism reshape African-American Religious Studies? Part 2 — Past, Present, Other: Rethinking the Study of Ancient Religion The new relationship between the AAR and the SBL presents difficulties, especially for scholars of the ancient Mediterranean. But the separation is also an opportunity, and the current moment is the perfect occasion to rethink the study of ancient religious traditions. This roundtable discussion will therefore focus on the way we should put the historical material in conversation with the study of contemporary, lived religion. |
(GGG) Receptions
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A1-2 Regional Officers' Breakfast Networking Breakfast for AAR Regional Officers. |
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A1-4 International Members' Breakfast Breakfast and question and answer session for international members of the AAR. |
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A1-5 New Members Continental Breakfast New (first-time) AAR members in 2008 are cordially invited to a continental breakfast with members of the Board of Directors. |
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A1-138 Special Topics Forum Theme: ATLA Graduate Student Luncheon: Careers beyond the Academy Sponsored by the Graduate Student Committee and the American Theological Library Association The American Theological Library Association (ATLA) and the AAR Gradate Student Committee cordially invite all doctoral students attending the Annual Meeting to gather for a panel conversation about the full spectrum of careers for those with advanced degrees in Religious Studies. PhD graduates will discuss their experiences working in fields outside of university teaching. The purpose of the luncheon is to provide a relaxed atmosphere for advanced graduate students to discuss very real questions about their future within the field. Please see the online Program Book for more information about this session. RSVP for this event at here. |
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A1-338 Countdown to the Centennial: AAR Celebrates 100 Years, 1909-2009 Friends of the Academy, members of the Sterling Circle, AAR leadership, and other invited guests gather for an informal kickoff for AAR's Centennial Celebration. The year-long activities will officially begin in Montréal in 2009 and conclude in Atlanta in 2010. |
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A1-400 Racial and Ethnic Minorities Reception Interested persons are welcome to this reception celebrating the contributions of racial and ethnic minority scholars in the Academy. |
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A1-402 LGBTIQ Task Force Reception LGBTIQ scholars of religion, scholars of LGBTIQ studies in religion, and friends are invited to a reception at Chicago's LGBT community center in the heart of "Boystown" (3656 North Halsted St). The Center is an easy ride on the El - simply take the red line north to Addison, go east to Halsted, and turn right (south) on Halsted. It's also a short trip by taxi, and there are restaurants in the area for those wanting to dine before the reception. Come network, see old friends, make new ones, and celebrate the growth of our community and our subfield within the AAR! |
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A1-405 Women in the Profession Reception The Women's Caucus welcomes all friends to join us in (re)telling the history of the Women's Caucus in the American Academy of Religion. |
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A1-406 Members' Dance Party AAR members are invited to join one another at the Members’ Dance Party for music and dancing. Don’t forget the free drink ticket that will be mailed with your name badge! |
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A1-407 Student Members' Party Halloween? All Saints Day? Dia de los Muertos? Regardless of what you want to celebrate, join other AAR student-members at the annual AAR Student Members' Party. There will be music, drinks, and the opportunity to meet and greet other AAR student members. You will even receive one free drink ticket, and you may walk away with some fabulous kitsch! Bring your dancing shoes if you are up for it! |
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A2-401 |
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A2-402 JAAR Reception for Board Members and Authors Reception for JAAR Editorial board members and JAAR authors. |
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A3-1 Program Unit Chairs' Breakfast Program unit chairs are invited to a continental breakfast featuring information on upcoming program initiatives. |
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A3-402 Program Unit Chairs and Steering Committee Reception Program unit chairs and steering committee members are invited to a reception celebrating their contributions to the AAR Annual Meeting. |
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A31-105 Welcome Reception Join your friends and colleagues for conversation and fun at the Welcome Reception. Light refreshments, cash bar, and live jazz combine to make this a great way to catch up with friends old and new. The Exhibit Hall will be open during the reception time to give you a sneak peek at all the exhibits! |
(HHH) Sessions with a Focus on Sustainability
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A1-136 Toxics to Treasures: Environmental Justice Tour of Lake Calumet Sponsored by the Religion and Ecology Group The Lake Calumet region on the far south side of Chicago provides a stunning example of the extremes of nature and culture in our industrialized world. On this bus tour led by community activists, we will see the lows and highs of the Calumet region's industrial and natural history, and hear about the efforts of local residents to fight dumping and advocate for sustainable development of their neighborhoods. Sites to be visited on the tour may include Dead Stick Pond (familiar to fans of mystery writer Sara Paretsky), Big Marsh and the adjacent Acme Steel Coke Plant, the abandoned but soon to be redeveloped US Steel South Works site, as well as numerous dump sites and wetlands in the process of being restored. Tour fee: $30. Separate registration required. |
