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BASR Annual Conference 6-7 September 2021, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh

BASR Annual Conference 6-7 September 2021, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh

“From Religious Studies to the Study of Religion/s: Disciplinary Futures for the 21st century”

Registration for the conference is now open. Please fill in this form to register: https://forms.gle/8Wkw66Yb5SCEnBHq7. 

Please note that registration is provisional until confirmation of membership status or payment of the registration fee. The Treasurer will make contact once your form is received. Registration for speakers closes on 12 July 2021, but late registration for attendees will remain open until 1 September. If you have any queries, please contact the BASR Treasurer, Dr Chris Cotter, on basr.treasurer@gmail.com. 

More information about the conference, including the conference booklet and information on how to attend, will appear on the conference webpage over the course of the summer. Please bookmark this webpage: https://basr.ac.uk/basr-conference-2021/. 

We look forward very much to (virtually) welcoming you to Edinburgh in September. 

Conference Programme below

About the Conference

The BASR 2021 conference falls in the 175^th anniversary year of the foundation of New College, home of the School of Divinity, and marks the 50^th anniversary of the teaching of Religious Studies at Edinburgh. The conference is also designated an IAHR Special Conference and we look forward to welcoming our international colleagues.

The aim of the conference is to discuss disciplinary and interdisciplinary pasts and futures in Religious Studies or the Study of Religion/s, with a particular focus on the future shape of the field in the 21^st Century. After a period of sharp critique of many of the field’s basic categories and axioms, it feels timely now to reflect upon what the field has positively achieved, the challenges it has faced (and overcome), and the direction(s) it should now pursue.

The scope of the conference is the post-1960s period up to and including the present moment, during which Religious Studies emerged, consolidated and diversified as a recognised disciplinary field or ‘brand’. Local and regional histories of the field during this period are welcome, particularly where they identify problems or strengths for the future, or can illuminate regional or international developments.

We are particularly interested in exploring the grounds for positive and constructive disciplinary futures based on concrete methods and models for research and teaching. Questions to consider here might include: What intellectual benefits does the Study of Religion/s bring to academic research in colleges and universities? What are its particular strengths in teaching, what pedagogical contributions does it make to secondary school and adult education, and how might its curriculae be improved in practical ways? What kinds of impact does the field have in wider society, and in what directions might its impact be developed? Who are the different audiences for the Study of Religion/s, and how can we engage new audiences whilst fostering existing strengths? Which academic disciplines offer strongest synergies for our field, whether established partners or new approaches, and how can we make the most of these while retaining a sense of our own identity? And what’s in a name – what is the best disciplinary title for what we’ve been doing since the 1960s (and earlier)?

We are delighted to confirm the titles of our two keynote papers:

‘The Collective Ownership of Knowledge: Implications for the Study of Religion/s in Local Contexts’
James Cox, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies,
University of Edinburgh

‘Studying Religions critically in Universities and Schools: bridging the gap?’

Wanda Alberts, Professor in the Study of Religion,
Leibniz University Hannover.

The programme will also feature an international panel on the conference theme and a parallel online video and art installation, “RUINS”.

Conference exhibitors:

Bloomsbury Academic (see conference page)
Equinox (see conference flyer)

The cost of registration, for both presenters and non-presenters, is as follows:

• Members of the BASR: Free
• Non-members (waged): £30
• Non-members (unwaged): £15

Note that for non-members, registration for the conference will also include entitlement for one year of membership of the BASR.

Each year, the BASR Exec awards a single Teaching and Learning Fellowship to a colleague in recognition of their contribution to the student learning experience in the study of religions. This Fellowship includes an award of £300 plus a funded place at the BASR Annual Conference. The expectation of the person receiving this Fellowship is to write a short piece reflecting on current issues/ experiences of teaching Religious Studies in HE for the BASR Bulletin and help the Teaching and Learning Rep on the BASR Exec, Steffi Sinclair, organise the teaching and learning panel for the 2022 BASR conference. However, there is a lot of flexibility in how this could be approached.

If you would like to be considered for the 2021 BASR Teaching and Learning Fellowship or would like to nominate a colleague (or have any questions about this Fellowship), please get in touch with Steffi at stefanie.sinclair@open.ac.uk  . Your application will need to be supported by a statement that outlines the contribution the applicant/ nominee has made to the student learning experience in the study of religions in HE with reference to any of the following four themes: 

• Influencing and inspiring students’ learning; 
• Influencing and inspiring colleagues’ teaching; 
• Innovation and development of practice; 
• Personal reflection on practice.

This statement can be provided either by the applicant themselves or by a colleague supporting the application. The deadline for nominations/ applications is the 1^st of June 2021. We welcome applications from/ nominations for colleagues at all stages of their careers. 

This panel, curated by Wendy Dossett (University of Chester), discusses the Commission for Religious Education’s proposal for a shift towards studying “Religion and Worldviews” in Secondary Religious Education. Contributions from Wendy Dossett, Rudi Eliott Lockhart (former CEO of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales), Suzanne Owen (Leeds Trinity University), Paul-Francois Tremlett (Open University) and Malory Nye (Independent Academic affiliated to University of Glasgow)

The opening panel from BASR 2020 focused on Teaching and Learning. First is a presentation from 2020 Teaching Award recipient Melanie Prideaux, together with her student Natasha Jones (both University of Leeds). This is followed by an open discussion on the COVID-19 pivot to online delivery, with contributions from Dawn Llewellyn (2019 Teaching Award recipient, University of Chester), Stefanie Sinclair (BASR T&L rep, Open University), Paul-Francois Tremlett (Open University), BASR President Bettina Schmidt, Melanie Prideaux and Natasha Jones.