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Dear friends and colleagues,

This time our Wednesday Weekly is fully packed with information about events and people: First, we welcome Tom White as a new Fellow at our KFG and announce our next colloquium next Wednesday – this time with Katharina Wilkens. Also, we want to share two announcements from the Research Centre Global Dynamics (ReCentGlobe) with you: an information session and a Call for Proposals.

And finally, we have recommendations for a conference, a guest lecture, a summer school and two online lectures in connection with a current exhibition. Enjoy and have a good week!

Anja & Lucy

Next Week’s Colloquium: Katharina Wilkens on “African Socialism – A Blueprint of Secular State Formation at Independence”, 26 January

Next Wednesday our Senior Research Fellow Katharina Wilkens will present her research project on “African Socialism – A Blueprint of Secular State Formation at Independence”. Our Senior Research Fellow Peter Kneitz will comment on her presentation.

You can find the relevant readings in our Member Area as well as information on the zoom connection data as the colloquium will take place as online event.

26 January | 9.15–11.45 a.m. (CET)

Online via zoom

Information Session by ReCentGlobe on the Cluster of Excellence Initiative “New Global Dynamics“, 1 February

The Research Centre Global Dynamics (ReCentGlobe) at Leipzig University invites all interested university members to a presentation on the plans for a joint initiative for a Cluster of Excellence with Martin Luther University Halle and several non-university research institutes. At the same time, they would like to inform you about the latest developments of the ReCentGlobe, which is responsible for the conception and coordination of the application on the part of Leipzig University. There will also be given information on the research building “Global Hub” as well as space for discussion.

Registration is not necessary.

1 February | 3.00–5.00 p.m. (CET)

Online via Zoom

ReCentGlobe Call for Proposals for Global Dynamics Conference: Has 2021 Been a Watershed in the Global Condition?

We would also like to draw your attention to a Call for Proposals by the Research Centre Global Dynamics (ReCentGlobe). The Centre encourages researchers to submit proposals for its annual conference on the question “Has 2021 Been a Watershed in the Global Condition?” This conference brings together scholars aiming at an interdisciplinary understanding of recent, upcoming as well as past global dynamics in all spheres of social and culture-nature interaction. It therefore invites historians, area studies specialists, social scientists and scholars from the fields of religious studies, migration studies, climate research and global health, to name but a few, to present their current research and to join efforts in finding overarching interpretations and interdisciplinary explanations of global dynamics.

Please direct any questions to Miriam Meinekat.

Timeline: 

Submission of Call for Papers and Panels: 28 February
Information about accepted papers: 15 March
Final deadline for registration: 10 April

Hybrid format (Leipzig University and Online)

Conference on „Laizität und Pluralismus: ein deutsch-französischer Blick“ (“Laïcité and Pluralism: A German-French View“), 2–3 February

Our Research Coordination Counsellor Judith Zimmermann points to a conference entitled “Laïcité and Pluralism: A German-French View“ which explores conditions of religious minority experiences and conflicts over values and norms that are currently being discussed in Germany and France. For this purpose, the historical experiences and memories of the two countries as well as the controversies triggered there will be examined more closely. By linking historical heritage and contemporary experiences, a contribution is made to better defining and rethinking the way religious pluralism is regulated in Europe in a multicultural and immigration-driven context.

The conference is organized by the German Historical Institute Paris in cooperation with the association Vigie de la Laïcité.

Registration is necessary. Conference language is French.

Date: 2–3 February

Hybrid format (Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris / Institut historique allemand AND Online via Zoom)

Guest Lecture on „Der asiatische unabhängige Katholizismus auf den Philippinen und auf Sri Lanka um 1900 im Kontext einer globalen Religionsgeschichte“ (“Asian Independent Catholicism in the Philippines and Sri Lanka around 1900 in the Context of a Global History of Religion”) with Adrian Hermann, 25 January

We would like to draw your attention to a guest lecture given by our Senior Research Fellow Adrian Hermann, organized by the Department of Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology at the University of Heidelberg. Adrian's lecture will deal with two Catholic movements independent of Rome in Asia around 1900 from the perspective of religious studies and the history of Christianity: The "Independent Catholics of India, Goa, and Ceylon", founded in the 1880s as a reaction to the end of Portuguese patronage over the Catholic dioceses of Goa and Ceylon, and the Philippine "Iglesia Filipina Independiente" (IFI), founded in 1902 shortly after the transition from Spanish to American colonial rule.

Adrian Hermann is Professor of Religion and Society at the Forum International Science at the University of Bonn. His research focuses on the globalisation of the discourse on religion and the history of religion of the global world.   

Date: 25 January | 4.30-6.00 p.m. (CET)

Hybrid format (University of Heidelberg, Lecture hall 15, Grabengasse 3-5, 69117 Heidelberg) AND ONLINE

Summer School “Religious Conversion in Plural Societies Past and Present” with Sebastian Rimestad, 11–15 July

Religious conversion is as elusive as it is topical in the contemporary world, where religious identifications and narratives have returned to the fore of political rhetoric and social scientific enquiry. Both the common-sense idea and the scientific notion of “conversion” start from the premise that “religion” and “religious identity” are stable entities. But in contemporary societies, the idea of a stable religious identity is increasingly questioned through religious pluralism, bricolage mentality, and expressive social identities. This raises a number of questions as to what constitutes a religious conversion and to what extent contemporary religious conversions conform to those of the past. These and other questions will be approached from a variety of angles at a summer school addressed to graduate students (from advanced MA level to PhD) from a variety of disciplines, including Religious Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, History, Political Science, and others.

The summer school is organised by our Senior Research Fellow Sebastian Rimestad together with Katharina Waldner from the University of Erfurt and Helena Kupari from the University of Helsinki. It will take place in Erfurt (Germany) in July and include participant presentations, workshops, lectures, and an excursion.

In order to participate, please send a motivation letter of 1-2 pages via e-mail by 31 January.

Online Lectures in connection with exhibition “Translated Religion: In a Forest of True Words”, 27 January & 17 February

In October last year, we introduced the exhibition “Translated Religion: In a Forest of True Words” at Leipzig University Library Bibliotheca Albertina to you, curated by our Associate Member Katja Triplett. Today, we would like to announce two public online lectures that accompany this exhibition.

On 27 January, Paola von Wyss Giacosa, Guest curator and lecturer at the University of Zurich will talk about “Asia Illustrata: The Religions of Asia in the mirror of Dutch book illustrations of the early modern period”. Three weeks later on 17 February, you can listen to the talk on “Anthropological translation: Ovid’s creation narratives in medieval and early modern times” by Regina Toepfer, Professor at the Institute for German Philology at the Julius Maximilians University Würzburg. The talks will be given in German.

Registration is not required.

ASIA ILLUSTRATA: DIE RELIGIONEN ASIENS IM SPIEGEL NIEDERLÄNDISCHER BUCHILLUSTRATIONEN DER FRÜHEN NEUZEIT | Paola von Wyss-Giacosa

27 January | 6.00 p.m. (CET)

Online via YouTube

ANTHROPOLOGISCHE ÜBERSETZUNG: OVIDS SCHÖPFUNGSERZÄHLUNGEN IN MITTELALTER UND FRÜHER NEUZEIT | Regina Toepfer

17 February | 6.00 p.m. (CET)

Online via YouTube 

If you have any content that you think suits the purpose of the weekly, please feel free to send it to us at multiple-secularities@uni-leipzig.de.