Religious Studies News

		2011 Western Regional Meeting March 26–28, 2011 Whittier College Whittier, CA, USA

Conference Theme: Current Religious Thinking

Previous annual meeting themes have taught us what happens when we see our field through spacial and geographic metaphors. This year we invite members to conceive of religion and its study as complex and ongoing flows. Our substantive areas are not cut-and-dried; look closely and they dissolve into each other. And our methodologies, likewise, are not merely contiguous, but constantly interfuse, blend, and add their own cross-currents to others without end. Like Heraclitus's ever-new river, religion is the living water of life.

This year we encourage proposals that celebrate and critique religion’s myriad and ever-changing currents — that trace them to their sources and plumb their mixed and maybe muddied depths. We hope to receive proposals that address questions like “How do religions flow from region to region?,” “How have theology or ritual deepened when new tributaries flow into traditions?,” or “How do we dive into the waves caused when scholarly disciplines clash and trouble the waters of academe?” Similarly, we hope this call opens you to new confluences in your own work. We encourage the outflowing of new studies, where your disciplinary thought streams into new channels or where you invite new disciplinary streams into your ancient streambeds. And, simultaneously, we encourage the inflowing of collaboration, where two or more scholarly streams combine — in panels, book celebrations, symposia, etc. — to nourish the same ground in concourse.

Proposals are due to Section Chairs by September 30, 2010. Our meeting is open to any AAR member from any region or country. In addition to our conference, the Western Region sponsors several competitive awards with prizes for papers from graduate students and independent scholars. We encourage you to submit papers and to plan to attend the conference. For complete information on the Call, themes, and submission guidelines, visit the region’s website at http://regions.aarweb.org/Western/index.php. Note that the full Calls are being uploaded as they arrive from the Section Chairs, so please check in frequently over the next few weeks. Following is a list of Sections offering sessions at our meeting with the Section Chairs’ contact information.

Buddhist Studies Section
Kenneth Lee, California State University, Northridge, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Ecology and Religion Section
Sarah Robinson, Claremont Graduate University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Education and Workshops Section
Bret Lewis, Arizona State University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Ethics Section
Kelly Fitzsimmons Burton, Arizona State University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Brandon Crowe, Arizona State University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Goddess Studies Section
Laura Truxler, California Institute of Integral Studies, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Annette Williams, California Institute of Integral Studies, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

History of Christianity Section
Marianne Delaporte, Notre Dame de Namur University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Dyron Daughrity, Pepperdine University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Indigenous Religions Section
Mutombo Nkulu-N'Sengha, California State University, Northridge, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Islamic Studies Section
Souad Ali, Arizona State University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Sophia Pandya, California State University, Long Beach, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Jewish Studies Section
Emily L. Silverman, Graduate Theological Union, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Latino/a and Latin American (U.S.) Section
Theresa Yugar, Claremont Graduate University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Nineteenth Century Section
Kristy Slominski, University of California, Santa Barbara, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Natalie Fawcett, University of California, Santa Barbara, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Philosophy of Religion Section
Hester Oberman, University of Arizona, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Jason Smick, Santa Clara University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Psychology, Culture, and Religion Section
Franz Metcalf, Forge Institute, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Queer Studies in Religion Section
Marie Cartier, Claremont Graduate University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Raedorah C. Stewart, Pasadena, CA, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Religion and Social Sciences Section
Siroj Sorajjakool, Loma Linda University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Jill Snodgrass, Clinebell Institute, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Religion and the Arts Section
Dirk von der Horst, Claremont Graduate University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Religion in America Section
Philip Boo Riley, Santa Clara University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Doe Daughtrey, Arizona State University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Religion, Literature, and Film Section
Jon R. Stone, California State University, Long Beach, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Religions of Asia Section
Jonathan H. X. Lee, San Francisco State University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Toby B. Johnson, University of California, Riverside, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Womanist/Pan-African Section
Paula McGee, Claremont Graduate University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Arisika Razak, California Institute of Integral Studies, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Women and Religion Section
Ann Wertman, Arizona State University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The AAR Western Region meets with the Society of Biblical Literature’s Pacific Coast Region and the American Schools of Oriental Research’s Pacific Coast Region. These three organizations make up the Western Commission for the Study of Religion (WECSOR). For details see www.sjsu.edu/wecsor.