A18-34
Saturday - 11:45 am-1:00 pm

Plenary Address

Theme: Karen Armstrong -- Religion after September 11

A former Roman Catholic nun and instructor at London’s prestigious Leo Baeck College for the Training of Rabbis, Karen Armstrong is the author of the international bestseller The History of God and participated in Bill Moyer’s PBS series on religion. She is also the author of The Gospel According to Woman; Muhammad; The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; and Islam: A Short History. In her new book, The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions, Armstrong returns to the ninth century BCE to examine the roots of four major spiritual traditions of the world: Confucianism and Daoism in China, Hinduism and Buddhism in India, monotheism in Israel, and philosophical rationalism in Greece. Despite some differences, there was a remarkable consensus in these religions’ call for an abandonment of selfishness and a spirituality of compassion. Armstrong urges us to consider how these spiritualities challenge the way we are religious today.

A18-134
Saturday - 8:00 pm-9:00 pm

Plenary Address

Theme: Presidential Plenary and Awards Ceremony--Diana Eck: Prospects for Pluralism: Voice and Vision in the Study of Religion

Diana Eck is interested in the challenges of religious pluralism in a multi-religious society. Her work on India includes the book Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India; she is currently working on a book entitled India: Myth on Earth. Since 1991, she has headed the Pluralism Project which includes a network of some 60 affiliates exploring the religious dimensions of America’s new immigration. Her book A New Religious America investigates the growth of Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim communities in the US and the issues of religious pluralism in American civil society. In 1998, Eck received the National Humanities Medal from President Clinton and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Her plenary will address how national and local debates over religious difference and cultural identity have opened an area of critical study for scholars. What is pluralism from a civic perspective? A theological perspective? How does pluralism take shape “on the ground” in countless local contexts and connections?

A19-126
Sunday - 7:15 pm-8:15 pm

Plenary Address

Theme: Tariq Ramadan

Due to the US Government’s denial of Tariq Ramadan’s visa application, he will be appearing live via satellite. See www.aarweb.org/about/announce/2006/RamadanLawsuitIntro.asp for details.

A20-36
Monday - 11:30 am-1:00 pm

Plenary Address

Theme: An Interview with Madeleine Albright

Madeleine Albright was nominated in 1996 by President Clinton as the first female Secretary of State. Prior to her appointment, Secretary Albright served as the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, as a member of President Clinton’s Cabinet and National Security Council, and as the President of the nonprofit Center for National Policy. She earned a doctorate in public law and government from Columbia University and is the Mortara Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy at Georgetown University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in international affairs, US foreign policy, Russian foreign policy, and Central and Eastern European politics, and is responsible for developing and implementing programs designed to enhance women’s professional opportunities in international affairs. Her most recent book is The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (HarperCollins, 2006), which focuses on religion and foreign affairs.

A20-130
Monday - 7:15 pm-8:15 pm

Plenary Address

Theme: Karen McCarthy Brown--Telling My Stories: Race, Responsibility, and Historical Consciousness

Karen McCarthy Brown, a sociologist of religion, is one of the foremost scholars on Haitian religious traditions, and particularly on the role of women in these traditions. She is best known for her book, Mama Lola, and for her work as the Director of the Newark Project. She plays a particularly important role as an advisor in Haitian approaches to healing, and about broader project design based on her experience leading a large urban ethnographic study over an extended period. Her other important contribution has been to add significant theoretical sophistication to ethnographic data analysis.

A17-2
Friday - 9:00 am-4:30 pm

Chairs Workshop – Personnel Issues: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Sponsored by the Academic Relations Committee

The workshop will deal with a multitude of personnel issues that come up within departments and will address individual, departmental, and higher administration concerns. In addition, it will address life-cycle, legal, and conflict issues that arise at each level. Plenary, panels, and interactive break-out sessions are featured, including an address by a Georgetown higher education attorney.

You may register for the workshop here: www.aarweb.org/department/workshops/2006Washington/default.asp.

A17-3
Friday - 10:00 am-6:00 pm

Religion and Media Workshop - The "Muhammad Cartoon" Controversy: Perspectives on Media, Religion, Law, and Culture

This year’s media and religion preconference will be an interdisciplinary conversation setting a broad scholarly context for understanding the meanings and emerging consequences of this event. Brief formal presentations will focus on such things as visual culture, religious authority, media representation, local and global identities, and emerging ideas about human rights and expression. The meeting will be structured to maximize interchange and dialogue among presenters and participants.

Questions about the workshop should be directed to Stewart Hoover, hoover@colorado.edu, Michele Rosenthal, rosen@research.haifa.ac.il, or S. Brent Plate, b.plate@tcu.edu.

A17-4
Friday - 12:00 pm-3:00 pm

Women's Caucus Workshop

Includes three mini-sessions on Strategies for Women in the Profession; Women and Academic Freedom Issues; and Women’s Health Issues in the Academy.

A17-103
Friday - 7:00 pm-9:00 pm

EIS Center Orientation

The EIS Center orientation will feature a short presentation which will include an overview of the center, an explanation of how to best utilize the center, and a question and answer session. After the presentation, the center will be open for use, with the exception of the Interview Hall. Employers will be able to review candidate credentials, leave messages for registered candidates, and make reservations for booth space. Candidates will be able to pick up their copy of the Annual Meetings Special Edition of Openings, and leave messages for employers. The center will also

accepting onsite registrations at this time. Employers and candidates are encouraged to participate in orientation but are not required to attend.