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A1-323 Religion and Ecology Group Theme: New Directions in Religion and Ecology This panel of individual papers explores new and innovative directions, questions, and controversies in the study of religion and ecology. Multicultural and local case studies will be explored for their religious perceptions of the environment. Investigations will range from Bhutan and Nepal, Gandhi's agrarian legacy, resistance to mountaintop removal in Appalachia, and Yoruba diaspora in the forests of Cuba. Gandhi’s Agrarian Legacy: Food Democracy, Farm Animals, and Social Movements This paper explores Mohandas K. Gandhi’s influence on agrarian movements in the global South and demonstrates that food and water sovereignty movements use Gandhian social thought to reclaim local control over food production. Gandhi’s stress on non-violent resistance, social equity, and self-reliance (svaraj) at the individual, village, and national level have inspired a range of movements and leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., Via Campesina, and Vandana Shiva. Increasingly, Gandhian thought is shaping the discourse used to respond to the environmental and socio-economic problems wrought by large-scale agricultural systems, including factory farming. This project is broadly comparative between India and Mexico, both post-colonial nations; and this comparison between Mexico and India highlights one critical aspect of Gandhi’s thought — his commitment to cow protection and vegetarianism. This paper will address how Gandhian thought is applied differentially regarding farm animals. Religion, Spirituality, and Perceptions of the Environment in Bhutan and Nepal This paper investigates perceptions of the natural environment in Tibetan Buddhist villages in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal and Bhutan, examining the ways in which religious and spiritual ideas shape use of natural resources in local communities. Through a comparison of the religious beliefs that affect the use of forests, water, wildlife, and agricultural land use within and around a national park in each country, I argue that differing histories of migration from Tibet, the differing emphases of their respective schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and differing development trajectories contribute to the differing approaches to human-natural environment relations. Understanding how such beliefs grow and persist in some places and not in others can help with the tasks of recovering, retrieving, and reinventing a more just and sustainable approach to human-nature relationships, in addition to being a useful tool in pragmatic activities of natural resource management. Spirits in the Forest: Yoruba Diaspora Religion and Ecology in Cuba Through understanding, not just the names and classifications, but the ways of knowing the environment, I intend to further the field of religion and ecology in comprehending local ecological knowledge systems. Scholars must examine the unique knowledge and ways of knowing that locals have with their environment, which include their distinct processes of learning about and interacting with the ecosystems they inhabit; sometimes perceived as extended community. A distinguishing feature of many African diaspora religions is that material and spiritual worlds are integrated through experiencing and communicating with nature. For example, Yoruba practitioners in Cuba follow what could be called a “nature religion,” which integrates biophysical, human, and metaphysical components into an intersubjective cosmos and conversation. My research uses cognitive, ethnographic, and videographic techniques to access, analyze, and portray Cuban osainistas', or Yoruba initiated herbalists and healers, perspectives of nature. Religion and Resistance to Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining in Appalachia In this paper, I examine the complex ways that religions and religious rhetoric are used in resistance to the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. Analyzing field data through the theoretical lenses of lived religion and postmodern environmental ethics, I argue that Appalachian individuals actively construct new religious discourse in resistance to the practice of mountaintop removal and its socially and ecologically damaging effects. Resistance to mountaintop removal, whether influenced by Appalachian mountain religions, larger Christian denominations, or forms of nature-based spirituality, cannot be separated from its geographic and historical context. Attending to the multiple forms of religious resistance to mountaintop removal from this historically contextualized point reveals new insights for broader issues regarding the power of place and localized narratives in constructing environmentally friendly worldviews. |
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A2-214 Women and Religion Section and Religion and Ecology Group and Religion and Ecology Theme: Feminist Possibilities and Perspectives: Women, Religion, and Ecology This session examines a few of the many intersections between religion, ecology, and women. One paper explores the complex issue of the religious use of and abstinence from consuming animals as sacrifice and as food. It presents a radical feminist perspective that presents abstinence as a positive affirmation of our connection to other animals. The second paper offers a liberative Christian ethic that is grounded in ecofeminist theology. The third paper discusses the possibility of an ecosocial transformation through a bioregionally-based vision of Mary as a symbol supporting ecofeminist ethics and practice. Ample time will be given for audience discussion of new perspectives in the relationship between religion, ecology, and women. Exploring the Mother of God in Ecological Context During this time of global climate crisis, can struggles for ecosocial transformation be assisted by the mystery, the mysticism, even the magic of Mary? Because religion is rife with symbolism, iconography, music, and metaphor, it is possible for symbols, and symbolic figures, to maintain their relevance over centuries, even millennia. This paper explores the ecological relevance of one of the key characters of the Christian story, the Blessed Virgin Mary. As United States culture shifts toward increasing awareness of ecological devastation and humanity’s role in this destruction, this project contrasts traditional Marianist perspectives with emerging views and bioregionally-based visions of Mary as symbols supporting ecofeminist ethics and practice. Feminist Perspectives on Vegetarianism: Beyond the Model of Abstinence Food is both a means of subsistence and a way of conveying and reinforcing deep seated cultural norms. