A16–204
Friday, November 16, 2:00 PM–6:00 PM

McCormick Place East – 353A

Ipsita Chatterjea, Vanderbilt University, Presiding

Analysis of academic norms for the study of religion focuses on the construction of a secondary discourse that accomplishes the following: 1) Treats all religious phenomena as primary sources; i.e., the object of study; 2) Adheres to common academic practices in the humanities and social sciences, as appropriate for the research question under investigation; and 3) Incorporates self-critical reflection on the problematic of scholarly, secondary discourse vis-a-vis the primary, intramural discourse of the people and practices studied. These three goals are necessary to adequately formulate the study of religion as a discipline of scholarship in alignment with the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

The readings and discussion questions for each segment listed below are posted here.

Sean McCloud, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and Katja Rakow, University of Heidelberg
The Problem of "Genuine Religion" and Dominant Normative Claims

Randall Styers, University of North Carolina, and Monica Miller, Lewis and Clark College
Analytical Research in the Eye of a Normative Claims Storm

Jorunn Buckley, Bowdoin College, and Robert Baum, University of Missouri
Human Rights and Researcher Responsibilities toward Threatened or Minority Populations

Merinda Simmons, University of Alabama, and Ipsita Chatterjea, Vanderbilt University
Falsifiability, Objectivity, Method, Theory, and Norms

Open Debate among Attendees:
A Research Ethics Policy in the Analytical Study of Religion

Business Meeting:
Randall Reed, Appalachian State University, Presiding