A18-7
Saturday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Special Topics Forum

Theme: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the On-Campus Interview

Sponsored by the Graduate Student Committee

So you finally get that coveted on-campus interview—now what? Come hear advice from seasoned interviewers on what they are looking for (and what they are not). This is an invaluable behind-the-scenes look to help doctoral students in religion conquer the process of interviewing for a professorship on campus.

A18-35
Saturday - 11:45 am-1:00 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: ATLA Career Alternatives Luncheon for Doctoral Students in Religion and Theology

Sponsored by the Graduate Student Committee and American Theological Library Association

Doctoral students in religion and theology often find creative and rewarding alternatives to being a professor. If you are a doctoral student, please RSVP online at www.aarweb.org/annualmeet/2006/RSVP/ATLA by noon on Wednesday, November 15 to attend this informative session about career alternatives in religion and theology.

A18-51
Saturday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Reporting on Religion from the Nation's Capital

Sponsored by the Public Understanding of Religion Committee

Washington, DC is a unique setting for reporting because of its complex politics and the presence of so many newsworthy people and events. This session will explore the behind-the-scenes mechanics and politics of reporting in the nation’s capital. A panel of scholars and reporters will discuss the various ways in which stories are chosen, what kinds of issues and problems are involved with researching their stories, how long it takes to work on particular kinds of stories, and the ins and outs of the editing process.

A18-100
Saturday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Representing Religion in Public: What Can Your Department Do and Why It Should

Sponsored by the Academic Relations Committee and the Religion in the Schools Task Force.

Department chairs and members of religious studies and theology departments get requests from various non-scholarly publics to address their questions about religion and theology. Some of those publics include religious communities, educational communities (high schools, etc.), health care communities and professionals, community associations, and even local media. Representing scholarship on religion to such publics is a worthwhile effort and can strengthen the department and the institution while it enhances these publics’ understanding of religion. The difficulty is that many departments are not sure of what to do and how to go about it. A distinguished group of panelists, all of whom have extensive experience in representing scholarship on religion to various publics, will share ideas and facilitate dialogue on how best to meet this pressing need.

A18-101
Saturday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Student Liaison Group Decennial Celebration

Sponsored by the Graduate Student Committee and Student Liaison Group

In the 1970s, the Board of Directors created the position of Student Director, a voting member of the Board. In 1996, the Student Liaison Group was established, directly linking the AAR with the doctoral programs of individual institutions in religion. In 2006, the Board established the Graduate Student Committee as a Standing Committee. These measures formalizing student members’ roles in the Academy recognize the need for prominent student voices and the benefit of an institutional memory in serving the graduate students who comprise 30 percent of all AAR members and who are our hope for the Academy’s future. This session explores the history of AAR student involvement and its continuing progress. It will be followed immediately by a reception celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Student Liaison Group and the newly established Graduate Student Committee. Former Student Directors and past and current Student Liaisons are especially encouraged to attend.

A18-102
Saturday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: The Other Within: The Study of Religion and Diversifying Our Knowledge Production

Sponsored by the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession Committee

Through four presentations and a respondent, this forum provides opportunities to discuss theoretical and methodological innovations drawn from the work of racial, ethnic, and minority scholars, involving both critique (deconstruction) of current methods of knowledge formation and construction of alternate approaches.

A reception hosted by the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession Committee directly follows.

A19-6
Sunday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Christian Theology's Engagement with Religious Pluralism: Biblical Texts and Themes

Sponsored by the Program Committee

In this forum, scholars of religion and theology discuss the challenges religious pluralism poses to Christian theological thinking with a specific focus on difficult biblical texts and themes. How have traditional biblical ideas such as the dualisms between light and darkness, the divine and the demonic, heaven and hell, and the exclusive claims regarding Jesus Christ shaped Christian thinking about religions? How are Christians in the twenty-first century wrestling with these biblical texts and motifs in their efforts to articulate a theology of religions today?

A19-7
Sunday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Women Speaking to Religion and Leadership: Honoring the Work of Mercy Oduyoye

Sponsored by the Status of Women in the Profession Committee

All are invited to this special panel sponsored by the Womanist Approaches to Religion and Society Group and AAR’s Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession honoring the work of Mercy Amba Oduyoye. Oduyoye is a native of Ghana and is a founder of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. Oduyoye was contributor to Inheriting Our Mothers’ Gardens: Feminist Theology in Third World Perspective and serves her church as a Methodist lay woman. Her books include: Hearing and Knowing; The Will to Arise: Daughters of Anowa; and Introducing African Women’s Theology. Panelists in this session include Mercy Oduyoye, Katie Cannon, Musa Dube, Sarojini Nadar, and Letty Russell.

A19-8
Sunday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Teaching the Introductory Course in Theology and Religion

Sponsored by the Teaching and Learning Committee

Barbara Walvoord, the principal investigator, and some of the participants will report on and discuss the results of a study of 70 highly effective teachers of introductory courses in theology and religion. Discussion will focus on how faculty members define their discipline (e.g. “theology” or “religious studies”) and establish and communicate their goals for student learning and development and how the goals articulated by faculty compare with students’ expressions of their own goals in taking introductory courses.