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in the consumption of flesh. Meat eating has a long history of association with class, gender, and race. Historically, meat eating has been used by elites to assert their dominance and control over subordinates. And throughout the world’s religions, holidays have typically been celebrated through animal sacrifice and the consumption of their flesh. Alternatively, on other holidays, holiness is ritually enacted through abstinence from consuming flesh or using animals. In this paper, I critique the treatment of other-than-human animals as a form of symbolic currency, contrasting both meat eating and the ascetic forms of vegetarianism with a radical feminist vegetarianism, which eschews meat eating not as an act of abstinence, but rather as a positive affirmation of our connection to other animals. Salvation as Eschatological Hope for All Bodies in the Here and Now: The Possibility of the Ecofeminist Approach A liberative Christian ethic must be informed by an understanding of salvation, which is grounded in the here and now struggle to establish just and equitable relations. Informed by ecofeminists like Rosemary Radford Ruether, Sallie McFague, and Ivone Gebara, I will argue that heaven is not a destination, but a journey. Salvation as traditionally conceived, in which the spirit seeks escape from its prison in matter, has had a destructive impact on the environment and on women. Christian doctrine has stigmatized the finite and the bodily, both of which have been associated with nature and the female. Looking to the immanent relational God revealed in a cosmic Christ, I will argue that salvation is corporeal and only possible in the hope for a better future and the striving to get there. For struggle is inherent to the evolutionary system which produced us and is the environment in which we “flourish.” |
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A2-323 Religion and Ecology Group Theme: Chicago Religious Environmentalisms Chicago's religious environment is being changed in significant ways by Chicago's religious environmentalism. This panel of Chicago religious environmentalists will engage questions and share practices and results about their work within and across diverse populations. Situated in a variety of institutional settings in Chicago, the panelists bring to the discussion an array of experiences working between and among Chicago's academic, civic, religious, and artistic sectors. |
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A3-200 Special Topics Forum Theme: Thinking about Religion and Sustainability: Gottlieb's A Greener Faith (Oxford University Press, 2006) and Beyond Sponsored by the Sustainability Task Force Taking Roger Gottlieb's book on religious environmentalism as a jumping off point, panel members will discuss and contextualize current movements in religion and sustainability. In particular, the panel will address what the Academy's role is in relationship to sustainability concerns and how scholars of religion can bring broader attention to these issues in meaningful ways. |
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A3-328 Religion and Ecology Group and Ritual Studies Group and Ritual Studies Theme: Religion, Ritual, and Ecology This session explores different ways religious ritual has responded to environmental issues. Three papers look to the past. One examines the way fasting was used in response to drought in rabbinic Jewish communities in late antiquity. A second paper examines the complex meanings of water in early Roman Christian art. Another paper considers Christian rituals of animal sacrifice in Armenia, Britain, and Greece, exploring how the practice of slaughter as sacrifice has served historically to regulate the relationship between humans and animals. Two other papers examine contemporary responses to environmental conditions. One examines the creation, reinterpretation, and amalgamation of religious rituals designed to meet the needs of those devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The final paper explores the religious dimensions of ecological restoration by analyzing the annual “People’s Restoration of the Ocklawaha River” in Florida. Crying Out for Rain: The Human, The Holy, and The Earth in the Ritual Fasts of Rabbinic Literature Masekhet Ta’anit, a tractate of the Babylonian Talmud that addresses fasts in response to drought among rabbinic Jewish communities in late antiquity, articulates the rain fast as a potent sacred container for navigating the relationship between Jewish community and God — a relationship made manifest through the intricate language of rain. In Masekhet Ta’anit, fasting offers the community a means of speaking with the body — in a language that crosses the bounds of heaven and earth. Critiquing a reading of fasting as a means of “silencing” the body, I suggest that fasting practice in Masekhet Ta’anit makes deliberate use of the body. By invoking and intensifying the experience of suffering through their own ritualized physicality, the community fashions the vulnerable body into an instrument of crying out — and uses the body to align themselves with a suffering God and a suffering earth that likewise yearn for reconciliation. Water, Purity, Politics, and Radical Ritual Transition in Early Roman Christian Art Early Roman Christian art emphasizes the replacement of pre-Christian sacrifices with the Christian Eucharist and baptism. Depictions of baptism favor images of flowing water pouring over Jesus or the initiate, and metaphors utilizing living water, such as Moses striking the rock. Compositions often pair these positive themes of saving water with images of water as chaotic, particularly Noah’s ark and Jonah’s sea monster, and link pure water pouring from rock outcrops to the provision of moral