Call for Student Religious Studies Papers!

I’m sending another reminder of the RESEARCH IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES CONFERENCE April 30, May 1 2011 at the University of Lethbridge.

We are already receiving some fine proposals from near and far, and we are looking forward to a strong roster of undergrad and graduate presenters!

In previous years we’ve had 28-40 papers presented (the number often depends on our schedules vis-a-vis term end in other institutions), and the papers have covered the gamut of religious studies from Tantra to Early Church, ritual theory to Islamic discourses on democracy, and from Philosophy of Religion to Battlestar Galactica!

I would encourage readers attached to Religious Studies or related university departments repost or advertise the conference, especially if they are located in or near the Pacific Northwest region of the AAR / SBL. We have had students come from much further, some intrepid souls even ventured form the Eastern most corners of Canada and up from Vanderbilt in Tennessee! It is a great experience for students to show off their work and to see what other excellent students are working on. Great practice for grad. school and especially for presenting at professional conferences!

The conference is an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate level students to present papers on the history, belief, practices, cultural contexts, and artistic or literary expressions of any religious tradition.  Papers from every discipline within the academic fields of the humanities and social sciences are welcome.

It is open to students from any educational institute at any point in their educational career.  Although we encourage PhD students to attend, we are particularly seeking participation from undergraduate and masters level students.

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The RRSC examines all academic pursuits of the methodological and technical aspects of religion, and the place of religion in society. We encourage all interested students to submit a brief (200-300 word) abstract of their proposed research and findings. Each abstract will be evaluated for content and quality of work for presentation at the conference.

How is the conference organized?
The Research in Religious Studies Conference is modeled on those hosted by the premier professional learned societies in religious studies: the American Academy of Religion, Society of Biblical Literature, and Canadian Society for the Study of Religion albeit with some important changes.
These conferences are typically organized into a set of “sessions” each featuring three or four presenters. Each presenter is given a specific amount of time to make her or his presentation and to allow for questions and discussions. Our conference follows the general tradition of 30 minutes per presentation, which means about 20 minutes for the actual paper and 10 for comments.
Sometimes, students suggest specific topics for a round table discussion, and we are always willing to hear ideas for those, too!
Each session has a presider, who introduces the speakers and oversees the discussion period. The presider is also the timekeeper, and may well cut a speaker off who goes over the time limit. The presider is also supposed to defuse any emotional showdowns, but having to do this is a very rare occurrence for us.
The sessions are organized on specific topics and 3 or 4 sessions may be going on at once. For most professional conferences, would-be presenters apply for the specific session, and only the 3 or 4 best ones are selected. This is not what we do, however. We referee the paper proposals first, and do the best we can to make relevant sessions out of the papers we have accepted. This means grouping the papers can be a very “creative” enterprise.

Here is a link to a pdf  Call for Papers poster to hang up in departments.