Tag: Calls for Papers

Call For Papers, Master Category

CFP – The Last of Us: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? (Lexington Books, Theology, Religion, & Pop Culture series)

Dr. Peter Admirand, Dublin City University, is editing a book within the Lexington Books/Fortress Academic Press series (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture). The book is titled: The Last of Us: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? More details available here. The book examines ethical and theological themes in The Last of Us television show and video games.

Proposals are due 26 June 2023 and can be sent to peter.admirand@dcu.ie.

General info on the series can be found here. : Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture. Information about the editor can be found here: Dr Peter Admirand, Dublin City University

The Last of Us, The Last of Us: Left Behind (DLC) and The Last of Us Part II video games embody sustained critical and commercial success, and are some of the most important genre-defining video games of the last decade. The new HBO Series has followed this trend with some 8.2 million viewers of Season One’s finale. The Last of Us universe is steeped in rich, complex narrative; thick, round characters; gorgeous and layered imagery; and gameplay that invites nuanced and creative, sometimes deeply harrowing and questionable, moral complicity. Tied in with the present HBO Series and the next planned video game installment (not to mention online multiplayer modes, the comic tie-in, American Dreams, and the two books on The Art of the Last of Us), an edited collection on The Last of Us universe begs for astute theological, philosophical, literary, and ethical analysis.

Drawing upon The Last of Us universe, possible topics and chapters could include:

  • The limits of forgiveness (and revenge)
  • The fine line between murder and self-defence
  • The portrayal (or absence) of God and religion
  • Survival v. living v. living morally
  • The (im)possibility of non-violence or pacifism
  • Victim/perpetrator ambiguity
  • Parenting amidst distress and through impending and real loss (death of Sarah)
  • Joel and Ellie’s growing adopted father/daughter relationship
  • Comparisons with other dystopian texts/films
  • The portrayal of non-human animals (giraffe scene)
  • Examination of moral catharsis and/or ultimate evil
  • Human Nature, Evil, and Theodicy
  • Choosing personal happiness at the cost of the greater good
  • Gender and body shaming (particularly as related to The Last of Us Part II)
  • Treatment of LGBQI themes and characters
  • Violent Video Games and Complicity (especially regarding narrative choices in The Last of Us Part II—playing as Abbie after the murder of Joel, for example, or playing as a vengeance-filled Ellie)
  • On false and real hope amid dystopia
  • Corporate America, despotic governments, and Clickers—and other evils
  • The Ethics of Love and relationships despite Runners and Stalkers
  • Role of brothers (Joel and Tommy) – or family and friendship in general during great travail
  • Predicted character arcs for (the hoped-for/expected) The Last of Us 3…
  • Examination of background imagery/architecture as moral and symbolic codes
  • Role of class, race, ethnicity, and other identity markers

Contributors will submit abstracts with CVs no later than 26 June 2023 to peter.admirand@dcu.ie. First drafts will be due by 26 September 2023 (Outbreak Day). Final manuscript will be delivered to publisher by 15 December 2023.

Call For Papers

“Death & Religion” CFP by Open Theology (second call)

 A call for papers has been issued by Open Theology for a topical issue on “Death and Religion”

This is a (second call). Submissions will be collected until April 30, 2022

    “Open Theology” (https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/OPTH/html) invites submissions for the topical issue “Death and Religion”, edited by Khyati Tripathi, Jennifer Moran Stritch and Peter G.A.Versteeg.

    Death and religion share an interdependent relation. Where death is an event or state that threatens to disintegrate worlds and meaning, religion can be seen as a practice that categorizes, consoles and makes sense of this kind of disintegration. According to Oxford dictionary, death is defined as “end of life”, but behind this simple definition, there is a web of complex ideas that could be understood from not just biological but also religious or cultural perspectives. Death has been conceptualized differently in different religious traditions as their texts and practices demonstrate. According to Lifton, religion is ‘life power’ and dominates death. Similarly, Davies put forth rituals as culture’s ‘words against death’.

     The relationship between death and religion should be seen as a broad scholarly query, which includes philosophical and theological questions, as well as more applied perspectives such as social work. Although death is a clinical process of organs that cease to function, dying and death are events that are surrounded by various sense-making practices, ranging from intricate traditional ceremonies as part of established religious repertoires, to more personal, individualized rituals. Social-cultural context, therefore, is of utmost importance to understand how we interact with dying persons and dead bodies, and why we do it in that particular way.

