The Social Science Research Council has just announced the launch of a major new project and grants program entitled “New Directions in the Study of Prayer.”
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Announcements, events, and opportunities related to topics of interest to TIF readers are posted here. Additionally you may find round-ups of news items and brief commentary on current events.
For a listing of all of the events announcements, click here.
For a listing of announcements regarding books, click here.
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Der Spiegel interview with Hans Kung
by Jessica PolebaumOn the occasion of the Pope's visit to Germany, Der Spiegel has conducted an interview with theologian Hans Kung, one-time colleague and longtime interlocutor of Benedict XVI, at the University of Tubingen. Kung, in his characteristic style, does not hold his tongue in his criticism of, what he believes to be, the rightward turn in the Catholic Church since John Paul II.
September 21, 2011
books
America plus nothing
by John D. BoyBut Sweet Heaven When I Die is, first and foremost, a book about loss, about death, transience, neglect, and quitting. These are the recurring themes in almost every one of the book's thirteen chapters. The loss of the American west to real estate developers, the loss of a beloved uncle to a meaningless war, the killing of veteran activist Brad Will in Oaxaca in 2006, the neglect of the Yiddish language and its masterful authors, or the devastation of a writer failing to find an audience. In one chapter, Sharlet notes that all things we become invested in and pin our identities on have a half-life. With his consciousness of the inevitable decay befalling all things, Sharlet proves he has taken Cornel West's lesson of the "death shudder" to heart. "To learn how to die in this way," Sharlet quotes West in a chapter on the philosopher, "is to learn how to live." And although the final chapter of When I Die is called "Born, Again," Sharlet resists the temptation to end on an upbeat note, leaving us instead with a blues note.
September 23, 2011
books
The impossibility of (international) religious freedom
by Amanda KaplanReligion blogger Doughlas Remy presents his reading of Winnifred Sullivan’s The Impossibility of Religious Freedom in relation to the politics surrounding international religious freedom.
September 23, 2011
books
Secularism in Antebellum America
by Jonathan VanAntwerpenForthcoming from the University of Chicago Press, a "pioneering account of religion and society in nineteenth-century America" by John Lardas Modern, contributing editor at The Immanent Frame and co-curator (with Kathryn Lofton) of the recently launched Frequencies.
September 26, 2011
books
Philosophy of religion in the public sphere
by Jessica PolebaumArs Disputandi has recently published a collection of essays from the 2010 Conference of the European Society for Philosophy of Religion titled Religion in the Public Sphere. Edited by Niek Brunsveld and Roger Trigg, the volume---available online and in print---includes contributions from Nicholas Wolterstorff ("Does Forgiveness Violate Justice?") and Richard Amesbury ("Secular State, Religious Nation?"). In the introduction, Trigg writes.
September 27, 2011
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CFP: Sovereignty, Representation and Authority
by Jessica PolebaumPléyade, a biannual journal of Political Science published by the Centro de Análisis e Investigación Política, has issued a call for papers and book reviews for an upcoming issue, "Sovereignty, Representation and Authority: Current Interpretations of Political Theology."
September 28, 2011
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Methods for the study of religion
by John D. BoyThe Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society at the University of Kent in the UK recently launched an online training resource on research methods in the study of religion.
September 28, 2011
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Frequencies, twenty transmissions in
by John D. BoyToday marks the twentieth entry in Frequencies.
September 28, 2011
events
Symposium on restorative justice, reconciliation and peacebuilding
by Amanda KaplanIn collaboration with the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, the Institute for International Law and Justice at New York University's School of Law will host an International Symposium on Restorative Justice, Reconciliation and Peacebuilding on Friday and Saturday, November 11-12.
September 29, 2011