1. The Reconstruction of Classics: Studies on Literature Translation from the Perspective of Religions Conference
21st to 22nd June 2014
Shanghai, China
Website: http://www.cclaa.cn/html/English_Version/2013/1204/142515.html
Contact person: Ji-Yanfang
Shanghai Normal University, and Pusan National University will co-host an International Conference (June 21-22th, 2014) on the topic of The Reconstruction of Classics: Studies on Literature Translation from the Perspective of Religions.
Organized by: Shanghai Normal University Comparative Literature and World Literature Research Center&Pusan National University
Deadline for abstracts/proposals: 15th February 2014
2. ECERP 2014 - The Inaugural European Conference on Ethics, Religion and Philosophy Conference
24th to 27th July 2014
Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom
Organized by: IAFOR - The International Academic Forum
Deadline for abstracts/proposals: 1st June 2014
2014 Conference Theme:
“Individual, Community & Society: Conflict, Resolution & Synergy”
Conflict is an integral part of the human condition. The universal struggle between our personal selves – who we are as unique, separate and different from others, with our specific blend of experiences, abilities, attitudes, aspirations, needs and wants – and our social selves, intricately connected to, and interdependent on, others – our loved ones, our friends and favoured groups, our communities and cultures – leads inevitably to internal as well as interpersonal conflict.
Conflict among our communities and societies is also natural, given that these groups are founded on commonality – of geography, values, attitudes, beliefs, aspirations – and differentiated from others based on these. Diversity, however, though it may lead to conflict, plays an important role in the flourishing of communities and societies. One of the challenges of modern society is harnessing the synergy that emerges from the interaction of these differences.
Website: http://iafor.org/iafor/conferences/the-european-conference-on-ethics-religion-and-philosophy-2014/
Contact person: The ECERP 2014 Conference Team
The International Academic Forum in conjunction with its global university partners is proud to announce the Inaugural European Conference on Ethics, Religion and Philosophy, to be held from July 24-27, at the Thistle Hotel, Brighton, UK.
3. Religion and Realism Conference 28th to 28th November 2014, Rome, Italy
The American University of Rome - Religious Studies Program,
in cooperation with the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, and The Institute for the Study of Culture and Christianity,
are pleased to announce a
CALL FOR PAPERS
for an International Conference on
RELIGION AND REALISM
Date of the conference: November 28, 2014
Deadline for paper proposals: September 1, 2014
Rome, The American University of Rome
Religion remains one of the most significant social forces and cultural constituencies. It can be said that religion and religious truths are becoming increasingly important in the so called “post-secular” times, when the sphere of the (secular) social/political and the sphere of the religious have to be re-thought again. The relevancy of religious truths and the way they structure our understanding of “reality” overcomes the sphere of theology and particular religious practices. Religion, truth, and reality, and the way these concepts are approached and understood, continue to be vital for a broader cultural discourse as well, from philosophy and science, to politics, mass media and show business.
“Realism,” on the other hand, is usually understood as a position and method, which is opposite to “idealism” and the “imaginary.” “Realism” implies a certain way of approaching the reality and truth. Looking from a positivistic perspective, many would find it difficult to associate concepts of “realism” or “truth” with phenomena such as religion. However, the experience of the post-modern times has taught us that relations between the “reality,” “truth,” “knowledge” and “interpretation” are far more complex, and that even the purest “fiction” is sometimes capable of being more effective (and therefore more “real”) in influencing our lives and in structuring the world in which we live, than most of the things that are directly exposed to our sensuous experience and rational reflection. On the other hand, we have also learned from the experience of modernity that certain metaphysical narratives, and their claims for “absolute truth” and “absolute reality,” could be very dangerous in their practical, social and political manifestations.
The conference seeks to explore philosophical, social, political, and theological dimensions of religion and realism. The themes and subjects for paper proposals include (but are not limited to) the following:
· Religion and reality
· Religion and truth
· Religion and subversion
· Religion and political reality
· Religion and economic “realisms”
· Absolute “truths” and social/political freedom
· Ultimate truth: tyranny or liberation?
· Realism as epistemology
· Realism – the political dimension
· Realism – the aesthetic dimension
· Realism – the religious/theological
· Realism and the “New Realism”
· Understanding metaphysical, physical and social “reality”
· Reality and creativity
· Reality and religion: the need for interpretation or for a social change?
· Secularism, post-secularism, new religiosity
· Power, reality and knowledge
4. Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies
8, 9 and 10 December 2014 at the Old Library of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford
The Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies is a forum for discourse and presentation of papers by scholars who have a particular interest in the study of religion. Canon Brian Mountford, Vicar of St Mary's Church and Fellow of St Hilda's College in the University of Oxford, will host the meeting.
You are invited to make a presentation and lead a discussion of a relevant aspect of religious studies, or you may wish to participate as a panel member or as an observer. Your disquisition must adhere to an abstract of about 300 words approved by the Programme Committee of the Symposium. You are, also, encouraged to submit a paper, in keeping with your abstract, which may be published in an appropriate journal, book of conference proceedings. All papers presented for publication or inclusion in books or sponsored journals will be subject to peer review by external readers.
5. Vernacular Religion, Folk Belief, and Traditions of the Supernatural
23-28 March 2015, Macau & Hong Kong, China
The diversity of supernatural experience.
This academic folklore conference will explore past and present supernatural traditions worldwide.
Although often associated with rural locations, folk belief is a truly global phenomenon. Traditions of the supernatural are equally at home in crowded cities and on distant farmsteads, and supernatural experiences have been subjected to different theories and explanations depending on their cultural contexts. This conference will explore these explanations as well as investigate how traditions can be compared across cultures. The conference places special (though not exclusive) focus on urban traditions and on comparisons between supernatural narratives belonging to religion, folk belief, science, and entertainment.
Magical Macau.
The 2014 conference in this series took place in the remote and windswept islands of Shetland, Scotland. The 2015 conference moves across the globe to the tropical island city-state of Macau, a special administrative region of China and the most densely populated territory on Earth (nearly 600,000 people in just 30 km²).
On 23-25 March, delegates will speak with local tradition bearers in Macau and visit sites of legendary and religious significance. The Historic Centre of Macau World Heritage Site – a living mix of Chinese and Portuguese colonial cultural influences – is home to numerous Catholic, Taoist, and Buddhist shrines, churches, and temples. Yet move away from central Macau’s busy markets and winding alleys, and you will come to temples of capital and consumerism: for Macau – called the ‘Las Vegas of the East’ – is also the site of some of the world’s largest and most glamorous casinos, where tourists engage in different traditions of the supernatural.
On 26-27 March, delegates will have the chance to give academic presentations in association with the conference The Supernatural in Literature and Film. On 28 March, delegates can participate in a post-conference tour of beautiful Lantau Island (Hong Kong), site of Tai O fishing village and the world’s largest seated bronze Buddha.
Attendance at the conference is open to all interested individuals. If you wish to give a presentation at the conference, please see the call for papers. The deadline for abstracts is 30 August 2014. To take advantage of early registration rates, we recommend that you submit your abstract by 30 July 2014.
6. Fifth International Conference on Religion and Spirituality in Society
16-17 April 2015
University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, USA