A19-40
Sunday - 11:45 am-1:00 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Wabash Student-Teacher Luncheon

Sponsored by the Graduate Student Committee and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning

The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning and AAR Graduate Student Committee cordially invite AAR and SBL doctoral student members to this lunch gathering with experienced faculty mentors to share conversation about teaching. This luncheon is aimed at doctoral students nearing the end of their studies who have some experience in teaching. It is an opportunity to meet with mentor-teachers to discuss teaching experiences. If you are a student member with some experience in teaching and have not attended this luncheon in the past, please RSVP online at www.aarweb.org/annualmeet/2006/RSVP/Wabash/ by noon on Wednesday, November 15 to attend. Do not RSVP unless you are planning to attend, as space is limited to the first 75 doctoral students who register.

A19-50
Sunday - 1:00 pm-2:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: The Marty Forum: Andrew M. Greeley

Sponsored by the Public Understanding of Religion Committee

The recipient of the 2006 Martin Marty Award for contributions to the public understanding of religion is best-selling author, priest, journalist, and sociologist Andrew M. Greeley. Greeley is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona and a Research Associate at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. Greeley is the author of two autobiographies, more than 50 best-selling novels, over 100 works of non-fiction, including most recently The Making of the Pope 2005 (2005), The Catholic Revolution: New Wine, Old Wineskins, and the Second Vatican Council (2004), and Priests: A Calling in Crisis (2004).

The Marty Forum provides an informal setting in which Greeley will talk about his work with Robert A. Orsi, Charles Warren Professor of the History of Religion in America at Harvard University, and will engage in discussion with the audience.

A19-74
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Five Years of Building Bridges

Sponsored by the Journal of the American Academy of Religion

Chaired by Andrew Rippin, University of Victoria, this panel brings together an international mix of scholars to discuss a wide range of topics which concern both Christians and Muslims in current academic and public thinking. Hugh Goddard, University of Nottingham, will deliver a critical examination of various international initiatives which focus on issues common to both faith groups; Miroslav Volf, Yale University, will explore the theme of Christianity and liberal democracy; Mona Siddiqui, University of Glasgow, will look at themes and tensions within Qur’anic pluralism; and Jane Little, BBC World Service, will offer her reflections on current thinking in religious broadcasting at the BBC.

A19-75
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: How to Propose a New AAR Program Unit

Sponsored by the Program Committee

Join the chair of the Program Committee and the AAR Annual Meeting Program Director for an informal chat about upcoming Annual Meeting initiatives as well as the guidelines and policies for proposing a new Annual Meeting program unit.

A19-101
Sunday - 5:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Jewish Religious and Communal Responses to Genocides in Africa

Sponsored by the Program Committee

Ever since the Holocaust, scholars and activists in the American Jewish community have sought to raise awareness about genocide and to combat it when it occurs. At the 1993 opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel used his remarks to draw attention to the genocide in the former Yugoslavia. In 2004, the USHMM and the American Jewish World Service launched the multifaith Save Darfur Coalition. In this session, leading thinker and activist Rabbi David Saperstein will discuss contemporary Jewish religious responses to genocide and assess the role of Jewish communal organizations in stopping the genocides in Rwanda and Darfur. In addition to providing an analysis of the history and current state of humanitarian and religious intervention and relief in the region, Saperstein will evaluate the successes and failures in Jewish responses to genocide over the past decade.

A19-102
Sunday - 5:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Disability and the Local Faith Community: Concerns for Ministry and Theological Education

Sponsored by the Religion and Disabilities Task Force

People with physical, sensory, psychiatric, and intellectual disabilities have enormous gifts and talents to share with their faith communities, but they do not always feel welcome. This interactive session will discuss how to identify and remove barriers which prevent children and adults with disabilities from accessing a full life of faith including worship, study, service, and leadership. These can be barriers of architecture, communications, and attitude. Are we preparing our students to minister to people with disabilities? The session will be led by Ginny Thornburgh and Lorraine Thal from the Religion and Disability Program of the National Organization on Disability located in Washington, DC. The program publishes guides (including the award-winning publication That All May Worship), coordinates religion and disability conferences, facilitates the Accessible Congregations Campaign, and promotes the goals of the Seminary Project. Come prepared to share your experiences of inclusive worship.

A19-103
Sunday - 5:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: AAR Excellence in Teaching Forum: A Conversation about Teaching with Patricia O'Connell Killen, 2006 Excellence in Teaching Award Winner

Sponsored by the Teaching and Learning Committee

Join us for a conversation about teaching with Patricia O’Connell Killen, winner of the 2006 AAR Excellence in Teaching Award. Killen will post some of her teaching materials at www.aarweb.org/awards/teaching/default.asp a few weeks before the Annual Meeting and will also be available for on-line exchanges during the time leading up to the Annual Meeting and for two weeks after the meeting.

A20-3
Monday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Posters Session

Labyrinths: Images of the Cosmos
B. Lilan Laishley, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

Labyrinths are geometric designs that are visually stunning. This poster session will use images of labyrinth to represent various different cosmological systems. It will visually examine the use of the labyrinth through the central thesis that the labyrinth acts as a template upon which participants can engage in their idea of a sacred cosmos through ritual, both inside and outside of institutional religion. The labyrinth has sparked the imagination of millions of Americans who walk its path in search of the sacred. Its design is simple – a circle with a path to the center – but within its circumference it contains a complexity of thought and action. The labyrinth acts as a representation for various ideas of a sacred cosmos. On the poster I will visually illustrate how the labyrinth represents various cosmological constructs through several different historical and cultural periods.

