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Call for Papers Theme: Rethinking Religion in India Subtitle: European Representations and Indian Responses Type: International Conference Institution: Research Centre Vergelijkende Cultuurwetenschap, Ghent University Centre for the Study of Local Cultures, Kuvempu University Karnataka Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities (ASHA) Department for the Study of Religions, University of Pardubice Location: Pardubice (Czech Republic) Date: 11.–14.10.2011 Deadline: 15.6.2011 __________________________________________________ We are pleased to announce the third conference of the five-year conference cluster Rethinking Religion in India: European Representations and Indian Responses, which will take place from 11 to 14 October 2011 at the University of Pardubice in the Czech Republic. Today, a virtual consensus has come into being among scholars that the dominant modern descriptions of Hinduism, Brahmanism, Vedism, Sikhism, Jainism, ... are the result of collaboration between Europeans and Indians. Scholars like Brian Pennington, Phillip Wagoner, Thomas Trautmann, and others have characterised this collaboration as a kind of dialogue - a dialogue between people belonging to two different cultures possessing different conceptual frameworks. This dialogue, it is said, has resulted in descriptions that contain elements of both sides and are therefore neither entirely European nor entirely Indian. In the third Rethinking Religion in India conference we want to take a closer look at this consensus, at its implications and examine whether and how it helps us in the study of religion in India. The conference will work towards these ambitions in four formats: - The Platform Sessions: addressing the question 'Monologue or Dialogue? - The Roundtable Sessions: The Indian Response. A call for proposals is invited for the: - Parallel Paper Sessions - "How to...?" Workshops Parallel Paper Sessions We invite submission of max. 300 word abstracts on the following themes: - The colonial construction of Hinduism - The caste system and Indian religion - Secularism in Europe and India - Said and Orientalism: dead or alive? - European representations of India - What does the modernization of Indian traditions mean? - Islamic mysticism in European and Indian perspective Please note that only those abstracts that clearly address the themes of the Parallel Paper sessions and their guiding questions will be taken into consideration. "How to...?" Workshops We invite proposals for workshop sessions that address a concrete question such as ‘How to teach about the Indian religions and traditions?’ or 'How to develop de-colonised descriptions of the Indian traditions?' will be addressed. Even though the aim of these sessions is to involve the audience in a more active way, the structure of these sessions is left open: the sessions could consist of presentations, a discussion among a panel of experts on a particular theme, a discussion with the audience introduced and moderated by a chair. It is left to the organiser of a 'how to…?' workshop to decide upon this. Workshop proposals should explain why this workshop is important vis-à-vis the general objectives of Rethinking Religion in India. They should also contain an outline of the planned structure of the session with the number and names of speakers, moderator and/or other participants. Abstracts and proposals for workshops can be submitted online via our website. The deadline for submissions of abstracts and proposals is June 15th, 2011. Contact: Marianne Keppens Research Centre Vergelijkende Cultuurwetenschap Ghent University Complex Rommelaere Apotheekstraat 5 B-9000 Ghent Belgium Tel: +32 (0)9 264 93 70 / 71 Fax: +32 (0)9 264 94 83 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.rethinkingreligion.org __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
