9th Annual Religion in Conversations Conference

call for papers flier

“The Undiscovered Country: Exploring New Territories of Religion and Struggle”

February 27th, 2016
Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
Burkle Building & Albrecht Auditorium

2016 Conference Program

If the Religions of the World share a common purpose, it could be argued that this purpose is that of providing – whether through sacred text, ritual, or myth-making – expressions to what is most meaningful or of ultimate relevance.

Here we ask the broader question of whether what is most meaningful or ultimately relevant can exist without struggle, suffering, and even death. How does struggle enrich or devalue what is most meaningful to us as human beings who exist within a global-constituted-created-ecological world? Why can struggle be seen as negative, oppressive and evil, yet also positive, liberating and transformative? How are we to interpret the various interpretations of struggle that world religions provide? And can the multi-vocality of perspectives — from literature, history, philosophy, theology, psychology, politics, and the arts — open up new territories of meaning, what Shakespeare poetically alludes to as “the undiscovered country”?

This year’s Conference seeks to explore the meaning, representation, and instantiations of struggle as articulated across diverse disciplinary lines of inquiry and modes of expressions (film, visual art, performance). The Conference will be structured within a multiple format of paper presentations, keynote addresses, panel presentations and working group discussions.

Sponsored by graduate students in the School of Humanities in Religion at Claremont Graduate University, the Conference is free and open to the public. However, we request that attendees register at the link above.

Thanks to CGU’s Religion Student Council, we are pleased to announce that this year’s conference will include awards for the top three conference papers and/or presentation. 1st place will receive $100, 2nd place will receive $75, and 3rd place will receive $50. The 1st place paper will also be published in the Claremont Journal of Religion.

For more information: religions.in.conversation@gmail.com