If the newsletter does not display properly, please click here.

Dear friends and colleagues,

This week, we have a wide range of events for you starting with our colloquium that will take place next Wednesday with Paul Landau. Then, a friendly reminder about our 2nd Workshop on Differentiation Theory on 3 and 4 June – you can still register for it by 31 May. Moreover, we have a call for papers for another in-house workshop in December for you and recommendations for two conferences with the participation of KFG fellows.

Finally, we would like to introduce our new IT support contact person to you, and we have a Covid-19 update on health protection measures for you that gives hope.

Have a great week!

Anja & Lucy

Next week’s Colloquium: Paul Landau on “The African Sacred in the Secularity of World Anti-Apartheid”

From October to November last year and again from February to March this year, our Senior Research Fellow Paul Landau was part of our KFG team in Leipzig. We are happy to have him back now virtually: In our next colloquium he will present his research project on “The African Sacred in the Secularity of World Anti-Apartheid”.

Our Senior Researcher Magnus Echtler will comment on his presentation. As usual you find in our member area the reading for the presentation as well as the zoom connection data for the online event.

Please note that the colloquium will take place in the afternoon (CET) this time.

2 June | 3:15 – 5:45 p.m. (CET)

Online via zoom

Reminder: KFG Workshop “Differentiation Theory and the Sociology of Religion and Secularity II: Boundaries of Religion. Demarcations and Negotiations”, 3–4 June

We are very much looking forward to our 2nd Workshop on the usability of differentiation theory for research on secularity on 3 and 4 June. You can still register for the event by 31 May, if you haven’t already.

This workshop will focus on the meso and micro level of social differentiations and conceptual distinctions in relation to ‘religion’. Again, our directors Christoph Kleine and Monika Wohlrab-Sahr together with Daniel Witte from the University of Bonn, bring together a great variety of scholars and approaches to the topic which will form the basis for the two-day schedule.

The workshop will take place online via zoom. You can register via e-mail, the corresponding connection data will be made available to all registered participants shortly before the workshop.

3–4 June

Online via zoom

Call for Papers: KFG-Workshop “The Relationship between State and Religion in the Arab and Islamicate Contexts. Civil State, Secular State, Religious/Islamic State”

We would also like to draw your attention to another workshop and its call for papers: Our Senior Research Fellow Housamedden Darwish and our Associate Member Markus Dreßler are organising a workshop on “The Relationship between State and Religion in the Arab and Islamicate Contexts. Civil State, Secular State, Religious/Islamic State” on 9–10 December. The two-day event aims at understanding the concepts of ‘civil state’, ‘secular state’ and ‘religious/Islamic state’ and their relation to (the concept/ideal of) democracy in Arab and Islamicate contexts.

The workshop will be held in English. In the event of travel restrictions due to coronavirus, the workshop will be held in a hybrid format, allowing for virtual participation. Please send your applications and direct all inquiries to Housamedden Darwish.  

Deadline for abstract: 20 June
Deadline for draft of full paper: 30 November
Date: 9–10 December

Leipzig University

New contact person for IT matters: Christin Reinhardt

Our new contact person for IT issues is Christin Reinhardt. Christin is a student assistant at the University Computer Center (URZ) and will be here in the office every Tuesday from 8:30-12:30 for the next weeks.

Jonathan Zachrau is also still available for IT questions until the end of June. If there should be an urgent technical problem out of their office hours, you can reach both of them via their email address: itstrohsack@uni-leipzig.de.

Online Conference on „Reibungsgewinne. Was Religionen aus den Zumutungen der Moderne machen“ (“Friction Gains. What Religions make of the Impositions of Modernity“) at Zentrum Religionsforschung, University of Lucerne/Switzerland, 27 May

Already tomorrow, the Department for the Study of Religions at the University of Lucerne will hold a conference on the topic of modernity confronting religions with fundamental challenges and impositions, but at the same time offering opportunities for renewal and sharpening of profiles. Using case studies, the conference will illuminate the paths that different religious traditions have taken in modernity and how they as a result shape today's religious forms.

Our Associate Member Silke Gülker contributes to the conference with a presentation on „Transzendenz und Unverfügbarkeit in der Wissenschaft. Studien in der Stammzellforschung in Deutschland und in den USA” (“Transcendence and Unavailability in Science. Studies in stem cell research in Germany and the USA”).

The conference concludes a thematically closely related lecture series which can be found on a video site of the University of Lucerne until the end of June. The event will be held in German, pre-registration is not necessary. You will find detailed information including the zoom link on the conference website

27 May | 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (CET)

Online via zoom

Final Conference on “Religious Materials. Emic Perspectives – Etic Constructions – MuseumClassifications”, 3–5 June

The Research Network “Dynamics of Religious Things in Museums” (REDIM) will hold its final conference on “Religious Materials. Emic Perspectives – Etic Constructions – MuseumClassifications” from 3 to 5 June.

The conference will be opened, among others, by our Senior Research Fellow Edith Franke, spokesperson of REDIM and Professor of General and Comparative Religious Studies at the University of Marburg. There will also be panels on “Religion in Museums. Making the Invisible Visible?”, “Meaning Making: Collecting and Collections” and “Religious Objects as the Plaything of Hegemonic Actors”. Until 30 May you can watch the video contributions to the conference.

You can register via e-mail. After registering, you will receive the necessary access data to view the video contributions and participate in the discussions during the conference.

The conference language will be English for the most part.

17–30 May: Online videos available

Date: 3-5 June | Public discussions and events

Covid-19 Update on health protection measures

Fortunately, the Corona infection figures in our region and in most parts of Germany continue to decrease and things are getting livelier around us again. The stable good development in Leipzig allows noticeable opening steps and we would like to give you an update on changes in regulations - in general and at Leipzig University Library in particular:

• Outdoor catering facilities can reopen (with an appropriate hygiene concept including contact tracing, keeping the minimum distance).
• Cultural institutions including cinemas have started to operate again with strict hygiene measures (appointment booking, contact tracing, negative Corona test).
• Night-time curfew restrictions have been lifted.
• Compulsory mask wearing remains in place in public transport and at the weekly market. Apart from that, there is an appeal to people's responsibility to protect themselves and others in public areas wherever the minimum distance of 1,50 metres cannot be maintained.
• At DIY stores, appointment and negative test are no longer necessary as with other shops for daily needs. All other shops can offer Click & Meet if they have a respective hygiene concept and customers must provide evidence of a daily negative Corona test.
• Recommendation to use the Corona warning app for contact tracing.

• Leipzig University Library: 
Reading rooms are open again for members of Leipzig University. Seats at the study desks must be booked in advance. Obligation to wear an FFP2 or surgical face mask at all times while in the library. A short stay for borrowing media in the open access areas as well as short scanning and copy work is permitted for all users, a check-in on site is necessary. No appointment and testing required.

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.