teaching, and thereby the concept of washing in the sacred water of the Word. In cultural settings where Roman civilization was associated with the construction of aqueducts, and luxurious artificial water sources such as fountains and baths, the earliest Christian art prefers themes reflecting wild or uncontained water sources, implying a primal and pure religion, untainted by urbanization or the evils of state control. The art provides metaphors for Christian care through aquatic systems. Animal Sacrifice as Christian Ritual It is usually assumed that, with the early spread of Christianity, rituals of animal sacrifice were superseded by more “humane” Christian practices. I will demonstrate the partiality of this view by examining the persistence of such rituals in Armenia, Britain, and Greece, and explore how the practice of slaughter as sacrifice, far from promoting human violence towards animals, has served historically to regulate the relationship between humans and animals killed and eaten as meat. The dissociation of Christian belief from rituals of animal sacrifice has, in Western countries in modern times, been part of the context in which animals are mistreated, exploited, and commodified on a massive scale. The recovery by Christians of some key elements of these rituals, such as the restriction of meat eating to particular days, and the visibility of slaughter to the community, has the potential to witness to a transformed and realistic human-animal relationship. Ritual Responses to Ecological Devastation: Hurricane Katrina On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Cutting a swath of destruction more than 200 miles wide, the damage in Mississippi alone constituted the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the United States. One sector of society seems to have been able to step forward: local churches, synagogues, and temples. And in facing this unparalleled natural disaster, one mode of response stands out: the creation, reinterpretation, and amalgamation of religious rituals designed to meet the needs of an ecologically devastated community. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine four types of ritual activity that emerged in the aftermath of the Hurricane: the ritual reappropriation of physical space; funerary rites and the ways in which new rites both succeeded and failed to deal with the experiential reality of death by storm; rituals of rebuilding; and lastly, rituals of celebration. Religion and Ritual in the “People’s Restoration” of Florida’s Ocklawaha River On February 17, 2008, over fifty people gathered for the fifth annual “People’s Restoration of the Ocklawaha River.” Before planting 1,250 trees, they dedicated prayers, offerings, and songs to the river they hoped to restore and the communities they hoped to reclaim. Drawing on field research on the restoration of rivers, watersheds, and native species, this paper explores the religious dimensions of ecological restoration. Utilizing theoretical insights from lived religion, religion and ecology, environmental pragmatism, and ecological restoration, I examine the effects of ritual in restoration on larger goals of healing nature, restoring community, and fostering ecological citizenship. |
(JJJ) Sessions with a Focus on South Asian Scholars and Scholarship
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A1-103 Comparative Studies in Religion Section and Religion in South Asia Section and Religion in South Asia Theme: Globalization and South Asian Religions: Redefining the Discourse beyond Diaspora |
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A1-202 Buddhism Section and Women and Religion Section and Women and Religion Theme: The New Nun's Movement in Buddhism: Challenges, Debates, and Promise |
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A1-206 Religion in South Asia Section Theme: The Divine Child in South Asian Religious Traditions |
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A1-207 Study of Islam Section Theme: Competing Social Imaginaries in South Asian Islam: Perspectives on Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Reformist and Revivalist Movements |
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A1-209 African Religions Group and Hinduism Group and African Religions Theme: Hinduism in Africa: Adaptation and Integration |
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A1-215 Comparative Religious Ethics Group Theme: Moral Anthropology in South Asia |
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A1-306 Religion in South Asia Section Theme: Women's Leadership and Monastic Organization in Theravada Buddhism |
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A1-309 Theology and Religious Reflection Section Theme: Dissent, Tradition, and Rights: Religion, Modernity, and Planetary Life in South Asia |
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A1-329 Tantric Studies Group Theme: Heterogeneous Tantras in Practice: A Simulated Engagement of the Scholarship of David G. White |
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A1-336 Sikh Studies Consultation Theme: Framing Issues in Sikh Studies |
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A2-107 History of Christianity Section and Society for Hindu-Christian Studies Theme: Possession among Christians in India: Issues of Authenticity, Authority, and Identity |
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A2-121 Hinduism Group Theme: Grammar and the Gods: When Metaphysics and Language Rules Collide |
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A2-200 Special Topics Forum Theme: Art, Aesthetics, and Performance |
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A2-208 
Buddhism Section Theme: Buddhism in the South Asian Context: What Can Newars Teach Buddhist Studies? |
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A2-217 Comparative Studies in Hinduisms and Judaisms Group Theme: Indo–Judaic Studies in the Twenty-First Century: Current Trends and Future Trajectories in the Comparative Study of Hinduisms and Judaisms |
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A2-221 Hinduism Group Theme: Categories and Trajectories of Modernity in the Late-Colonial Religious Milieu |
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A2-251 Spe |