    In theology we see how faith traditions historically account for the reality of death, reflecting upon its existential meaning and thus trying to understand how to deal with the event of death. As such, a theology of death raises both practical (e.g. in spiritual care) and systematical (e.g. in ethics) questions regarding death and dying.

     In psychology death anxiety or fear of death invited a great deal of interest starting in the late 1950s with Fiefel’s work on death anxiety and religion. Different studies pointed at different relationships between death anxiety and religiousness; some studies found a positive relationship between the two while others found an inverse relationship.  Some research argued for a curvilinear relationship between death anxiety and religiousness, explaining that moderately religious participants have more death anxiety than those who are extremely religious or not religious at all. The relationship between religion and death anxiety has been an inconclusive one because of the multidimensional nature of both religion and death anxiety. There is, however, a lack of scholarship on death anxiety and religion in non-western cultures.

    In cultural anthropology, death studies have developed into a substantial research niche. There has been ample attention for practices pertaining to e.g. the process of dying, death as transition, as well as to the interaction with the dead body. Important here, too, is the global perspective on death, also in the sense of engaging with ontologies of life and death outside of the established scientific-medical spectrum.

    This special issue encourages scholars from different disciplines, not just restricted to the ones we mentioned, to contribute to this debate. Of special interest are situations in which religion becomes overbearing and a burden to carry forward in times of death, or if religious practices are obstructed, for example, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How do these crisis situations affect the relationship between religion and death? This special issue aims at invoking curiosity, enquiry and interest in looking at the different facets of this topic.

     The special issue on ‘Death and Religion’ invites empirical (qualitative and quantitative), review/conceptual and analytical papers focusing on the different facets of this relationship from scholars in different disciplines such as: Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Theology, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Thanatology, Health Humanities, Social Care and Social Work. Among others, topics or areas of focus might include:

  • Death anxiety and religiosity in non-western cultures
  • The different perspectives to ‘Extrinsic Religiosity’
  • Is ‘Intrinsic Religiosity’ really the reliever of anxiety?
  • Psychological/sociological/psychosocial significance of death rituals
  • The changing nature of death rituals
  • Personal religious beliefs and ideas about death
  • Belief in afterlife and death anxiety
  • The changing relationship between death and religion due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • The non-religious traditions and death
  • Autoethnographic accounts of performing/witnessing death rituals
  • Death as latent and religion as evident in Freudian texts
  • Religious Literacy and the end of life care
  • Extinction as ultimate death and other morbid anxieties of the Anthropocene

Authors publishing their articles in the topical issue will benefit from:

– transparent, comprehensive and efficient peer review,

– free language assistance for authors from non-English speaking regions.

Because “Open Theology” is published in Open Access, as a rule, publication costs should be covered by so called Article Publishing Charges (APC), paid by authors, their affiliated institutions, funders or sponsors.

Authors without access to publishing funds are encouraged to discuss potential discounts or waivers with Managing Editor of the journal Katarzyna Tempczyk (katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com) before submitting their manuscripts.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Submissions will be collected until April 30, 2022, via the on-line submission system at http://www.editorialmanager.com/openth/

Choose as article type: “Death and Religion”

Before submission the authors should carefully read over the Instruction for Authors, available at: https://www.degruyter.com/publication/journal_key/OPTH/downloadAsset/OPTH_Instruction%20for%20Authors.pdf

All contributions will undergo critical peer-review before being accepted for publication.

 Further questions about this thematic issue can be addressed to Khyati Tripathi at khyatitripathi27@gmail.com. In case of technical or financial questions, please contact journal Managing Editor Katarzyna Tempczyk at katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com

Open Theology Logo
Call For Papers, Journals, Opportunities

Open Theology Issues an Invitation for Edited Volume Proposals; Deadline October 2020.

The Open Theology journal invites groups of researchers, conference organizers and individual scholars to submit their proposals of edited volumes to be considered as topical issues of the journal for 2021.

Proposals will be collected by October 31, 2020.

