Call for papers: “Catachreses? Workshop on gender, religion and postcoloniality”
SOAS Centre for Gender and Religions Research, London, 17 – 19 December 2012
More details here.
Conference Notice – 1st call for papers
South-East Asia as a Crossroads for Buddhist Exchange:
pioneer European Buddhists and Asian Buddhist networks 1860-1960
Study of Religions Department, University College Cork, Ireland
13-15 September 2012
The recent discovery of the extraordinary life of ‘The Irish Buddhist’ U Dhammaloka (documented in the special issue of Contemporary Buddhism 11:2, December 2010) has stimulated new avenues of research into numerous significant but neglected East-West and global Buddhist encounters. This conference focuses on forgotten or under-represented Buddhist pioneers, their connections and collaborations, and the contribution of these individuals and networks to the construction of Buddhist modernities.
Casting South-East Asia as a ‘cross roads’ invites contributions on pioneer exchanges and connections not only between ‘the West’ and ‘Asia’ but also within Asia, from China, Korea and Japan through Southeast Asia to India and Ceylon. The period to be covered, broadly 1860-1960, is intended to include the earliest documented pioneer European [and e.g. Japanese] Buddhist practitioners of the colonial period whilst stopping short of the mass interest in Buddhism of the late 20th century. We are interested in any figures, groups or networks whose commitment to Asian Buddhist praxis in the colonial period contributed in some way to the emergence of modern global Buddhism and whose role was pioneering, rather than following a traditionally established path. We are equally interested in networks of exchange and communication such as trade routes, monastic interrelationships, military ventures, cultural exchanges, missionary enterprises and imperialist and socialist (etc.) institutions and ideas which enabled Buddhists to interact in pioneering ways during this period.
Forgotten figures such as U Dhammaloka, despite their historical significance for these exchanges in colonial Asia, have long been obscured in conventional scholarly narratives which have presented a very small selection of ‘pioneer’ figures found respectable within today’s Western Buddhist lineages or canonised in Asian accounts. Recent discoveries overturning these entrenched narratives have been made possible in part by the new digitisation and indexing of colonial-era newspapers, travel books, directories, missionary reports and other obscure and disparate sources which can provide – often fragmentary – pointers to lost lives and events which may in the end be documented only through traditional archival research. This conference aims to further this new and exciting field of research by bringing together scholars with a shared interest in global Buddhism and expertise in different periods and regions of Asia and the West.
There are many contested issues and theoretical perspectives to be explored in this context, and we welcome papers of a theoretical nature so long as they are to some extent grounded in empirical examples.
We intend to produce a journal special issue or edited volume based on papers presented at the conference.
The conference will take place from Thursday afternoon 13th September to Saturday morning 15th September 2012 and is hosted by the Study of Religions Department, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. There is no conference fee but delegates will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation; there is plenty of moderately priced accommodation close by the University. Cork Airport is a short distance from the University and about 1hr by air from London and other major European hubs. Some limited financial support for postgraduates may be available.
The conference is co-organised by Prof Brian Bocking and Dr Phibul Choompolpaisal (UCC Study of Religions Department) with an advisory committee comprising Dr Laurence Cox (NUIM, Ireland), Prof Alicia Turner (York University, Toronto), Dr Andrew Skilton (KCL, London) and Dr Kate Crosby (SOAS, London), in association with the 12-month postdoctoral research fellowship project ‘Continuities and Transitions in Early Modern Thai Buddhism’ at UCC supported by the Dhammakaya International Society of the United Kingdom. The Conference itself has a far wider remit than Thailand, and papers in all regions are warmly welcomed.
The deadline for submission of abstracts is Monday 9 July 2012, but abstracts will be considered as they are submitted from now on to facilitate your travel planning. If you hope to attend the conference we would appreciate an email indicating this a.s.a.p.
