CALL FOR PAPERS
Canadian Society for the Study of Religion/Canadian Theological Society
Date:May 26, 2014
Location: Brock University, St.Catharines,Canada
This year, the CSSR and CTS invite submissions for a special joint panel in the area of Religion and Ecology, to be convened during their annual conferences and held in conjunction with the Congress of the Humanities and the Social Sciences, on the campus of Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, on Monday May 26, 2014.
The theme for this year’s Congress is “Borders Without Boundaries.” To cohere with the Congress theme for 2014, and to provide a focus within the theme of the panel, the CSSR and CTS invite proposals from its members regarding “Earth as Subject.” Our topic invites discussion on the role religious traditions play in decentering the human as the only dynamic presence in the cosmos. Papers are encouraged to think beyond the boundary of human subjectivity as is has been established within the borders of modernity, investigating how various world religions conceive of Earth and/or individual other-than-humans as centers of dynamic being in their own right.
We welcome proposals on any topic concerning this theme as understood within the various frameworks and sub-disciplines of those working within the CSSR and the CTS. The CSSR and CTS encourages scholarship which engages the lived realities of religious traditions and the ways in which these impact human perception and feeling toward the planet and/or the individual entities that share Earth’s space. We hope that such perspectives will open up new spaces for understanding that fosters increasingly dignified human/other-than-human relationships and critiques of practices that might undermine the well-being of the planetary community.
We will be accepting a total of three or four submissions for a panel lasting a maximum of two hours.
Submission Guidelines
Normally, the time for delivery in a three- or four-paper panel is twenty minutes, with ten minutes for questions and discussion. A panel will last a maximum of two hours.
All individual paper proposals should be submitted by Monday, January 13, 2014. Abstracts should include some background to the topic you are proposing, a statement of methodology and an indication of your argument. If possible, please try to relate it to this year’s theme.
All proposals are to be submitted through the new CSSR online submission system, SUNFLOWER at http://www.cssrscer.ca/?q=node/544.
- To submit an Individual Paper:
? Log onto the CSSR website as a “Friend of the CSSR” (learn more here: http://www.cssrscer.ca/?q=node/384). Create your online CSSR profile if you have not already done so: http://www.cssrscer.ca/?q=user/register.
? Access SUNFLOWER (here: http://www.cssrscer.ca/sunflower) and follow the instructions for submitting your paper.
? In the “Special Requests” section of SUNFLOWER please indicate that your proposal is for the special CSSR/CTS joint panel in Religion and Ecology, and also indicate whether you are affiliated with CSSR or CTS.
? Submitters are responsible for ensuring that their proposals have been successfully submitted on SUNFLOWER. Once your proposal has been submitted you may view, edit and download a printable PDF summary of the proposal.
Important Notes
- All CSSR presenters must be paid members in good standing for the year that they wish to present. Membership fees for each presenter are strictly due by January 31st, 2014 or the proposal will be disqualified. You may renew your membership or join us as a paid member here: http://www.cssrscer.ca/?q=node/67. Please allow some time for your payment to be processed.
- Requests to present on specific dates MUST accompany the initial proposal. Date changes cannot be made to the program once it has been circulated.
- A participant is permitted to present one panel presentation and one roundtable or workshop presentation.
- Acceptance of proposals will be done via e-mail. Members who require a ‘hard copy’ acceptance of their proposal for funding purposes may request one from the Program Co-Chairs.
- Panelists must be from different institutions.
- Note: CSSR Program Co-Chairs are Alison Marshall, MarshallA@brandonu.ca, and Joe Velaidum, jvelaidum@upei.ca; CTS Program Co-Chairs are Timothy Harvie, timothy.harvie@stmu.ca, and Matthew Eaton, matt.eaton@mail.utoronto.ca
Selection Criteria
The CSSR and CTS will be jointly selecting the papers for this special joint panel. In selecting proposals for presentations, the committee will consider:
- The clarity and significance of the proposal;
- The quality of the contribution to scholarship;
- The relationship of the presentation to the thematic focus of the annual meeting;
- The contribution of the presentation to a diversity of perspectives and approaches;
- The potential for inspiring discussion and engagement among the members.
Our joint goal as separate but intertwined Societies is to foster collegial discussion of members’ work and of the work of other Canadian scholars of religion. All presenters and attendees are encouraged to participate in as much of the program as possible. We welcome all members, students, and other interested persons to join us this year at the annual meeting in St. Catharine’s, Ontario and this special joint session.
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