E-Bulletin
July 2010


American Academy of Religion
In This Issue

Friends:

Greetings from the American Academy of Religion! I hope this missive finds you well and enjoying summer pursuits. This month’s E-bulletin contains a number of items. There are a large number of Annual Meeting announcements; most exciting of which is that our 2009 plenary videos are now available online! For our student members, there are quite a few opportunities at the Annual Meeting this year for professional development. Furthermore, this month’s E-bulletin also contains a call for missing publications; sad news of the passing of an old friend; as well as information about our Excellence in Teaching awards, research grants, and regional development grants.

With every good wish in this summer season, and with thanks for your participation in the work of our Academy, I remain

Sincerely yours


Jack Fitzmier
Executive Director

ANNUAL MEETING NEWS

Annual Meeting Registration and Housing

AAR Annual Meeting Registration and Housing is now open! You must be registered to secure housing. “Advance” registration rates are in effect until September 30, 2010. Check the Annual Meeting Program Planner for all the details, and register and book housing online.

Childcare Registration

Childcare registration for the Annual Meeting is now open! KiddieCorp childcare is a service subsidized by the AAR for members with families attending the Annual Meeting.

Women’s Mentoring Lunch

Registration for the Women’s Mentoring Luncheon at the Annual Meeting is now open. Meet mentors invited by the Status of Women in the Profession Committee, Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities Committee, and LGBTIQ Persons in the Profession Task Force to ask your questions and learn how to navigate the sometimes stormy academic waters. Lunch is provided; registration is only $10!

Leadership Workshop on “Cultivating Interdisciplinarity: Opportunities for Curriculum, Faculty Development, and Hiring”

The Academic Relations Committee is sponsoring a preconference leadership workshop on Friday, October 29, entitled “Cultivating Interdisciplinarity: Opportunities for Curriculum, Faculty Development, and Hiring.” The workshop will focus upon the convergence of the interdisciplinarity opportunities that are emerging within our field and the pressures felt by departments to think about curriculum and hiring in ways that enable larger institutional outcomes. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore the interdisciplinary shift implicit in the white paper’s advocacy of moving from a seminary model to a comparative model of religious studies and if and how such a shift encourages teaching and learning in more interdisciplinary ways to serve the needs of students while advancing the institution’s core mission. Participants will be invited to explore the implications of such shifts for curriculum, faculty development, and hiring. To attend this workshop, sign up when you register to attend the Annual Meeting, complete the form on page 10 in the Annual Meeting Program Planner, or contact Experient at 1-866-229-2386.

Soren Kierkegaard Society

The Soren Kierkegaard Society will have its traditional Friday night dinner before the Annual Meeting on Friday, October 29, at 7 PM. Please contact John Davenport at jdavenport@fordham.edu for more information. A Saturday program is also scheduled on Saturday, October 30, from 9:00 AM–11:30 AM.

AAR Seeking Student Ambassadors

The International Connections Committee is looking for student members who are familiar with Atlanta to serve as Student Ambassadors. The Ambassadors will serve as a resource to the International Scholars from Australia/Oceania who are participating in the 2010 Annual Meeting. Visit the AAR website for more information. The deadline to apply is August 6, 2010.
 
Nurturing the Next Generation of Scholars Workshop at the Annual Meeting

Sponsored by the American Academy of Religion and The Fund for Theological Education, this two-part workshop is designed for students from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups who are considering the pursuit of a PhD or ThD in religion, theology, or biblical studies. The goals of this workshop are to introduce prospective graduate students to the professional guilds, provide opportunities for participants to dialogue with distinguished faculty and current graduate students, provide useful information on the graduate application process, and increase the pipeline for future faculty of color in the guild. Students who participate in this workshop will be preselected from an application pool. For more information and application materials as they become available, e-mail doctoralinfo@fteleaders.org.

Student Lounge Roundtable Series: Call for Proposals

The Graduate Student Committee invites you to share your hard-earned wisdom with other students in the Graduate Student Roundtable Series. We are looking for discussion leaders who will be responsible for developing a topic and directing an hour-long conversation about the practical dimension of graduate studies. Possible topics include: studying for comprehensive exams, summer research, selecting your committee, online teaching, making a teaching portfolio, job interview advice, campus professionalization workshops, or any other facet of student life and professionalization that is essential to success in the academy. If you are interested in leading a discussion, please send a brief (150-word) proposal to Cameron Jorgenson at jorgensonc@campbell.edu by August 6, 2010. Discussion time slots are flexible.

Annual Meeting Job Center Registration

Annual Meeting Job Center preregistration is currently open for candidates and employers. Preregistration will close October 11. Register early to receive full benefits. For more information, see http://www.aarweb.org/programs/career_services/job_center.

Additional Meetings

Opportunities to participate in the program at the Annual Meeting are still available! Although the Call for Papers for the official AAR program is closed, some Additional Meetings are still accepting proposals. Additional Meetings are meetings hosted by organizations and institutions independent of the AAR during the days of the Annual Meeting. Check out the Additional Meetings Call for Papers page for more information on open calls.