A Study of the Judeo-Arabic text of "The Tale of our Master Moses and the Gates of Heaven and Hell"
Matthew Long and Jennifer Schwartzberg, University of Georgia

Judeo-Arabic, an Arabic dialect written with Hebrew characters, has become an endangered language and is rarely spoken any longer. But its contributions to the history and culture of Judaism and Islam are invaluable. The texts which are written in this language provide not just written information, but also a look into the life and culture of Jews living in Arabic speaking Islamic areas. By examining Judeo-Arabic texts, the links between Hebrew and Arabic appear clearly, as do the connections in Jewish and Islamic culture.

Experiential Learning: Teaching Pilgrimage Through the 88 Sacred Places of Shikoku
Jennifer Oldstone-Moore, Wittenberg University

This poster will highlight the experiential learning and teaching potential of pilgrimage, based on a summer 2006 trip to the 88 temple circuit around the island of Shikoku in Japan. We will study key aspects of religious practice, both those that specifically characterize Japanese religious expressions and those that are found more widely across religious traditions and cultures, considering pilgrimage in general and the Shikoku pilgrimage in particular. Intellectually, this includes observing the demographics of those observed on the pilgrimage; specific ritual practices; the role of and reverence for Kobo Daishi (Kukai) expressed on this circuit; the commercialization and marketing of Kobo Daishi in particular and Buddhism in general. These will be complemented by and juxtaposed with the experience of actually being pilgrims: wearing pilgrim garb, participating in pilgrim rituals, and commitment to a reverent and contemplative attitude during the three weeks that we participate in this activity.

Child Solidiers in Africa
Dustin Reynolds, Azusa Pacific University

This paper develops a Christian response to the tragedy of child soldiers in Africa. In 2004, Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported an estimated 300,000 child soldiers globally, 100,000 residing in Africa. Particularly, Uganda has been at war for 17 years. Child soldiers in Uganda volunteer for protection or are literally kidnapped from their homes and forced to take up arms. The Lords Resistance Army is responsible for most kidnappings in Uganda. William P. Murphy (African Studies Review) informs us that the children voluntarily take up arms in response to a loss of kinship. Mike Wessells writes that children do not attempt to escape because they are desensitized, humiliated, and disconnected from their prior life. As Christians, what is our duty to these child soldiers? This paper considers if we ought to support a military response or pursue nonviolent resistance in an attempt to aid in the fight against injustice.

Unveiled: Identity in Marjane Satrapi's Autobiographical Graphic Novels Persepolis and Persepolis 2
Sarah Steele, Graduate Theological Union

Marjane Satrapi's two autobiographical novels Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return relate her childhood in post-Islamic Revolution Iran, her adolescence as a foreign student in Austria, and her young adult return to Iran. The institution of the veil is an important theme in these works, and is the main site of struggle between Islamic fundamentalists and progressives. This theme is intensified by the works' dual genre of autobiography and graphic novel. This project explores how the symbol of the veil interacts with the theory of autobiography and of comics to unpack the polyvalence of veiling/unveiling in Satrapi's work. These ideas will be presented in a series of frames that mix visual and verbal representation in a way that mimics the format of comics.

A Matter of Difference: Urban vs Roadside Memorials in the US
Denis Thalson, Graduate Theological Union

Washington's memorials form part of the context for the related phenomenon of individual memorial shrines, of which rural and suburban memorials erected by family and friends of traffic accident victims have been the most studied. Private urban memorials dedicated to murder victims, often of gang violence, are increasingly noticable. Urban and roadside memorials differ in form, address and function. Addressed to the dead, roadside versions function as a mediator between the builders and the dead, helping mourners maintain an ongoing connection with the deceased. In the more ephemeral urban murder versions the place of death cannot mediate, and mourning is expressed in other ways. Urban murder memorials are both private memorial shrines and opportunities for community organinzing. Both versions are increasingly apparent demonstrations of material religiosity, and an important part of our national memorial culture.

A20-51
Monday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

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

Founded on the premise that scholars know best what books are needed in the field of religion, the AAR publishing program with Oxford University Press 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; Religion, Culture, and History Series; Reflection and Theory in the Study of Religion Series; Teaching Religious Studies Series; and Texts and Translations 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.

A20-52
Monday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Religion, Health, and Social Justice: African Perspectives on a Global Issue

Sponsored by the Regions Committee

This panel will probe the interface between religion, religious tradition, and health in Africa in the context of the Millennium Development Goals and the new UN/WHO/G8 program for Universal Access. The serious challenges presented by multiple public health crises such as HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, trauma and, potentially, avian flu to health systems in Africa, and the widespread engagement of faith-based organizations or initiatives from diverse religious traditions in response to some of these challenges offer an opportunity to rethink our understanding of religion, health, and social justice, with global implications. The panelists collectively embody a mix of experience, practice, current research activity, and sustained reflection on these themes in Africa. The theme itself acts as a particularly effective lens on the status of social science, religious practice, and theological reflection in our time.

