Call for Articles — Edited Volume on Gender and Eastern Orthodoxy
We – Academy Professor Elina Vuola and Dr Helena Kupari, from the University of Helsinki – are putting together and editing a collection of scholarly articles on the theme of gender and Eastern Orthodoxy and invite those interested in contributing to send chapter abstracts by 15 February 2017 to the contact address given below.
At this point, we understand the theme broadly. Ideally, the book will contain theoretically oriented essays that address key issues related to the theme from a broader perspective, as well as a selection of qualitative, empirical case studies representing a wide range of sociocultural contexts and showcasing different religious and religion-related social phenomena. That is to say, we are interested in both empirical and theoretical investigations of the topic. The contributions can draw from a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches including those of theology, religious studies, sociology, anthropology, and feminist studies. However, all papers need to employ some kind of gender-theoretical framework – even a rudimentary one. Moreover, the case studies should focus on the modern world, roughly speaking: on 20th and 21st century lived expressions of and negotiations with the Eastern Orthodox tradition.
Decisions about the specific aim and scope of the book as well as about the final contributors will be made based on the chapter abstracts. Thus, we will also take into consideration interesting abstracts that slightly diverge from these guidelines. Furthermore, prior to acceptance we may ask authors for minor alterations to their abstracts, to ensure a good fit with the totality of the book.
We have spoken to the Religion Editor at Routledge about this project, and he has shown real interest in it. After selecting the articles to be included in the volume, we will compose a book proposal and send it to Routledge. Any official decision to publish would have to be based on peer review of our proposal, but the Religion Editor has assured us that if reviews are favourable he would be keen to publish.
DETAILS AND SCHEDULE
Send your chapter abstract of around 500 words to Helena Kupari at helena.kupari[at]helsinki.fi. Include a short CV, 150 words maximum.
Deadline of abstracts: 15 February 2017
Notification of acceptance by 15 March 2017
Deadline of final articles: 31 December 2017 (at the earliest, subject to change)
CfP website: http://blogs.helsinki.fi/embodied-religion/cfp-gender-and-orthodoxy/
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Academy Professor Elina Vuola (ThD) has conducted extensive research on the role of the Virgin Mary in the lived religion of women both among Latin American Catholics and Finnish Orthodox Christians. She has published widely on the themes of feminist theory and religion, gender issues in Latin America, and Marian devotion. Her publications related to this volume include “Feminist Theology and Feminist Theory: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives” in Contemporary Encounters in Gender and Religion: European perspectives, eds. L. Gemzöe, M. Keinänen, and A. Maddrell (Palgrave McMillan 2016); “La Morenita on Skis: Women’s Popular Marian Piety and Feminist Research of Religion” in The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theology, eds. S. Briggs and M. McClintock Fulkerson (Oxford University Press 2011); and “Seriously Harmful for Your Health? Religion, Feminism and Sexuality in Latin America” in Liberation Theology and Sexuality: New Radicalism from Latin America, ed. M. Althaus-Reid (Ashgate 2006).
Postdoctoral Researcher Helena Kupari (PhD) has studied the religiosity of Finnish Orthodox Christian women with a special focus on the religious reverberations of the internal displacement of the majority of the Finnish Orthodox community following the Second World War. She is the author of Lifelong Religion as Habitus: Religious Practice among Displaced Karelian Orthodox Women in Finland (Brill 2016): http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/9789004326743.
Both editors currently work in the Academy of Finland funded research project “Embodied Religion: Changing Meanings of Body and Gender in Contemporary Forms of Religious Identity in Finland”, Faculty of Theology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