To submit your proposal please contact Dr Katarzyna Tempczyk at katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com

Prior topical issues have included:

2015:
* Violence of Non-Violence (ed. Michael Jerryson and Margo Kitts)
* Manichaeism – New Historical and Philological Studies (ed. John C. Reeves)
* In Search of a Contemporary World View: Contrasting Thomistic and Whiteheadian Approaches (ed. Joseph Bracken)
* Science and/or Religion: a 21st Century Debate (ed. Shiva Khalili and Fraser Watts)

2016:
* Cognitive Science of Religion (ed. Jason Marsh)
* Is Transreligious Theology Possible? (ed. Jerry L. Martin)
* Psychotherapy and Religious Values (ed. P. Scott Richards)
* Bible Translation (ed. Mark L. Strauss)
* Religious Recognition (ed. Heikki Koskinen, Ritva Palmen and Risto Saarinen)
* Religion and Race (ed. Daniel White Hodge)

2017:
* Multiple Religious Belonging (ed. Manuela Kalsky and Andre van der Braak)
* Phenomenology of Religious Experience (ed. Olga Louchakova-Schwartz and Courtenay Crouch)
* Analytic Perspectives on Method and Authority in Theology (ed. Joshua Farris and James Arcadi)
* Alternative Religiosities in Soviet Union and Communist East-Central Europe (ed. Rasa Pranskeviciute and Eagle Aleknaite)

2018:
* Cognitive Linguistics and Theology (ed. John Sanders)
* Intersubjectivity and Reciprocal Causality within Contemporary Understanding of the God-World Relationship (ed. Joseph A. Bracken)
* Rethinking Reformation (ed. Niels Henrik Gregersen and Bo Kristian Holm)
* Religion in Latin America: Theological and Philosophical Perspectives (ed. Charles Taliaferro, Marciano Adilio Spica, and Agnaldo Cuoco Portugal)
* Phenomenology of Religious Experience II: Perspectives in Theology (ed. Olga Louchakova-Schwartz and Martin Nitsche)
* Recognizing Encounters with Ultimacy Across Religious Boundaries (ed. Jerry L. Martin)

2019:
* Digital Humanities in Biblical Studies and Theology (ed. Claire Clivaz and Garrick Allen)
* Phenomenology of Religious Experience III: Visuality, Imagination, and the Lifeworld (ed. Martin Nitsche and Olga Louchakova-Schwartz)
* Existential and Phenomenological Conceptions of the Relationship Between Philosophy and Theology (ed. Nikolaas Deketelaere, Elizabeth Li, and Steven DeLay)

2020 (in progress):

* Women and Gender in the Bible and the Biblical World (ed. Zanne Domoney-Lyttle and Sarah Nicholson)
* Issues and Approaches in Contemporary Theological Thought about Evil (ed. John Culp)
* Motherhood(s) and Religions (ed. Giulia Pedrucci)
* Phenomenology of Religious Experience IV: Religious Experience and Description (ed. Olga Louchakova-Schwartz, Aaron Preston and James Nelson)

Call For Papers, Master Category

Call for Papers – EJPR Special Issue: The Philosophy & Theology of Karl Christian Friedrich Krause

GUEST EDITORS: Benedikt Paul Göcke (Ruhr-Universität Bochum), Claus Dierksmeier (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen ), Ricardo Burgos (Universidad Pontificia Comillas)

DESCRIPTION: Up to date many Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin-American philosophers esteem Karl Christian Friedrich Krause (1781-1832) as the progenitor of a socially progressive cosmopolitanism with important lessons for today. Expanding and combining the Kantian project of a self-critical philosophy of freedom and a Spinozistic monistic metaphysics, Krause arrived at an inclusive and liberal panentheistic system of philosophy, which not only combines classical theism and pantheism, but, due to the divinity of the whole of reality, is directed to any and all persons. From this angle, Krause already considers – at the outset of the 19th century – issues such as the legal representation of unborn children, minors, the disabled, disenfranchised peoples, and future generations. Moreover, based on his panentheism, Krause argued also for applying the concept of personhood and certain concomitant rights to animals. Last, not least, concerning plants and inorganic matter, Krause advocated for policies of ecological sustainability that were to safeguard an intact environment not only for present but also for future generations.

