Call For Proposals
The Canadian Society for the Study of Religion/La Société Canadienne pour l’Étude de la Religion (CSSR/SCÉR) invites proposals for our 2025 annual meeting, which will be held in conjunction with the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences on the campus of George Brown College from Saturday, May 31 to Monday, June 2, 2025.
Theme
The theme of Congress 2025 is Reframing Togetherness. Full details of the Congress 2025 theme can be found on their website.
George Brown College, the first college to host Congress, invites attendees to reframe coexistence with other humans, the environment, and technology. The event aims to foster collaboration that bridges diverse ways of learning and producing knowledge. Topics include:
- Addressing climate and humanitarian crises.
- Questioning traditional knowledge hierarchies.
- Exploring models of togetherness that promote diversity while considering its potential drawbacks.
Seeking to provide a platform for conversations and dialogue, the CSSR invites proposals that address the theme of Reframing Togetherness.
Format of Sessions
We are hosting our annual meeting in conjunction with the Congress of the Humanities and the Social Sciences and will run from Saturday, May 31 to Monday, June 2, 2025. It will be fully in person. We will not have virtual presentations. Breaks for networking, lunch, and so forth will be factored into the program. All sessions will be limited to 90 minutes.
Proposals
As always, we welcome proposals on all aspects of teaching and research on religion and culture from various academic perspectives and especially encourage proposals on our theme.
Individual papers: Papers are works in progress or shorter scholarly papers. Individual papers will be grouped into panels of three presentations limited to 20 minutes each followed by 10 minutes for discussion.
Panels: Members are encouraged to propose panels on a topic of their choosing with no more than three presenters and one moderator. Panels can run over two sessions (i.e., six presenters maximum organized into two 90-minute panels). Panel members do not need to be from different institutions.
Roundtables: Roundtables focus on an issue, book, or an individual’s body of work. They consist of three (but no more than five) presenters and one moderator followed by discussion with roundtable members and the audience. Roundtable members do not need to be from different institutions.
A participant is permitted to present only one paper as principal author as well as chair a session and participate in a roundtable.
Proposals must consist of the following:
- Individual Papers: contact information (name, institution, address, phone, and e-mail), paper title, and an abstract of 150 words.
- Panels: contact information for the organizer and each participant (name, institution, address, phone, and e-mail), panel title, a 150-word description of the panel topic, and a title and 150-word abstract for each presenter.
- Roundtables: contact information for each participant (name, institution, address, phone, and e-mail), roundtable title, and a 150-word abstract of the roundtable topic. An abstract is not required for each participant’s presentation.
Requests to present at specific times must accompany proposals. We will try to accommodate these requests as best we can. Changes cannot be accommodated once the program has been circulated.
Proposals must be submitted electronically through our submission portal by January 31, 2025. Late submissions or submissions missing information will not be considered. Please note that our submission portal will be open January 6, 2025 at 12:00am EST and close January 31, 2025 at 11:59pm EST. CSSR Membership confirmation is required to access the submission portal.
Registration
All individual, panel, and roundtable participants (presenters, respondents, and moderators) must be paid CSSR members for 2025 before submitting their CSSR Conference proposal. Those whose CSSR membership is not current as of January 31, 2025, will find their proposals disqualified.
Visit our Membership page to learn more about how to join or renew your membership for 2025.
All memberships begin at the date of registration/payment and end one year later. They do not begin/end with the calendar year.
Additionally, registration for Congress 2025 is required. Members will have access to Congress programming through the CSSR.
Complete CSSR 2025 Conference registration requires confirmation payment of CSSR Membership and Congress Fees.
Funding Opportunities from the Federation
The Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences has two funding initiatives for our members: the Child and Dependent Care Subsidy (CCDCS) and the Graduate Student Merit Award (CGMA).
Both are funded and administered by the Federation. As such, it is the Federation that determines eligibility, adjudication, and funding.
- Eligibility: Presenters, moderators, chairs, or respondents registered for Congress, and CSSR members.
- Application Deadline: April 17, 2025
- Amount: up to $200
The Congress Child and Dependent Care Subsidy (CCDCS) is meant to help offset the cost of child and dependent care for participants in Congress 2025 and consists of a reimbursement of up to $200 for eligible expenses. The Federation has allocated one subsidy to the CSSR for Congress 2025.
Priority for the subsidy will be given to graduate students, early career researchers, and Congress participants who meet the Federation’s registration category criteria of underemployed or unemployed attendee. Anyone who is a member and participating in our annual meeting as a presenter, chair, moderator, or respondent is eligible.
Candidates for the subsidy must submit an application statement to the CSSR detailing professional status, care needs, and an estimated amount of financial support (max. 250 words) to Christopher Austin via email at christopher.austin@dal.ca by April 1, 2025. The CSSR will then forward its candidate to the Federation.
- Eligibility: Graduate students (MA/PhD) in good standing, registered for Congress and CSSR members.
- Nomination Deadline: February 3 – April 17, 2025
- Funding Disbursed by Congress: July 2025
- Amount $500
The Congress Graduate Merit Award (CGMA) provides funding of $500 to offset the cost of graduate students presenting at their association’s annual meeting during Congress 2025. The Federation has allocated one CGMA to the CSSR for this year’s Congress.
The Federation requires applicants to submit an abstract proposing what they will present at their association’s annual meeting. As such, the CSSR will select its endorsement for the CGMA from this year’s call for papers. All MA and PhD student members of the CSSR who submit a proposal through the submission portal by the January 31, 2025 deadline and meet the eligibility requirements will be considered for nomination. The CSSR will then forward its candidate to the Federation.
Students who are nominated by another association for a CGMA must notify the CSSR immediately. Students who receive a CGMA will not be eligible for the CSSR’s annual meeting travel fund.
Acceptance of Proposals
Acceptance of proposals is by email. Panel and Roundtable organizers are responsible for informing participants.