A20-53
Monday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Theology in the Public Sphere: The Challenges of Being a Public Intellectual

Sponsored by the Theological Education Steering Committee

With increasing appeals to faith traditions in public political discourse by candidates for office and by the media, the opportunity, demand and need for scholars of religion to become more articulate public theologians is increasingly urgent. Catholics and Evangelicals play a powerful role. Recent publication by the US Catholic bishops of The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, and by Evangelicals for Social Action and the National Association of Evangelicals of Toward an Evangelical Public Policy and For the Health of the Nation: an Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility, offer striking opportunity for asserting a more responsible and centrist understanding of those two powerful traditions. The degree of overlap between centrist evangelicals and official Catholic teaching is dramatic and different from much public perception. It could increase the quality of political discourse. The four panelists are involved in delineating that common ground and are effective practitioners of public theology.

A20-101
Monday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Debate: Just War Theory Versus Just Peacemaking Theory: Which Produces the Better Answer to Terrorism?

Sponsored by the AAR Program Committee

Moderated by Lisa Sowle Cahill, author of Love Your Enemy: Discipleship, Pacifism, and Just War Theory (Augsburg Fortress, 1994), the session features two panelists debating about the answer to terrorism from two diverse standpoints. Jean Bethke Elshtain, author of Just War Against Terror: The Burden of American Power in a Violent World (Basic Books, 2004), and Augustine and the Limits of Politics (Notre Dame, 1998) versus Glen Harold Stassen, author of Just Peacemaking: Transforming Initiatives for Justice and Peace (Westminster John Knox) and editor of Just Peacemaking: Ten Practices to Abolish War (Pilgrim Press, 1998 and 2004).

A20-102
Monday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: "Required Reading" Writing for the Secondary School Market

Sponsored by the Religion in the Schools Task Force

States require public high school teachers to include material about religion in history and other courses. Consequently, widely used textbooks written for high school use include religion content. What are these textbooks like and how would we evaluate their approach to religion? What do editors in large textbook publishing houses look for? What do high school teachers need and want? This panel will consist of a review by religion scholars of two widely used world history textbooks. Panelists include an editor working in a major publishing house on high school textbooks, a scholar who has written for the secondary school market, and an experienced secondary school teacher with special interest in teaching about religion in her classroom.

A20-114
Monday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Bioethics and Religion Group

Theme: The Human Genome Project: Religion, Bioethics, and Public Policy

As director of the Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins led the successful effort to complete the Human Genome Project. In addition to his contributions to basic genetic research, Dr. Collins is concerned with the ethical and legal implications of genetics. He has been a strong advocate for protecting the privacy of genetic information and has led efforts to prohibit gene-based insurance discrimination. Building on his own experience as a physician volunteer in a rural missionary hospital in Nigeria, Collins is also very interested in opening avenues for genome research to benefit the health of people living in developing nations. In this session, Collins will address the religious and ethical implications of the human genome project. His respondents are James Childress and Ronald Green, both important contributors to the national debates on bioethics in the past several decades.

A18-32
Saturday - 9:30 am-12:00 pm

Tour of “African Voices” Exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History

Sponsored by the Arts, Literature, and Religion Section, African Religions Group, and Anthropology of Religion Group

The African Voices exhibit examines the diversity, dynamism, and global influence of Africa’s peoples and cultures over time in the realms of family, work, community, and the natural environment. The exhibit includes indigenous art, textiles, pottery, and examples of oral literature, songs, and prayers. Anthropologist and curator Michael Mason will give an introduction to the exhibit, highlighting its religious features. For further information, contact Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton: (chh3a@virginia.edu or http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/.

A18-33
Saturday - 9:30 am-12:00 pm

National Museum of the American Indian Tour

Sponsored by the Native Traditions in the Americas Group

Opened to great fanfare in the fall of 2004, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian is the most recent addition to the Washington Mall, and as such will provide a novel experience for many AAR attendees. The handsomely-designed museum displays objects, works of fine art, and performance pieces that tell of the histories, cultures, arts, and religions of more than 500 Native nations; but what is remarkable is how Native communities have asserted cultural sovereignty and artistic control of the NMAI’s representation. In this latter regard, the museum is a milestone in the history of representation, and as such, of particular intellectual interest to scholars generally. Gabrielle Tayac, a Native sociologist who has served as a NMAI curator will act as the tour guide.

A19-37
Sunday - 10:30 am-1:00 pm

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Tour

Sponsored by the Religion, Holocaust, and Genocide Group and the Center for Holocaust Studies

The museum’s permanent exhibition The Holocaust includes over 900 artifacts, 70 video monitors, and four theaters with historic film footage and eyewitness testimonies. The museum also features temporary exhibitions highlighting the history of the Holocaust. Tour attendees will receive timed tickets for the 11:00 am entry to the permanent exhibition. Victoria Barnett, Director of Church Relations for the Center of Holocaust Studies, will offer a brief introduction to the museum and then attendees will be allowed to visit the permanent exhibition at their own pace. Please allow at least two hours for the visit.

Visitors may also use the library and archives. The library is open to the public daily from 10 am to 5 pm. No appointment is necessary. The archives are open weekdays from 10 am to 5 pm. Arrangements can be made in advance for archival materials to be set aside for weekend use; contact archives@ushmm.org or 1-202-488-6113.

A19-127
Sunday - 8:30 pm-9:30 pm

Arts Series/Films: KanKouran West African Dance Company

A local institution based out of Washington DC, KanKouran West African Dance Company has been an integral part of the dance community for over twenty years. The company was founded in 1983 by Assane Konte, Artistic Director, and Abdou Kounta, former Director of Music, both from Senegal in West Africa. KanKouran, whose members were born in the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean, is dedicated to preserving and sharing the culture of Africa. KanKouran functions much like a traditional African community where, given the communal nature of African culture, each individual understands his or her role in maintaining the oneness of the community for the benefit of the entire community, and each individual is encouraged to contribute and participate to the extent of that person’s talents and abilities.