Despite this impressive array of positions and apart from the acknowledged fact that Krause introduced the term “panentheism”, Krause’s philosophy and theology is met with neglect in the Anglophone world. But even in his homeland, Germany, his philosophy is often set aside, although to both Immanuel Hermann Fichte and Nicolai Hartmann it was evident that Krause’s work belonged to the highlights of classical German philosophy. Since Krause, who directly influenced Arthur Schopenhauer and developed a Begriffsschrift long before Gottlob Frege did (and one very similar to it), is still understudied in the German and English speaking world, this special issue aims to reengage with his thinking through systematic and historic reflections on the validity and genesis of the philosophy and theology of Karl Christian Friedrich Krause.

SUBMISSION:

We invite the submission of papers focusing on Krause’s philosophy of religion and systematic theology but not restricted to topics such as:

  • Panentheism: Krause developed the first explicitly panentheistic system of philosophy based on transcendental reflection.
  • Krause and Classical German Philosophy: Krause provided insightful critiques of the theological works of Schelling, Fichte, Hegel, Jacobi, Schleiermacher etc..
  • Interreligious Thinking: Krause mediates between agnostic/atheistic schools of thought and theistic/pantheistic world views with his own panentheistic metaphysics.
  • Transculturality: Krause’s philosophy is based on intercultural and religious studies (e.g. on the wisdom traditions and religious writings of India and China) and migrated from Germany to the Iberophone world, where it shaped constitutional law, economic policy and social systems from about 1860 until today, especially in Argentina and Uruguay.
  • Cosmopolitanism: Based on his theological panentheism, Krause advocated a theory of world citizenship rights, which he concretized formally (through model constitutions for a European Union and a League of Nations) as well as materially (compensation for colonial injustice and common ownership of the earth, etc.).
  • Methodological Innovation: Krause advocated a “constructive” combination of descriptive and normative methods in science, and in philosophy of religion in particular. His approach is also participative-dialogical and integrative towards marginalized interests.
  • Theology and Ethics of Diversity: Methodological inclusion led to substantial inclusiveness. As early as 1803, Krause fought for the rights of women and children, of unborn life, of senile persons and people with disabilities, of future generations and, not least, for animal rights.

PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE:

Deadline for submission: April 30, 2021
Deadline for paper reviews: June 30, 2021
Deadline for submission of revised papers: August 30, 2021
Notice of acceptance/rejection: November 30, 2021

SUBMISSION PROCESS:

All papers will be subject to double-blind peer-review, following international standard practices. Manuscripts should be submitted exclusively through EJPR’s online submission system in the category “articles”. Articles must be in English with a maximum word count of 8.000, including title, abstract and references. The author must then select the special article type: “Karl Christian Friedrich Krause” from the selection provided in the submission process. This is needed in order to assign the submissions to the Guest Editors. All relevant information regarding the registration and submission process and the author guidelines are to be found here: https://philosophy-of-religion.eu/ For any further information please contact: Benedikt Paul Göcke (benedikt.goecke@rub.de)

Society for the Study of Theology
Call For Papers, Conferences, Events, Events & Conferences, Master Category

CFP: Christian Theology in the Midst of COVID-19 – Society for the Study of Theology

Christian Theology in the Midst of COVID-19
Online conference: Wednesday 17th June, 12:00-18:00 British Summer Time

Invitation and call for papers

It is planned that the conference will take place online on Wednesday 17th June from 12:00 to 18:00 British Summer time. Details of the online platform to be used will be confirmed later.

This online conference is an attempt to stimulate some initial theological reflection on the global COVID-19 pandemic. Topics for discussion could include: reading the Scriptures in a time of pandemic; historical Christian responses to plagues and pandemics; divine providence, justice and mercy in relation to COVID-19; politics, economics and the common good; ecclesiology, liturgy, worship and mission; ethical questions; questions about trauma, suffering and loss; how to resource the churches’ responses.

Proposals for papers of up to 3,000 words are invited on any of the topics outlined above, or others related to the theme. Since this is an initial exercise in theological reflection, it is recognised that papers might present first thoughts rather than definitive conclusions about the topics addressed. However, academic rigour and potential to make a valuable contribution to the discussion will nonetheless be the criteria used to selecting papers for presentation.

