[Fwd: [ISEE-L] CFP: Religion, Nature, and Culture]

[Jeri Pollock <jpollock@olmrio.org>]

The International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture
Announces A Call for Papers
Second International Meeting, January 17-20, 2008

Venue:
Morelia Convention Center, Mexico
Universidad Autónoma de Mexico (Morelia)

Theme:
"The Re-Enchantment of Nature across Disciplines: Critical Intersections
of Science, Ethics, and Metaphysics "

Scholars from diverse disciplines, members of the Society and those
not-yet members,
are cordially invited to submit papers, panels, or special workshops on
this theme, or any
other subjects pertinent to the intersection of and relationships among
what can be
understood in various ways as "religion," "nature," and "culture " (for
further information
on the Society, and the affiliated peer-reviewed journal, which will
publish high-quality
work presented at this conference (see www.religionandnature.com/journal/).

The theme of this conference provides focused opportunities to explore
and evaluate both
new and established links among increasingly specialized areas within
this emerging and
exciting interdisciplinary field. We seek to critically evaluate the
notions of scientific
disenchantment and religious or spiritual re-enchantment of nature,
addressing the
intersections between science, ethics, and metaphysics in environmental
thought and
behavior, religious worldviews, and spirituality.

We are pleased to announce the featured keynote speakers:

Dr. Vandana Shiva (Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and
Natural Resource Policy, India)

Dr. David Carrasco (Harvard University, USA)

Dr. Victor Toledo (UNAM-Morelia, Mexico)

Dr. Holmes Rolston III (Colorado State University, USA)

We invite papers that demonstrate interdisciplinary and collaborative
efforts to analyze
pressing issues of
biological,anthropological,religious,ethical,historical,philosophical,
environmental, medical, linguistic, and political concern by producing
new intersections
of knowledge production. We also invite explicit critiques and
evaluations of such
interdisciplinary collaborations that identify the potential dangers and
problems that may
arise when crossing disciplinary, religious, and political boundaries.

Over the past thirty years, scholars have observed a potential paradigm
shift from the
disenchantment to a re-enchantment of nature, as scientists and
humanists from diverse disciplines apprehend or construct values in
nature, including those they construe as
religious or spiritual. Contrary to the modernist idea of a secularized,
disenchanted, and
(often)meaningless world, contemporary environmentalisms have found in
nature
ultimate value and meaning. It may be that the Western (re)discovery of
ethical and
moral principles in environmental thought and behavior may generate a
greater respect
for nature, eventually leading to sustainable subsistence and
conservation practices, a
possibility about which we invite critical reflection and research.

At the 2008 meeting of the International Society for the Study of
Religion, Nature, and
Culture in Morelia, Mexico, we seek to critically explore and evaluate
the notions of
disenchantment and re-enchantment of nature, asking questions such as:

o Does the moral story of the "spiritual," "the intangible," and "the
sacred "in contemporary environmentalisms present particular
opportunities and/or dilemmas for the critical inquiry of religion,
nature, and culture?
o What do current developments tell us about the relationship between
science, religion, and environmentalism in the contemporary world?
o To what extent is the quest to save nature also a quest to save
individual subjectivities from the presumed meaningless of the modern
condition?
o Are we witnessing a renewal of eco-centric and/or religious
worldviews, or did they
ever decline?
o What is the role of indigenous traditional knowledge and indigenous
religions in the
Western re-enchantment of nature?
o Does the re-enchantment of nature provide an answer to the problem of
meaning?
o Can we and -if so-how can we conceptualize emergent relations between
the ethical, the religious and the political in ways that do not fit the
paradigms of disenchantment/re-enchantment?

Abstract Submission:

Both individual papers (15 minutes)and full panels (1 hour and
forty-five minutes)on
these and related topics are welcome. Please also send suggestions you
may have for less
formal sessions involving workshops, roundtable discussions, film
screenings, or other
events. Younger scholars are particularly encouraged to suggest papers.
The format for
individual paper abstracts and session abstract is no more than 250
words. We suggest
that session organizers provide their panelists with a list of questions
to address in order
to encourage integrated discussion. All paper and panel abstracts should
provide three
keywords.

Deadline:

The deadline for submitting papers and panel suggestions is July1,2007
but earlier submissions are helpful. Please send abstracts and panel
proposals to: morelia@religionandnature.com

Contact:

You can contact the Program Co-Chairs for questions and about the conference
theme:
Kristina Tiedje PhD
Faculté d'Anthropologie
Université Lumière Lyon 2
Campus Porte des Alpes, Bâtiment K
5,avenue Pierre-Mendès-France
69676 Bron Cedex, France
kristina.tiedje@univ-lyon2.fr

Dra.Anuschka van't Hooft
Coordinación de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades
Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí
Av.Industrias 101-A
Fracc.Talleres
78494 San Luis Potosí, SLP, Mexico
avanthooft@uaslp.mx

Accodmodation:

Hotel Information and Registration Information will be available on the
conference
Website at:_ www.religionandnature.com/society_ soon.