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2012 Western Regional Meeting

March 24–26, 2012
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA, USA


Call for Papers

The deadline for the Call for Papers for this Region has passed. Please visit the Region's website for more information about the regional meeting and preregistration instructions.

Conference Theme: Sacred Texts, Sacred Communities

We invite members to explore sacred texts, both oral and written, as repositories for the "voice" of the sacred in religious communities around the world. Particular attention will be given to how community institutions — in their many forms and roles — exercise authority over texts, negotiate access to those texts, and ultimately shape the interpretation of oral or written sacred texts among adherents and outsiders alike.

In religious traditions and institutions, priest, imams, rabbis, monks, shamans, theologians, and judges, among others, are all charged as interpreters of sacred texts be they God’s eternal Word, the oral wisdom of the ancestors, or the transcribed sermons of an enlightened Master. How such institutions and figures take shape and claim special authority, distinct from other members of their religious communities, is a source of ongoing tensions, especially in the age of the Internet.

The growing availability of sacred texts, via the Internet or affordable printing technologies in multiple translations, has also meant that communities must deal with the interpretations of outsiders, which may be hostile to the community’s claims. How communities and their institutions maintain their authoritative positions in response to those challenges is an important area of study. In many cases, such interactions have proved to be catalysts for reform, sectarianism, or even violence.

Sections and Chairs of the Regional Annual Meeting

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 .

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 .

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 .

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

Islamic Studies Section
Abdullahi Gallab, Arizona State 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 .

Jewish Studies Section
Miri Hunter Haruach, Los Angeles, CA, 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 Roberta Sabbath, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 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 .

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 John Erickson, Claremont Graduate University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Queer Studies in Religion Section and Religion and Arts Section (Joint Session)
Marie Cartier, Claremont Graduate University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , John Erickson, Claremont Graduate University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Dirk von der Horst, Claremont Graduate University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Roy Whitaker, Claremont Graduate University, 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 , and Roy Whitaker, 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 in Asian America Section (Joint Session)
Jonathan H. X. Lee, San Francisco State University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Doe Daughtrey, Arizona State University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Philip Boo Riley, Santa Clara University, 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 , Charles Townsend, University of California, Riverside, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and Thien-Huong Ninh, University of Southern California, 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 .

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 , and Chandra Alexandre, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .