Centers for Religion in Public Life: Networking and Dialogue Opportunities
2 PM – 5 PM | $30
An important networking and dialogue opportunity for anyone involved in leading or supporting a research, public engagement or educational center or program focusing on the impact of religion in public life, comprising opportunities to share best practice, pool ideas and develop collaborations.
Public Scholarship and Practical Impacts Workshop: Media Training and Work Outside the Academy
1 PM – 4:30 PM | $25
Join the Applied Religious Studies Committee for this two-part workshop that will empower scholars of religion to communicate about their work in the public sphere. During the first part of the workshop, a panel of experts will discuss the ways that several scholars of religion are engaging with the general public, emphasizing social impact. During the second part, panelists will join registrants in small groups to discuss registrants’ current projects.
This workshop is designed for those seeking an opportunity to talk to experienced public scholars about reaching general audiences through various media. We will pay attention to challenges faced by scholars who have followed diverse career pathways outside academia and are committed to communicating about the relevance of religious studies scholarship to interdisciplinary and general audiences.
Teaching Buddhism through Visual Media
2 PM – 5 PM | $40
The workshop offers concrete examples on how to adopt cinema and TV to discuss Buddhism, Buddhist culture, and modernity in higher education and furthers the developing academic analysis concerning the use of visual media in teaching Buddhism.
Scholarly conversations concerning the relationships between certain films and Buddhism have become increasingly popular (e.g., Cho 2017; Suh 2015; Whalen-Bridge and Storhoff 2014). Despite this popularity, however, such materials are often overlooked when designing classroom exercises related to Buddhist doctrine and practice. This workshop will feature educators sharing their pedagogies, assignments, and techniques to cultivate students’ critical viewing ability, increase religious literacy, and challenge prevalent assumptions about Buddhist practice.
Through examining how the dynamic and visionary power of cinema and TV media can better engage and motivate students to learn about Buddhism, the workshop aims to fulfill the “AAR Religious Literacy Guidelines” and introduce students to the lived realities of Buddhist practice
THATCamp (The Humanities and Technology Camp)
9 AM – 4 PM | $45
Digital technology and social media have not only transformed how religious communities function, but they have also changed how scholars teach about and conduct research on religion more broadly. If you are interested in how technology is changing—or can change—our work, then we invite you to attend THATCamp.
THATCamp is an unconference. This means learning and building occurs in hands-on workshops proposed by participants rather than formal presentations. Topics could include academic blogging, social media in the classroom, digital research methods, web-based class projects, online and digital publishing, and countless others. What are the implications of technology on our fields? How does digital scholarship fit into our domain of study, and what are its professional implications? THATCamp is an open, welcoming environment for sharing and learning
Theology and Ethnography Workshop: The Work of Our Hands
1:30 PM – 4:30 PM| $40
This annual workshop brings together students and scholars working at the intersection of theology and qualitative research. In keeping with the presidential theme, “The Work of Our Hands,” this year’s workshop will focus on the non-academic dimensions of ethnographic work. Together, we will explore the meaning, shape, and value of this work beyond the exigencies of scholarly production.
Tracing Activism through Religion and Media
11 AM – 4:30 PM| $75
As we grapple with the myriad vulnerabilities exposed by—but present long before—an ongoing pandemic, we need ways to theorize our relationships to our scholarship and our communities. Activist work offers ways for us to reimagine these relationships as interrelated and mutually constitutive. However, activism has also been mobilized in nationalist contexts to support the structures of oppression. Following the workshop’s previous discussions of catastrophe and repair, this workshop will trace the convergence of religion, media, and activism. Working across multiple registers, activism appears within religious groups, through creative media integral to resistance, and in infrastructures mediated by religion. Through a combination of roundtable discussions, shared readings, and presentations, we will explore how religion and media converge across this contested terrain. Taking into account activism’s various potentials, we seek to reimagine our collective futures. Lunch is included in the workshop fee.
Wikipedia in the Classroom: Students Writing Women in Religion into History
10 AM – 12 PM | FREE
The Wikipedia Women in Religion Group will train participants to use Wikipedia in the classroom. This project works on specific gaps in coverage including attention to the lives of women of color and women who identify as cis, transgender, and LGBTQ plus. Wikipedia in the classroom teaches students the difference between primary and secondary sources, how to research and write from an encyclopedic neutral point of view and create citations. You will leave with a Wikipedia account, one edit, and know how to update, and improve Wikipedia articles pertaining to the lives of all women. All are welcome, no experience is necessary. We have projects in Australia, Kenya, and India. For scholars, we publish peer-reviewed biographical essays. Join us, a get a new angle on improving writing while overcoming representation gaps in technology. We give support all year. Activist fact: English Wikipedia has only 19.2% of articles about women. This workshop is free to attend.