Upcoming IRCPL Programs for Spring 2008
Emily Brennan
From: Mark Taylor and Alfred Stepan, Co-Directors, Institute for
Religion, Culture and Public Life
Subject: Upcoming IRCPL Programs for Spring 2008
The newly established Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life
is developing a broad range of programs to promote a better
understanding of the complexities and problems involving religion in
contemporary society (a brief statement of the Institute's mission is
below). One of the Institute's most important programs will be regular
Faculty Seminars, which will bring together colleagues from different
departments and disciplines for a semester-long investigation of a
designated topic. The Institute will also host a number of conferences,
lectures and events to stimulate public debate and understanding. These
programs will not only serve Columbia's own faculty and students, but
will also engage a range of audiences, from the local to the global.
FACULTY SEMINARS
This semester, the following seminars will be offered:
1. Blood
Organized by Courtney Bender, Associate Professor of Religion,
and Gil Anidjar, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature
in Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures.
2. Time and Modernity
Organized by Wayne Proudfoot, Professor of Religion, and
Jonathan Schorsch, Assistant Professor of Religion.
PUBLIC EVENTS
This semester, the Institute will co-sponsor the following lectures and
events:
1. Religion and International Relations Theory
January 23-April 16
Lindsay Rogers Room, International Affairs Building, Room 707
• A speaker series chaired by Jack Snyder, Professor of Political
Science, in cooperation with Alfred Stepan, Professor of International
and Public Affairs and Co-Director of the
Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life.
2. Religious Sites and Toleration
Thursday, February 14, 9 a.m.–6:45 p.m.; Friday, February 15,
9:30 a.m–12:30 p.m.
Kellogg Center, International Affairs Building, Room 1501
• A conference cosponsored with the Center for the Study of Human
Rights, the Center for Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion,
and the Institute for Historical Justice in Reconciliation in
Salzburg, Austria and convened by Elazar Barkan, Professor of
International and Public Affairs.
• The conference will investigate how some religions in conflict have
collaborated on agreed access to major religious sites they all hold
sacred. A number of sites in India, Morocco, Indonesia, and
Palestine/Israel will serve as models for toleration.
3. Rajeev Bhargava: Visiting Scholar in Residence
February 4-23
• Rajeev Bhargava, Professor of Political Science at the University
of Delhi, is Director of the Center for the Study of Developing
Societies and the leading scholar on Indian secularism.
4. The New Draft Constitution of Turkey
Monday, March 3, 9 a.m–5 p.m. followed by reception
International Affairs Building, Room 1501
• A conference sponsored with the Center for the Study of Religion,
Toleration and Democracy and convened by Alfred Stepan, Professor of
Professor of International and Public Affairs and Ahmet Kuru, a
postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Study of Democracy,
Toleration and Religion.
• The current Turkish 1981 Constitution was written after the 1980
military coup and under great military-Kemalist influence. Some argue
that amending the constitution will be the end of secularism. Others
argue that the new constitution will be more democratic and will allow
for the greater practice of religious freedom, such as the right of
veiled women to attend public universities. The conference will
investigate this sharp difference of opinion. Three key drafters of
the constitution will discuss their proposed changes in the morning
session. In the afternoon session, three specialists on
comparative constitutions in democracies will respond. The day will
conclude with a round-table discussion and questions.
5. Sufis, Toleration, and Democracy in Senegal
Friday and Saturday, March 7-8, 9 a.m–5:30 p.m.
Kellogg Center, International Affairs Building, Room 1501
• A conference cosponsored with Institute of African Studies and the
Center for Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion and convened
by Mamadou Diouf, the new Director of Columbia’s Institute for
African Studies and Professor of African Studies in Middle East and
Asian Languages and Cultures.
• The conference will explore how Senegal's Sufi population has
contributed to the country's democratic development and culture. As
part of the conference, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black
Culture will present "A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban
Senegal," an exhibition curated by the Fowler Museum at UCLA
featuring Senegalese calligraphic art and murals as well as
representations of Sheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of the Sufi
Mouride brotherhood.
6. Denis Lacorne: Senior Visiting Scholar in Residence
March 1-31
• Denis Lacorne, Professor at Sciences-Po in Paris, is author of the
new and widely praised book De la Religion en Amérique: Essai
d’histoire politique.
THE INSTITUTE'S MISSION:
The resurgence of religion and, with it, religious and cultural
intolerance and conflict are emerging as powerful forces in the new
century. In order to address this unexpected and rapidly changing
situation, the Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life will
bring together scholars and students in religion, cultural anthropology,
history, political science, economics, social psychology and other
allied fields to sustain multi-disciplinary analysis, reflection and
response to historical and contemporary issues that are of great
significance. The Institute will also engage political and economic
figures and policy practitioners, as well as religious and cultural
leaders, in its programs. The scope of the Institute will encompass a
broad range of phenomena, but will also focus on questions relating to
the role of difference, identity, and practice within larger national
and international contexts. While seeking to understand the bases of
conflict and unrest, it will examine traditions, practices and
historical examples that demonstrate the potential for understanding,
tolerance and ecumenical values within religious traditions, as well as
patterns of social institutions that may facilitate coexistence and
mutual support. By taking an expansive rather than a restricted view of
religious thought and practice, the Institute will recast the
traditional opposition between the secular and the religious in ways
that promote innovative approaches to familiar problems.
Additional information about the Institute's programs and an updated
calendar of activities will soon be available on its Web site.
--
Emily Brennan
Assistant Director
Columbia University
Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life
80 Claremont Avenue, Room 306, MC 9611
New York, NY 10027
Tel. 212-851-4145
Fax. 212-851-0781