http://www.aarweb.org/About_AAR/Regions/Western/call.asp
Western Region
Call for Papers
Western Region
March 21-23, 2009
Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California
Standing at the Crossroads: Twenty-first Century Challenges in Ethics, Religion, and Social Justice: Reclaiming Traditions and Renewing Commitments
This year’s theme, “Standing at the Crossroads: Contemporary Challenges in Ethics, Religion, and Social Justice: Reclaiming Traditions, Renewing Commitments, and Responding to the Complexities of the Twenty-first Century,” is intended to foster discussion about responses generated by diverse faith traditions to new and old issues of social justice and equity, including, but not limited to globalization and structural violence; civil strife, genocide, and war; intersections of race, gender, poverty, and social injustice; sexual, gender, and identity issues; and ecologic devastation/habitat destruction caused by the technical, biologic, and economic developments of the twenty-first century.
Section chairs are encouraged to develop individual calls which will produce papers and panels that offer critical reflections on these themes in relation to the ongoing interests of their sections. Joint sessions and interdisciplinary panels are encouraged, if relevant to the needs and interests of the section. Panels and papers may focus on, but are not limited to, the following themes: 1) Discussions of selected religious traditions and their social and ethical behavioral commitments, with particular attention to how these commitments are reflected in on-going/everyday practice/s; 2) Explorations of the use of local and global faith-based strategies to promote cultural pluralism and peace; 3) Reviews of contemporary religious responses to new technologies, biomedical developments, scientific discoveries, and/or environmental concerns; 4) Investigations of the ongoing relationship between religious traditions, and evolving social justice values; 5) Studies of the ability of marginalized groups (i.e., women, racial, ethnic, sexual, religious or caste minorities, and the poor) to successfully engage with, or challenge, marginalizing religious traditions, practices, and political, scriptural, or clerical authority, leading to new/renewed faith commitments, new interpretations of traditional practices, new understandings of scriptural text/s and authority, new practices and rituals, or new laws; 6) Reflections on the challenges that arise for religious traditions during periods of migration, genocide, war, or other volatile situations; and 7) Historic analyses that compare and contrast spiritual, religious, and ethical responses to globalization, structural violence, as well as gender and race relations in the past with current responses and realities today. For further information, visit http://www.sjsu.edu/wecsor/.