[Tlc] FW: Call for Submissions: Edited Volume on New Directions in the Study of Material Religion (14 - 16 August 2008)

[Michael Montesano]

________________________________

From: Alyson Adrianne Rozells 
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 2:41 PM
To: NUS BTC Staff; ARI PhD Scholars; ARI Visitors; FAS Teaching Staff;
FAS Research Staff
Subject: Call for Submissions: Edited Volume on New Directions in the
Study of Material Religion (14 - 16 August 2008)



CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

Edited Volume on New Directions in the Study of Material Religion

Co-hosted by the Religion Cluster of the Faculty of Arts and Social
Sciences, and 

The Religion and Globalisation in Asian Contexts Cluster of the Asia
Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore

 

 

Date: 14 - 16 August 2008

Venue: University Hall Auditorium, Level 2, Lee Kong Chian Wing,
National University of Singapore @ Kent Ridge

Website:
http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/events_categorydetails.asp?categoryid=6&eventi
d=764 

 

 

With strong interest from an internationally regarded publisher, we seek
to put together an edited volume on the topic of material religion.
This project, in brief, seeks to (1) trace the different ways in which
the divine, in many religious traditions, is manifested in physical,
tangible form and (2) to determine the ways in which scholars can
effectively appreciate the wider political, social and cultural meanings
that are brought to light through the study of material forms of
religion.  

 

 

All sorts of religious objects - from statues, to objects of offering,
to architecture, to relics -- manifest the piousness of the faithful, as
well as the historical, political or cultural issues of the communities
which revere them.  The Emerald Buddha in Thailand, the Virgin of
Guadalupe in Mexico, and many Hindu icons are just some examples of how
the regard for sacred objects is more than just a matter of aesthetics
or museological appreciation.  This observation can also be made in
faiths where there are proscriptions against the representation of
religious personages, for which religiosity is manifested in aniconic
form.  There is a need for a mode of analysis of material religion that
goes beyond the mere identification of their style, provenance and
production.  What discursive, ethnographic or historical frameworks can
we utilise so that we can understand their continued relevance, if not
their prohibition, in both global and local contexts?

 

We call for submissions from scholars from the social sciences and
humanities who are concerned with material religion in general.  

 

This may include the study of: 

* Religious icons and images
* Amulets and talismans
* Offertory objects
* Sacred relics
* Ritual objects and symbols
* Sacred spaces and architecture

 

The project is not restricted to any particular religion, area or
disciplinary inclination. International contributors to the volume will
be invited to Singapore in August 2008 for an International Conference
entitled "New Directions in the Study of Material Religion".  This event
will be co-hosted by the Religion Cluster of the Faculty of Arts and
Social Sciences, and the Religion and Globalisation in Asian Contexts
Cluster of the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of
Singapore.  Conference travel and accommodation funding may be available
for international contributors to the volume.  

 

Please send a title, abstract and short biography to Dr Julius Bautista
at seabj at nus.edu.sg <mailto:seabj at nus.edu.sg>   by 29 February 2008.

 

Please click here for the PAPER PROPOSAL FORM
<http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/showfile.asp?eventfileid=364> 

 

 

Convenor

 

Dr Julius BAUTISTA 

Southeast Asian Studies Programme & Asia Research Institute, National
University of Singapore 

Email: seabj <mailto:seabj at nus.edu.sg> @nus.edu.sg
<mailto:seabj at nus.edu.sg> 


Secretariat

 

Ms Alyson ROZELLS
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
#10-01 Tower Block,469A Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259770
Email: alysonrozells at nus.edu.sg 
Tel: (65) 6516 8787
Fax: (65) 6779 1428

 

 

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