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Dear friends and colleagues,

over the next two weeks, a number of events will be taking place in our KFG: Next Wednesday, our Senior Research Fellow Hugh McLeod will present his research project at the colloquium. A week later, our Senior Research Fellow Rajeev Bhargava will host the colloquium. On the evening before, there will be a special Eranos, during which he and his wife will present their latest books. Furthermore, we are very happy that we could win Nilüfer Göle to hold a workshop in our KFG on 11 November.

We would also like to remind you of the KFG workshop “Religion and Secularism as Problem Space in Postcolonial Occidentalist Discourses within the MENA Region”, which will take place from 3-4 November and for which registration is still possible. Moreover, we have information on another workshop and conference with KFG participation as well as a lecture recommendation for you.

We conclude our Wednesday Weekly with an Icelandic music highlight for the weekend. Furthermore, for our international guests we would like to point out that Monday 31 October is Reformation Day and a National Holiday. This means, among other things, that shops will be closed and we will not be in the office (but of course, you will still have access to your offices on this day).

Enjoy and have a good week!

Anja & Lucy

Next week’s Colloquium: Hugh McLeod on “Sport in Europe and North America since 1800: Is it a religion? Is it secular? Both? Neither?”

Next Wednesday, our Senior Research Fellow Hugh McLeod will give a presentation on his research project “Sport in Europe and North America since 1800: Is it a religion? Is it secular? Both? Neither?”. In his presentation, he will discuss the question of what is in favour of considering modern sport as essentially secular or as a religion. He takes as his starting point the work of the American historian Allen Guttmann, who in 1978 published “From Ritual to Record”, a highly influential overview of Western sports history from the ancient Olympics to the present day, and who argued that the Greek Olympics were held in honour of Zeus, but modern sport is essentially secular.

The colloquium will take place in a hybrid format (on-site and online). If you would like to join in person, please register for the colloquium via e-mail. In the Member Area you will find the relevant readings as well as information on the zoom connection data. 

2 November | 9.15–11.45 am (CET)

Strohsack, Room 4.55 and online via zoom

Special Eranos Dinner and Workshop with Nilüfer Göle. Please register!

Please register for both events as soon as possible via e-mail, participation is limited due to the capacities of the venues.

Book Presentations Tani and Rajeev Bhargava

8 November | 5 pm (CET) | PAN at Lindenauer Markt 21, 04177 Leipzig 

Workshop with Nilüfer Göle

11 November | 10 am–4 pm (CET) | Strohsack, Room 4.55 and online via zoom

Reminder: KFG-Workshop “Religion and Secularism as Problem Space in Postcolonial Occidentalist Discourses within the MENA Region”, 3–4 November

We would like to remind you of the KFG-workshop on “Religion and Secularism as Problem Space in Postcolonial Occidentalist Discourses within the MENA Region”, which we will be hosting next week from 3–4 November. Convened by Housamedden Darwish and Markus Dreßler, the two-day event aims to discuss the question of religion and secularity/secularism in (postcolonial) Occidentalist discourses and their critiques in the MENA region.

The workshop will take place as a hybrid event. You can still register for participation: If you wish to attend, please send a short inquiry to Housamedden Darwish. If you wish to attend in person, we ask you to additionally name the panels you wish to attend on site, as space and seating is limited.

Workshop Dates:

3 November | 9 am–6 pm (CET)

4 November | 9 am–1.30 pm (CET)  

Hybrid Format: Leipzig University and Online via zoom

Conference (in German): “To Eat or Not to Eat. Interdisziplinäre Zugänge zu religiösen und anderen Essensregeln” (Interdisciplinary approaches to religious and other food rules), 3–4 November

“What should we eat and what not? Meat, but which? Meatless or even vegan? Insects, why not?” Choosing the right food has always been linked to avoiding certain foods. Humans are omnivores biologically, but not culturally. We respect boundaries of disgust, religious prohibitions, status, the suffering of other living beings and ecological boundaries. The conference “To Eat or Not to Eat”, organized by the Forum Religionen im Kontext at the University of Potsdam on 3 and 4 November, will address the conditions of eating from legal, neuroscientific and nutritional perspectives, as well as various religious and non-religious eating styles that are characterized by their abstinence. Our Associate Member Bernadett Bigalke will contribute with a presentation on “Fasting and Starvation as Body and Self Transformation”.

As the way to eat is through the stomach, participants are also invited to try the food alternatives presented.

Registration is possible via e-mail.

3–4 November

Universität Potsdam, Forum Religionen im Kontext, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam Haus 11

Lecture (in German) with Michael Bergunder on „Was heißt Aufklärung heute in einer globalen Welt? Eine religionswissenschaftliche Perspektive“ (“What does Enlightenment mean today in a global world? A Religious Studies Perspective”, 3 November

Our Associate Member Lena Dreier points to a lecture by Michal Bergunder, Professor of Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology–Mission at the University of Heidelberg, on the question of what Enlightenment means today in a global world seen from a religious studies perspective. His presentation will take place as part of the Halle Lectures 2021/22 at Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg.

Registration for this hybrid event is possible until 1 November via e-mail.

3 November, 6– 7.30 pm (CET)

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Löwengebäude, Aula, Universitätsplatz 11, 06108 Halle AND Online

Concert with Svavar Knútur at Neues Schauspiel Leipzig, 30 October

This week we have another great music recommendation for you: The Icelandic singer/songwriter and entertainer Svavar Knútur is coming back on tour. He presents his songs in an incredibly touching way and tells the most absurd stories and jokes in between, spiced with a good portion of black Icelandic humour.

The concert will take place at Neues Schauspiel Leipzig and tickets are available here.

30 October, 8 pm (CET) | Doors open 7 pm

Neues Schauspiel Leipzig, Lützner Straße 29, 04177 Leipzig

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.