Dear faculty and graduate students,

I am writing to update you on the 2013 American Academy of Religion’s Eastern International Regional conference, which takes place in Toronto, Canada on May 10-12.  The call for papers is published and can be accessed here (please note the 15 February 2013 deadline): 

http://is.gd/a6OoI2

This year, our theme is ‘material religion’ (for more information on the topical theme please see the CFP). Paper proposals in all areas of religious studies are encouraged but we will make a special effort to organize some panels on the 2013 theme.

We are pleased to announce two keynote speakers at Toronto 2013:

• Dr. Simon Coleman (University of Toronto) and
• Dr. Rosalind Hackett (University of Tennessee) will each present a paper on the 2013 theme.

Dr. Coleman’s paper is scheduled for Friday morning (May 10) while Dr. Hackett’s paper will take place on Saturday morning (May 11).

Toronto 2013 is also beginning a new initiative that we hope faculty and graduate students will find beneficial. The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion will join us and lead a session on pedagogy in higher education (more details coming soon). This will be Wabash’s first act of collaboration with the EIR, and we are hopeful that the partnership between these two organizations will lead to lively and engaging sessions in 2013 and in future EIR meetings.  

Please stay tuned for information about accommodations. For now, we can tell you that limited space is reserved for our guests at The Holiday Inn and New College residence, while rooms will also be available in Massey Hall. All of these buildings are located on the University of Toronto campus and are 5-7 walking minutes from the session locations.

We hope to see you in Toronto at the EIR!

Call for Papers

2013 Eastern International Regional Meeting
May 10–11, 2013
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Deadline for submissions: February 15, 2013

The Eastern International Region of the AAR invites you to submit proposals for papers and panels to be presented at the 2013 Regional Meeting. Alongside the regular panels, the conference will include a series of special sessions on the theme of Material Religion.

Material religion explores the way in which religion happens in material ways and contexts. Material culture, such as images, places, rituals, and artifacts, is put to work in the practices of religion everywhere.

Proposals are welcome in all areas within the study of religion, including:

• Anthropology
• Comparative religions
• Diaspora and transnational studies
• Ethics
• Gender
• Method and theory
• Philosophy
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Textual studies

In particular, the program committee is interested in proposals related to our special theme of material religion. These could include submissions on such topics as:

• Material Religion (broadly defined)
• Religion and popular culture
• Religion and art/visual culture
• Religion and the body
• Sacred space and architecture
• Pilgrimage
• Religion and ritual
• Religion and politics
• Religion and revolution/social change

The Program Committee would also welcome proposals for nontraditional sessions, such as roundtables, dialogues, PechaKuchas, book discussions, etc.

Each proposal should contain the following in a single e-mail attachment in MS Word format:

• One-page abstract (300 words maximum) describing the nature of the paper or panel
• Current CV(s) for the participant(s)
• Cover page that includes the submitter’s full name, title, institution, phone number, fax number, e-mail, and mailing address. For panel proposals, identify the primary contact person

Please send your proposal to aar.eir2013@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions isFebruary 15, 2013.

Scholars from any region may apply to participate. Only those proposals received by the deadline will be considered for inclusion in the program. Presentations are limited to twenty minutes, with ten minutes allowed for questions. If you require technological support for your presentation/panel (such as an Internet connection or audio and projection equipment), you must request it with your proposal.

As a general rule, the Region discourages panels comprised of scholars from a single institution. Exceptions to this rule would include a presentation from a research team or a panel based on other types of collaborative research.

Student Paper Competition

Graduate and undergraduate students in the Eastern International Region are invited to enter the student paper competition. Please note that to be eligible for submission, the student must attend a university in the Eastern International Region. The committee will give preference to work that is new at this conference. Up to two $200 awards are reserved for winning papers. The award(s) will be formally presented at the business meeting on Saturday, May 11, 2013.

To enter the competition, please attach a short note confirming that you wish to enter your paper into the contest along with your initial proposal by the February 15, 2013, deadline. A final draft of the paper must be submitted to the Regional Coordinator Verna Ehret (vehret@mercyhurst.edu) by April 1, 2013. To be eligible for this award the student must read the entire paper at the meeting, which means the paper and presentation must conform to the twenty-minute time limit (roughly 2,500 words).

Undergraduates

The Region welcomes submissions from undergraduates in the field of religious studies. Each proposal should contain the following in a single e-mail attachment in Word format:

• One-page abstract (300 words maximum) describing the nature of the paper or panel
• Letter from a faculty member who has supervised the student’s work 
• Cover page that includes the student’s full name, institution, phone number, e-mail, and mailing address. For panel proposals, identify the contact person

Please send your proposal to aar.eir2013@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions isFebruary 15, 2013.

Note: All presenters at the 2013 regional conference must have active membership in the AAR. All participants must preregister for the conference.