2009 Annual Meeting Videos
 
Videos from the 2009 Annual Meeting in Montréal, Québec, are now available! The sessions recorded include:
 
Plenary Panel: Islam and Modernity
Reza Aslan, Tariq Ramadan, Nilüfer Göle, and Robin Wright

Presidential Address: Mark Juergensmeyer

Plenary Panel: Rethinking Secularism
Mark Juergensmeyer, Charles Taylor, José Casanova, Saba Mahmood, and Craig Calhoun

Plenary Address: Tariq Ramadan

The Marty Forum: James H. Cone and Cornel West

Whither the “Death of God”: A Continuing Currency?
Thomas Altizer and Slavoj Zizek

Islamic Authority and Reform
Omid Safi, Tariq Ramadan, Kecia Ali, and Ahmet Karamustafa

Plenary Panel: Global Perspectives on Religious Studies
Vasudha Narayanan, Azyumardi Azra, Shrivatsa Goswami, Koichi Mori, Kim Knott, and Sylvia Marcos

2011 International Focus: Mediterranean

The International Connections Committee (ICC) invites you to nominate scholars from the Mediterranean for sponsorship to the 2011 Annual Meeting. The 2011 Annual Meeting will be in San Francisco from November 18–22. The AAR sponsors scholars to attend and participate in the program of the Annual Meeting. Program Units are encouraged to think about scholars to participate in their sessions, but the nomination is not limited to Program Units. Any member can nominate a scholar for consideration. Visit the AAR website for more information and to nominate a scholar. The deadline for nominations is August 31, 2010.

DONATE TO THE CENTENNIAL FUND

The AAR Centennial Fund is part of our Centennial Celebration and it supports a number of our programs, including individual and collaborative research grants, new technological enhancements, networking opportunities for members, and our new International Dissertation Research Grants program for student members. Please support these programs by making your tax-deductible gift today. Please take a moment to contribute online or by mail.

CALL FOR MISSING ANNUAL MEETING PUBLICATIONS

The AAR is missing some of its older Annual Meeting publications and would like to ensure the completion of our archival history by asking members to generously donate the missing Books of Abstracts and Program Book to the AAR office. In particular, we are missing the 1967 Annual Meeting Program Book and the Books of Abstracts for the years of 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1993, and 2000. If you have any of these publications and are willing to part with them, please contact Stephanie Gray, Associate Director of Publications, at sgray@aarweb.org. We greatly appreciate your contribution!

IN MEMORIAM: HARRY M. BUCK, 1921–2010

Harry M. Buck, a key leader of the AAR’s mid-1960’s transformation into the multidisciplinary organization it is today, passed away on July 4, 2010. As an editor and publisher, he opened up new opportunities for feminist scholars and scholars of Asian religions. His extensive AAR involvement includes serving as Treasurer from 1958 to 1972, Managing Editor of the journal from 1961 to 1973, and Executive Director from 1970 to 1972. An obituary paying tribute to his many contributions will appear in the forthcoming RSN, which will include an interactive feature enabling readers to post remembrances.

AAR AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE DEADLINE APPROACHING

The Teaching and Learning Committee seeks nominations for the AAR Award for Excellence in Teaching. Nominations of winners of campus awards, or any other awards, are encouraged. Procedures for the nomination process are outlined on the AAR website at www.aarweb.org/programs/awards/teaching_awards. The deadline for nominations is October 1.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH GRANTS

The American Academy of Religion is pleased to announce the recipients of its inaugural International Dissertation Research Grants program: Kathleen Foody, Ehud Halperin, and Ilyse Morgenstein-Fuerst. 

The annual grants, designed to support AAR student members whose dissertation research requires them to travel outside of the country in which their school or university is located, are intended to help candidates complete their doctoral degrees by offsetting costs of travel, lodging, and other dissertation research-related expenses.

RESEARCH GRANTS

Each year the AAR awards grants of up to $5,000 for individual and collaborative research projects. The research grants online submission system is now open. All applicants must apply online; paper applications will not be accepted. The deadline to apply for a 2010 grant is August 1.

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS AVAILABLE

Regional Development Grants provide funds for special projects within the regions that promise to benefit the scholarly and professional life of AAR members and the work of the regions. Workshops, special programs, training events, and other innovative regional projects may be funded through this source. Where possible, projects should be designed so that they may be duplicated or transported to other regions. It is best for those wishing to develop proposals to consult with their Regionally Elected Director early in their deliberations. Applications should include a narrative description of the project, not to exceed two pages, detailing how the project promises to benefit the scholarly and professional life of AAR members and the work of the region. Please include comments on how these projects or activities may be adapted to other regional groups. The application should state the time period covered by the project and provide a detailed budget (office expenses, travel expenses, honoraria, stipend, and other expenses). Institutional overhead costs should not be included in this budget. No grant will exceed $4,000.00.

Grant proposals due to appropriate RED by August 1, 2010. Notifications will be sent out on October 15.

RECEIPTS FOR MEMBERSHIP AND ANNUAL MEETING

Did you know that you can generate a receipt for your membership dues from your membership account? Simply log in to My Account using your last name and membership ID number. Select “Your Renewal History” or “Your Giving History” to generate receipts for the desired year.

Annual Meeting Housing and Registration receipts are mailed to members along with their name badges, or generated immediately if you register onsite. To request a duplicate receipt, contact Experient at aarreg@experient-inc.com or call them at 1-800-575-7185 (+1-330-425-9330 if outside the United States or Canada).

ADVERTISING

Advertise in the E-bulletin! Skyscraper and text-only ads are available. Contact Aislinn Jones, Director of Marketing, at ajones@aarweb.org for more information.

 
 
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