The Global Liberal Studies Program at New York University is currently seeking paper submissions for its inaugural conference on the topic of Global Secularisms — to be held on November 15 and 16, 2013 in New York, NY. A detailed call for papers is available here.
The history of secularism — and the word should be made plural — helps define the crises of our moment. This conference returns to these issues, in the light of these recent discussions and of recent events that are having serious effects on the way we live now, on the shape of global politics and culture for the immediate future.
This conference hopes to appeal to scholars and creative authors from the major divisions of the academy, including the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as to independent scholars and writers from outside of the academy. Engagement with questions involving secularism and the arts, culture, economics, history, international relations, religion, philosophy, politics, and science are welcomed. Among the possible broad areas that papers might address are the following:
• Secularist movements/figures, past and present
• Secularism and/as religion
• Secularism and the arts, literature
• Secularism and human flourishing
• Secularism and the state
• Anti-secularism, anti-atheism
• Secularism and imperialism
• Secularism and rights
• Secularism in colonial/postcolonial contexts
• The secularization of knowledge, science
• The secularization of culture
• The secularization of the university
• Secularism and feminism
• Post-secularism
Please email abstracts of 150-300 words by March 31, 2013 to:
Dr. Michael Rectenwald (michael.rectenwald[AT]nyu.edu)
The conference steering committee will respond to submissions by June 1, 2013.