American Academy of Religion

February e-Bulletin

 

Content At a Glance:

  1. AAR Joins Lawsuit
  2. Annual Meeting: Africa Focus and Call For Papers
  3. Book Series Editor Sought
  4. Syllabus Project
  5. Regional Meetings
  6. Membership Renewal Forms
  7. Membership Renewal Winners
  8. Your Renewal Status

 

 

  1. AAR has joined with AAUP and the PEN American Center in a lawsuit challenging the ideological exclusion of Prof. Tariq Ramadan and certain provisions of the US Patriot Act.  The AAR Board of Directors' general policy is to refrain from public statements or actions on matters not directly related to AAR's mission.  In this case, they unanimously agreed that action was both warranted and important, since Ramadan was prevented from attending our 2004 Annual Meeting. Please see the complete press release at http://www.aarweb.org/news/pressrelease/2006/20060125.asp.

 

  1. Annual Meeting
    • Africa Focus at the 2006 Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. This year’s Annual Meeting international focus is African contributions to the study of religion.  The International Connections Committee is soliciting partnerships with departments and institutions for co-sponsoring specific scholars of religion from Africa, to lecture at the co-sponsoring institution as well as participate in the annual meeting.  Co-sponsorship will allow your department to hear from these fine scholars while they are already in the United States.  Some of the scholars we are hoping to bring to the annual meeting are listed below.  To co-sponsor or for more information, contact Aislinn Jones ajones@aarweb.org by April 15, 2006.

o       Elom Dovlo, President, African Association for the Study of Religion, Dept. for the Study of Religion, University of Ghana

o       Tinyiko S. Maluleke, University of South Africa (UNISA), Departments of Missiology and Systematic Theology

o       Isabel Phiri. Head of the Department of Religion, University of Kwa Zulu Natal; General Secretary, the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. Gender, religion, HIV&AIDS, violence.

o       Penda Mbow, Chiekh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal. Former government minister who specializes in Islam.

o       Bolaji Bateye, OAU Ile Ife, Women and AICs/Pentecostal churches.

o       Edwin Gimode, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. Patterns of religious hybridity in East Africa, Kenyan church politics; Islam and globalization.

o       Margaret Gecaga, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. Counseling and Independent Churches in Kenya

o       Pauline Lere, Senior Lecturer, Department of Religious Studies, University of Jos, Nigeria.

    • 2006 Call for Papers is online http://www.aarweb.org/annualmeet/2006/call/. The participant forms for surface mail, fax, and e-mail are available there.
    • The online paper/panel proposal (OP3) system is open and available at http://www.aarweb.org/annualmeet/2006/op3/login.asp.  (You will need to log in to use this page, using your surname, Gray, and member ID, Z28679.)
    • The deadline for all proposal submissions is March 1. Please note and use the appropriate method of submission each program unit prefers.

 

  1. Editor sought for the Reflection and Theory in the Study of Religion Series, published by AAR in cooperation with Oxford University Press.  E-mail inquires, nominations (self-nominations encouraged) and applications (a letter of interests and qualifications, and current C.V.) by a Word attachment or a PDF file to Francis X. Clooney, Publications Committee Chair, at fclooney@hds.harvard.edu.  Application deadline is September 1, 2006.  Further information can be found in the March and May issues of Religious Studies News, and at: http://aarweb.org/publications/books/.

 

  1. Syllabus Project: The AAR posts searchable syllabi at http://www.aarweb.org/syllabus/. The Teaching and Learning Committee asks that you please submit your syllabi to this popular page. If you already have, and have any changes to your syllabi, you are invited to update them.

 

  1. Regional Meetings:  Meetings of the AAR regions occur in the spring. Check http://www.aarweb.org/regions/ for details. All AAR members are welcome to participate in any region's activities.

 

  1. Membership Renewal Forms:  Members not yet renewed as of the end of 2005 recently received membership forms by mail.  Unfortunately, as a result of a miscommunication with our printer, those forms identified themselves as being for the "2007 Calendar Year."  We apologize for any confusion this may cause, but if you submit one of the misprinted forms please rest assured that we will not misallocate your renewal:  All forms with the "M06W" code in the bottom-right corner will be applied to 2006 regardless of the erroneous message at the top.  If you prefer a form that displays the correct year, you can download the form online at http://www.aarweb.org/membership/join.asp.

 

  1. Membership Renewal Winners:  Congratulations to Ellen M. Leonard (University of St. Michael's College), Muriel Schmid (University of Utah), and Merrill M. Hawkins (Carson-Newman College), winners of free hotel rooms for this year's Annual Meeting in Washington, DC as part of our membership renewal random draw.

 

  1. Your Membership Status. Your membership is current for 2006. Thank you. Membership resources are available at http://www.aarweb.org/membership/.