A conference website will be established in the near future. In the meantime enquiries, expressions of interest and abstracts should be emailed to Prof Brian Bocking in Cork, email: b.bocking [at] ucc.ie or to Dr Phibul Choompolpaisal in Thailand, email: phibulart [at] yahoo.com
Irish Network for Studies in Buddhism
“Forum for emerging scholarship on Buddhism”
Saturday, 9th June 2012, Dublin (location TBC)
All emerging scholars with a focus on Buddhism are asked to consider submitting a paper to the Forum. Without being prescriptive or exhaustive, scholars may address issues of inter-religious, philosophical, sociological, theological, theoretical, etc., interest in relation to Buddhism. The purpose of the Forum is to assist ‘emerging’ scholars of Buddhism as they set out on their academic journeys, even if Buddhism is not their main specialization.
Timeframe:
13th April deadline for proposed papers, i.e., abstracts, in hardcopy and electronic format (400 words maximum)
25th May (Friday) acceptance of final paper (in hardcopy and electronically) for distribution to other participants
Send to: committeeofinsb@gmail.com
Participation:
All emerging/new/young scholars of Buddhism are invited to submit proposals. The selection committee does not guarantee to accept all proposals. At the Seminar, participants are asked to ‘speak to’ their paper rather than read it. The time-frame for speaking to one’s paper is 10-15 minutes, with time allowed for questioning and discussion. Participants do not have to be members of the Network, though they are welcome to join it.
Past events
Launch of the Zaki Badawi collection on Islam and the Middle East:
lecture by Prof Tariq Ramadan (Oxford)
UCC, Boole Lecture Theatre 2, May 24th
The late Dr Mohammed Zaki Badawi KBE as Chief Imam of the London Central Mosque and founder of the Muslim College in London made important contributions to the development of British and European Islam. In addition, he was a strong advocate and passionate practitioner of interfaith dialogue.
The substantial Arabic library of Dr Badawi has been given to the University College Cork Library on an indefinite loan. The acquisition of the ‘Zaki Badawi Collection’ provides Ireland with a unique research facility. The University College Cork Library now possesses the most comprehensive and extensive collection of Arabic books on Islam and the Middle East in Ireland to be used both by academic researchers and the public. The collection also provides an opportunity for researchers and the public to study the life and works of Dr Badawi and to honour his immense contributions to Islam in Britain and Europe as a whole.
Emerging perspectives: religion and Ireland
ISASR first conference, May 25-26 2012, UCC
The first conference of the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions (ISASR) was held at UCC on May 25 – 26 2012. Further details here.
Ireland’s first research post in Buddhist studies
UCC Study of Religions has announced the appointment of Dr Phibul Choompolpaisal as a postdoctoral research fellow, funded by the Dhammakaya Foundation. Dr Choompolpaisal will be conducting research in Ireland and Thailand and is organising an international conference for September in UCC on the early history (late 19th – early 20th century) of modern Buddhism.
Other events
- UCC hosted an event on “Islam in Ireland: past, present and future” on February 18 2012. More details, including the full programme, are available here.
- UCD hosted a symposium on “Religion, toleration and coexistence: an historical dialogue” on September 1 – 2, 2011. More details, including the full programme, are available here.
- The “Irish Research Network on Alternative Spiritualities and New Religions” (IRNAS) was launched by Olivia Cosgrove on March 30th, 2011. More details about the network here.
- The newly published Ireland’s New Religious Movements (eds. Olivia Cosgrove, Laurence Cox, Carmen Kuhling, Peter Mulholland) was launched by Marion Bowman (Head of Dept. of Religious Studies, Open University) on March 30th, 2011 in the Gutter Bookshop, Temple Bar, with a talk on “Contemporary Celticity”.
- The ISASR was launched on February 19th, 2011 at UCC, concurrently with “Dhammaloka Day”, an international research symposium on the life of U Dhammaloka, an Irishman who was one of the first western Buddhist monks. Further details of the event, including a video introduction, are available at this site.