A20-33
Monday - 9:30 am-12:00 pm

National Museum of African Art Tour

Sponsored by the Arts, Literature, and Religion Section and African Religions Group

The collection of the National Museum of African Art embraces the diverse artistic expressions found throughout Africa from ancient to contemporary times. Collection objects range from ceramics, textiles, furniture, and tools to masks, figures, and musical instruments. The arts of painting, printmaking, sculpture, and other media are well represented by living artists whose works highlight individual creativity, address global and local art trends, and innovatively transform artistic traditions into modern idioms.

Questions can be directed to Brent Plate: b.plate@tcu.edu.

A20-34
Monday - 9:30 am-12:00 pm

Restoration Ecology of the Anacostia River and Environmental Justice Boat Tour

Sponsored by the Religion and Ecology Group

Doug Siglin, head of the Religious Partnership for the Anacostia River, affiliated with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, will direct a boat tour of the river and discuss the work of the partnership and the issues connected to the river. The main stem of the Anacostia River, one of the most polluted in the country, has become the object of intense efforts to restore the quality of the water, the number of wildlife species, and the beauty of the shoreline. These efforts have brought together environmental groups, industry, governments, local citizens, and the faith community. Redevelopment is certain to lead to physical improvements in those areas as well as the displacement of people who have made them their home. Opinions on whether redevelopment of the Anacostia would be good for the city and its people are as varied as they are tightly held. Contact Laurel Kearns at lkearns@drew.edu for information.

A20-50
Monday - 1:00 pm-5:00 pm

Sacred and Religious Sites of Washington Bus Tour

Sponsored by the North American Religions Section

Join us on a bus tour emphasizing houses of worship associated with the American presidency. Jeanne Halgren Kilde, University of Minnesota; Dewey D. Wallace, George Washington University; and Peter W. Williams, Miami University Ohio will be the tour guides.

A17-100
Friday - 7:00 pm-9:00 pm

Arts Series/Films: Dawn of the Dead

Sponsored by the Religion, Film, and Visual Culture Group

Through its witty and pointed criticism of consumerism, materialism, and other sins such as racism, sexism, and violence, George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead rises above the average horror movie, or Hollywood movie in general, to become a timeless classic of social criticism and theological reflection. For Romero, it is not the zombie’s bite that turns us into monsters, but materialism and consumerism that turn us into zombies, addicted to things that satisfy only the basest, most animal or mechanical urges of our being. This is repeatedly shown throughout the movie in the behaviour of both the zombies and the human characters.

Directed by George Romero, 1978, 128 minutes, R rated (color, USA)

A17-101
Friday - 7:00 pm-9:00 pm

Arts Series/Films: Les Maîtres Fous

Sponsored by the Religion, Film, and Visual Culture Group

Les Maîtres Fous (The Masters of Madness) is a documentary film produced by the prominent French anthropologist and ethnographic filmmaker Jean Rouch on the possession ritual of the Hauka movement, which was practised by Songhay migrants from Niger in Accra, Ghana, during the time of French colonialism. In 1954 Rouch was invited by the Hauka to make a film on their possession ritual, which became a classic in the history of French cinema. It is currently known as one of the most prolific contributions to the cinéma vérité. Even though this film turned out to be a major point of departure for the rise of visual anthropology in the 1970s, it is continuously neglected in the field of religious studies in general and even in the field of what is recently called “visible religion.”

Directed by Jean Rouch, 1954, 35 minutes, unrated (color, France)

A18-136
Saturday - 9:00 pm-11:00 pm

Arts Series/Films: Crash

Sponsored by the Religion, Film, and Visual Culture Group

In a voice over during the opening credits of Paul Haggis’ Oscar-winning film Crash, Don Cheadle tells his partner, “In LA nobody touches you. We are always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.” In the film, a number of characters collide over two days in Los Angeles. Hence, through collision comes our invitation to feel, to care, and to think about race and responsibility in the twenty-first century.

Directed by Paul Haggis, 2004, 113 minutes, R rated (color, USA)

A18-137
Saturday - 9:00 pm-11:00 pm

Arts Series/Films: Guelwaar

Sponsored by the African Religions Group

The funeral of an outspoken Senegalese political activist and subsequent disappearance of his corpse provides the backdrop for Sembène’s incisive feature. This bold film tackles the conflict between Muslims and Christians, dependence on foreign aid, and the elusive nature of independence itself.

Directed by Ousmane Sembìne, 1992, 115 minutes, unrated (color, France and Senegal, subtitled)

A19-129
Sunday - 8:30 pm-10:30 pm

Arts Series/Films: Gattaca

Sponsored by the Religion, Film, and Visual Culture Group

Gattaca, the 1997 film depicting life in a genetic dystopia in the not-distant future, continues to be widely used in courses dealing with ethics or genetics to raise fundamental questions about the uses of genetic information. Less obvious to the naïve viewer, and to scholars who have written on the film, are its pervasive religious themes. The film illustrates why it is important to understand the ways in which genetics lends itself to an alliance with religious ideas and ways of thinking. In many ways, Gattaca is a dialogue with differing conceptions of the family as these have been traced out in biblical texts and the religious traditions they have inspired.

