“Politics of Religious Knowledge and Ignorance” – Society for the Anthropology of Religion (SAR) Biennial Conference, Toronto, May 21-23, 2019

Society for the Anthropology of Religion (SAR) Biennial Conference, Toronto, May 21-23, 2019
Politics of Religious Knowledge and Ignorance

SAR meets every other year for a vibrant and diverse conference of research and ideas in the anthropology of religion. The next meeting of SAR will be in Toronto, Ontario from May 21 to May 23, 2019. The theme of the meeting will be “Politics of Religious Knowledge and Ignorance” (see abstract below).

Meeting Information:

When: May 21 to May 23, 2019

Where: Victoria College, University of Toronto

Address: Victoria College, 73 Queen’s Park Crescent, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1K7

Rates: Excellent inexpensive accommodation will be available at Victoria College itself, and you should consider booking as early as possible after acceptance of your proposal to guarantee a place.

Registration Fees:

Registration details will in due course go through the American Anthropological Association website.

Meeting Abstract:

Politics of Religious Knowledge and Ignorance

Knowledge has always been a central concern of the anthropology of religion, touching on questions of rationality, myth, ethnographic evidence, and local forms of observation and explanation. Earlier approaches to anthropological knowledge have been productively challenged by important gendered, material, affective, cognitive, ethical, and ontological turns in recent decades. The time is ripe to re-examine the status of knowledge in our sub-discipline, and simultaneously to address increased scholarly interest in regimes of ignorance, where supposed lack of knowledge—in parallel with debates about ‘non-religion’—must often be understood not as absence but as ideologically charged presence.

This conference invites contributors to examine these and related questions at a time when the social sciences as forms of knowledge are being placed under political scrutiny, but when new opportunities are also emerging. Given the continued role of religion in the public realms of most societies, how might the anthropology of religion—alongside or distinct from theology and the natural sciences—articulate an equally public voice?

General inquiries about the conference should be sent to simon.coleman@utoronto.ca.

The conference will take place during Ramadan (May 5-June 4), and we are keen to ensure that members of the Muslim faith will be accommodated in every way possible. We hope to provide more details closer to the time, but please do contact us (simon.coleman@utoronto.ca) with any concerns and suggestions you may have.

Website link:

http://sar.americananthro.org/2019-sar-biennial-conference/