It is anticipated that each paper will have a 30-40 minute time slot. The presenter will have up to 10 minutes to give a brief introduction to the paper, and the remainder of the time will be for discussion. Papers will be circulated to all participants one week before the conference, and presenters should therefore submit them two weeks before the conference date (i.e. by 3rd June).

To submit a paper proposal, please e-mail an abstract of up to 250 words by Thursday 30th April to the organiser, Prof. Neil Messer: Neil.Messer@winchester.ac.uk

To register for the conference, please send your name and email address by Wednesday 27th May to:Neil.Messer@winchester.ac.uk.

For full details, please follow this link.

Call For Papers, Master Category

Helsinki Analytic Theology CFP Closes Soon.
Originally posted on Feb, 5, 2019

Call for Papers HEAT2020

HEAT2020: Salvation

Keynote speakers:  Oliver Crisp, St. Andrews  and Kate Kirkpatrick, King’s College London

In addition to the keynotes, the workshop will have approximately six slots for substantial papers and one or two sessions for shorter student papers. The papers should include discussion concerning any topic related to the locus of salvation such as theories of atonement, immortality, eschatology and afterlife or any other topic suitably connected with the main theme. Papers should be constructive and argumentative rather than merely historical or descriptive in nature, but grounding in traditional texts and discussions is desired. Ideally, the papers should have a clear argument that is being defended with the tools of analytic tradition in theology.

Please send an abstract as a .doc file (no PDFs) with a maximum of 700 words to Dr. Rope Kojonen (rope.kojonen@helsinki.fi) by the end of August 2019.

In addition to the abstract, please include your name, affiliation and email address in the same document as your abstract. We will let you know whether your abstract has been accepted by 15th of September 2019. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer any bursaries.

Registration

The workshop is open for all and free of charge. Even if your paper is not selected for presentation, you are most welcome to join the discussion.

Accommodation

Hotel Arthur offers convenient accommodation next to the university. You are advised to book your room yourself (myyntipalvelu@hotelarthur.fi). By mentioning that you are part of the workshop (HEAT2020), you will be offered a discounted price.

HEAT 2020 is supported by the Centre of Excellence for Reason and Religious Recognition of the Academy of Finland.

For more information:
Olli-Pekka Vainio
Olli-pekka.vainio@helsinki.fi

Call For Papers

CFP: Gerald Bray Essay Prize for “Churchman”

The Church Society is delighted to announce this new essay competition in honour of Gerald Bray. Professor Bray is a world-leading evangelical Anglican theologian and church historian who has faithfully served as Editor of Churchman for 35 years. The prize is designed to encourage new evangelical authors. The winner will receive £300 and the winning essay will be published in Churchman. Essays should be 5-7,000 words in length, including footnotes, and may be from any theological discipline and on any subject, but must be in accordance with the aims of Churchman as described below.

The deadline for submissions is 1 October 2019.

Churchman is a journal for the Church of England and global Anglicanism. Each issue aims to promote the faith of the Holy Scriptures and such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal, in line with the doctrinal position of Church Society.Churchman is a journal committed to excellence in upholding high academic standards in its articles, book reviews and editorial.Churchman is an ecclesiastical journal that aims to speak to the pastoral needs of the contemporary church.

Churchman aims to equip ministers, students and lay people to persuade others of the eternal truths of our faith in Jesus Christ and the need for them to be applied today for the renewal of the church and the conversion of the world.

Submission Guidelines:

• Entries must be submitted electronically in BOTH Word and pdf formats to admin@churchsociety.org
with ’Gerald Bray Essay Prize’ in the subject line by 1st October, 2019.
• Entries must be accompanied by the entry form available from the Church Society website and must include a signed declaration that the essay is entirely the entrant’s own work.
• Entrants must not have previously had an article published in Churchman, but may have contributed book reviews.
• Entries must not have been previously published elsewhere or be in the process of consideration for publication elsewhere.
• Entering the competition shall be taken as submission of the article for publication in Churchman but any such publication shall be subject to the judgment of the editorial board.
• Entries should follow the Churchman house style. Guidelines can be downloaded from the Church Society website: churchsociety.org
• The judges’ decision shall be taken as final.