Directed by Andrew Niccol, 1997, 101 minutes, PG-13 (color, USA)

A19-130
Sunday - 8:30 pm-10:30 pm

Arts Series/Films: Excerpts from Toward a New Christianity: Stories of African Christians in Ghana and Zimbabwe

Sponsored by the African Religions Group

Director James Ault will show excerpts from his documentary that feature a range of churches in Ghana and Zimbabwe from mission-founded, to “old independent,” to new Pentecostal churches. The segments Ault will show have already received excellent reviews from leading Africanists such as Terence Ranger, Professor of African History at Oxford, who states that the documentary contains “the most penetrating and informative material I have ever seen on African Christianity, bringing out its vitality and variety without ever sensationalizing or exoticising.” Dr. Ault will preside and entertain questions after the screening. For more information, please contact jault@shaysnet.com; 1-413-587-6907.

A20-131
Monday - 8:30 pm-10:30 pm

Arts Series/Films: Mooladé

Sponsored by the African Religions Group

A topical drama about a woman who shelters a group of girls seeking to avoid female circumcision, thereby sparking a conflict that tears her village apart. Directed by Africa’s renowned filmmaker, Ousmane Sembène, this movie explores the controversial practice of female genital mutilation, highlighting the way protective spiritual forces are invoked in the course of the conflict. Natasha Copeland, scholar of Francophone literature and specialist on the work of Sembène, will preside.

Directed by Ousmane Sembìne, 2004, 120 minutes, unrated (color, Senegal, subtitled)

A20-132
Monday - 8:30 pm-10:30 pm

Arts Series/Films: Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Sponsored by Religion, Film, and Visual Culture Group

Hedwig and the Angry Inch has a unique place in film history as only the second wide-release film to feature a sympathetic transsexual protagonist (Boys Don’t Cry being the first). Perhaps more importantly, however, it is the first wide-release film that encourages the audience to identify with a transsexual character who is not primarily a victim. It is not a film about the “plight” of transgendered people. Instead, Hedwig is represented in all her gender-malleable glory as a little boy, an androgynous young man, a transsexual woman, an over-the-top drag queen, and lastly, as a gender-ambiguous - but, it is implied - finally authentic self.

Directed by John Mitchell, 2001, 95 minutes, R rated (color, USA)

A17-2
Friday - 9:00 am-4:30 pm

Chairs Workshop – Personnel Issues: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

A17-3
Friday - 10:00 am-6:00 pm

Religion and Media Workshop - The "Muhammad Cartoon" Controversy: Perspectives on Media, Religion, Law, and Culture

A17-4
Friday - 12:00 pm-3:00 pm

Women's Caucus Workshop

A17-103
Friday - 7:00 pm-9:00 pm

EIS Center Orientation

A18-7
Saturday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Special Topics Forum

Theme: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the On-Campus Interview

A18-8
Saturday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section

Theme: "When You See the Teacher on the Road, Kill Him": Contemplative Practice as Pedagogy

A18-35
Saturday - 11:45 am-1:00 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: ATLA Career Alternatives Luncheon for Doctoral Students in Religion and Theology

A18-51
Saturday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Reporting on Religion from the Nation's Capital

A18-52
Saturday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section and Ritual Studies Group

Theme: Teaching Ritual: What We Learn

A18-79
Saturday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Rethinking the Field Consultation

Theme: Part I: The Future of "Religion and Ecology" and "Ecotheology"; Part II: The Role of Liberal Theology in the Discipline

A18-100
Saturday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Representing Religion in Public: What Can Your Department Do and Why It Should

A18-120
Saturday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Religion and Disability Studies Group and Biblical Scholarship and Disabilities Consultation

Theme: Writing for Publication in Religion, Bible, and Disability Studies

A19-8
Sunday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Teaching the Introductory Course in Theology and Religion

A19-40
Sunday - 11:45 am-1:00 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Wabash Student-Teacher Luncheon

A19-52
Sunday - 1:00 pm-2:30 pm

Wildcard Session

Theme: Publishing with a Denominational (Church-Owned) Press: Possibilities and Realities

A19-54
Sunday - 1:00 pm-2:30 pm

Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section

Theme: Walk, Talk, Teach, and Learn: A Street Fair of Posters, Exhibits, and Interactive Displays That Will Educate and Excite about a Breakthrough Moment in the Classroom or a Great Course

A19-70
Sunday - 1:00 pm-2:30 pm

Roman Catholic Studies Group and Christianity and Academia Consultation

Theme: Issues and Controversies in Catholic Higher Education

A19-75
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: How to Propose a New AAR Program Unit

A19-80
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Wildcard Session

Theme: Pedagogy and Theology: Crossing the Multifaith Divide Toward Access and Inclusion

A19-81
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section and Kierkegaard, Religion, and Culture Group

Theme: Kierkegaard and Pedagogy

A19-96
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Religions, Medicines, and Healing Group

Theme: Teaching Religion and Healing

A19-103
Sunday - 5:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: AAR Excellence in Teaching Forum: A Conversation about Teaching with Patricia O'Connell Killen, 2006 Excellence in Teaching Award Winner

A20-29
Monday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Christianity and Academia Consultation

Theme: Christian Higher Education: History, Theology, and Practice

A20-51
Monday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

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

A20-53
Monday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Theology in the Public Sphere: The Challenges of Being a Public Intellectual

