CFP — “Urban and Rural, Real and Imagined” — The Conference on the Study of Religions of India (CSRI), Annual Meeting 2014

THE CONFERENCE ON THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS OF INDIA (CSRI)
ANNUAL MEETING 2014
CALL FOR PAPERS
“Urban and Rural, Real and Imagined”

The Conference on the Study of Religions of India (CSRI) invites proposals for its upcoming Annual Meeting to be held at Butler University in Indianapolis from June 26 to June 29, 2014. The conference theme is “Urban and Rural, Real and Imagined.” We invite proposals that focus on rural and urban environments, including the social, political, natural and/or spiritual ecologies that differentiate them or define their mutual relation. Possible approaches could include explorations of how religious texts, symbols, stories, and practices convey the lifestyles, terrain, desirablity, and/or danger of remote rural or urban settings or of migration and movement between the two. Papers could also investigate the ways in which rural landscapes and lifestyles or cityscapes and urbanization create, challenge, or transform religious ideologies, practices, and traditions.
Conference organizers (Corinne Dempsey, Reid Locklin, Karen Pechilis, and Brian Pennington) welcome individual paper proposals of no longer than 250 words, to be submitted to the program coordinator, Corinne Dempsey (cdempse6@naz.edu), no later than March 1, 2014.

The Conference on the Study of Religions of India (CSRI) is a forum of exchange for scholars engaged in the academic study of the religious traditions of India in both native and diasporic contexts. It provides scholars a leisurely, collegial environment in which to present their work. Emphasis will be placed on informality among peers. Committed to critical and creative inquiry, the conference is not an advocacy forum for the religions of India and does not endorse or proscribe a particular point of view. Only scholars with terminal degrees in religious studies or related academic disciplines (like Anthropology, Art, Ethnomusicology, History, Philosophy, Theology, Women Studies) researching and/or teaching in the area of religions of India are eligible to present, attend, and participate in the conference. Graduate students in advanced standing in any of these disciplines are also welcome to participate in the conference.