A20-54
Monday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section

Theme: Reflecting on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Success Stories

A20-102
Monday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: "Required Reading" Writing for the Secondary School Market

A20-126
Monday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Tibetan and Himalayan Religions Group

Theme: Transformations in Research and Teaching on Tibetan Buddhism with the Use of New Technologies

A21-1
Tuesday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section

Theme: Body, Mind, Spirit: Integrative and Innovative Pedagogies

A21-20
Tuesday - 9:00 am-10:00 am

Report on Contingent (Adjunct) Faculty

A21-21
Tuesday - 10:15 am-12:00 pm

Roundtable Discussion with Community College Faculty

A18-25
Saturday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean Group

Theme: Africa in Latin America and the Caribbean

A18-55
Saturday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Study of Islam Section

Theme: Patterns of Religious Authority and Reform among African Muslims

A18-110
Saturday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

African Religions Group

Theme: African Indigenous Religions in the Twenty-First Century

A19-7
Sunday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Women Speaking to Religion and Leadership: Honoring the Work of Mercy Oduyoye

A19-17
Sunday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

African Religions Group and Religions, Medicines, and Healing Group

Theme: African Religions, Healing, and HIV/AIDS

A19-57
Sunday - 1:00 pm-2:30 pm

Philosophy of Religion Section

Theme: Africana Phenomenology and the Study of Religion

A19-68
Sunday - 1:00 pm-2:30 pm

Religion and Ecology Group

Theme: Religious and Theological Reflections on Environmental Issues in Africa

A19-84
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Religion and the Social Sciences Section

Theme: Religion, International Collaboration, and Social Change in Africa

A19-87
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Women and Religion Section

Theme: African Religion and Women's Agency

A19-95
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Religion, Holocaust, and Genocide Group

Theme: Religion, Justice, and Genocide in Africa

A19-101
Sunday - 5:00 pm-6:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Jewish Religious and Communal Responses to Genocides in Africa

A19-107
Sunday - 5:00 pm-6:30 pm

Christian Systematic Theology Section

Theme: God's African Households

A19-112
Sunday - 5:00 pm-6:30 pm

African Religions Group and Ritual Studies Group

Theme: Making Again: Rites to Heal New Challenges in African Contexts

A19-116
Sunday - 5:00 pm-6:30 pm

Law, Religion, and Culture Group

Theme: Religion and Human Rights in Africa

A20-13
Monday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

African Religions Group

Theme: Religion and Public Life in Africa: Politics, Human Rights, and Peacemaking

A20-52
Monday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Special Topics Forum

Theme: Religion, Health, and Social Justice: African Perspectives on a Global Issue

A20-106
Monday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Comparative Studies in Religion Section and Animals and Religion Consultation

Theme: Comparative Religious Approaches to Species Depletion, with Emphasis on Africa

A20-112
Monday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

African Religions Group and World Christianity Group

Theme: African Christianity

A21-16
Tuesday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Religion and Popular Culture Group and Religion, Media, and Culture Consultation

Theme: Africa's Changing Religious Media Scene

A18-13
Saturday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

History of Christianity Section

Theme: Author Meets Critics: Review of Lyndal Roper's Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany (Yale University Press, 2004)

A18-61
Saturday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Bonhoeffer: Theology and Social Analysis Group

Theme: Bonhoeffer Ethics: A New Edition

A18-111
Saturday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Bible, Theology, and Postmodernity Group

Theme: John D. Caputo's The Weakness of God: A Theology of the Event (Indiana University Press, 2006)

A19-28
Sunday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Practical Theology Group

Theme: Reviewing Educating Clergy: Teaching Practices and Pastoral Imagination, Charles R. Foster, Lisa E. Dahill, Lawrence A. Golemon, and Barbara Wang Tolentino (Jossey-Bass, 2005)

A19-32
Sunday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Schleiermacher Group

Theme: Ecclesiology, Pneumatology, Trinity: The Third in a Four-Year Reinvestigation of Schleiermacher's The Christian Faith

A19-42
Sunday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Wildcard Session

Theme: Critical Reflections on Cornel West's Democracy Matters

A19-43
Sunday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Study of Islam Section

Theme: Comprehending the Qur'ān: Critical Issues Raised by the Publication of E. J. Brill's Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān

A19-88
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Afro-American Religious History Group

Theme: Celebrating the 100th Year of a "Black Revival": A Discussion on The Azusa Street Mission and Revival by Cecil M. Robeck

A19-94
Sunday - 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Reformed Theology and History Group

Theme: Book Review Session of Feminist and Womanist Essays in Reformed Dogmatics

A20-8
Monday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Philosophy of Religion Section and Theology and Continental Philosophy Group

Theme: The Significance of Amy Hollywood's Sensible Ecstasy (University of Chicago Press)

A20-12
Monday - 9:00 am-11:30 am

Theology and Religious Reflection Section

Theme: Jim Wallis' God's Politics (Harper SanFrancisco) and Critical Responses

A20-64
Monday - 1:00 pm-3:30 pm

Women and Religion Section and Native Traditions in the Americas Group

Theme: Can the Subaltern Speak? Revisited: Gender, Colonialism, and the Politics of History in Noenoe Silva's Aloha Betrayed

A20-111
Monday - 4:00 pm-6:30 pm

Theology and Religious Reflection Section

Theme: Critical Responses to Theology and the Political: The New Debate (