CFP: SSHA

*I get a ton of these CFP through H-Grad, but this one seemed particularly applicable.  Perhaps we could get a CFH panel together for this integrating history and theology?  Thoughts?*

********

We invite you to take part in the Urban Network panels of the 37th annual
meeting of the Social Science History Association, November 1-4, 2012, in
Vancouver. The members of the Social Science History Association share a
common interest in interdisciplinary and systematic approaches to
historical research (including, but by no means limited to, sociology,
urban planning, geography, demography, economics, and political
science).The SSHA is a particularly good forum for graduate students’
work: we welcome a diversity of scholars at various stages of their careers and
encourage graduate student participation in network events.

The thematic topic of the 2012 annual meeting is “Histories of Capitalism.”
However, we welcome papers and panels on all urban topics. Proposed panel
topics include:

- The Occupy Movement as an urban phenomenon

- Financial Crises and Cities

- Capital and the Rise and Fall of Cities

- Urban Economies

- Vancouver’s History and Development

- Cities of the Pacific Rim

- Olympic Games and Host Cities

- Migration and Immigration

- Cities and the Environment

- Urban Governance

- Crime and Justice in the City

- The Ancient City

To propose a paper or panel please submit: Paper Title, Brief Abstract, and
Contact Information at http://conference.ssha.org/.While we welcome paper
submissions, panel proposals are encouraged. Panels should include an
organizer, discussant, and at least four papers. The deadline for paper
and/or panel submissions is *MARCH 1, 2012.*

For more information on the meeting as well as the call for proposals,
please refer to the SSHA website: http://www.ssha.org or contact either of
the Urban co-chairs (Carl Zimring–czimring@gmail.com or Megan
Stubbendeck– mrs8v@virginia.edu).

We look forward to seeing you in the Fall!

Sincerely,

Megan Stubbendeck and Carl Zimring

Urban Network Co-chairs

Dispatches from Graduate School – Part 39

Cali Pitchel McCullough is a Ph.D student in American history at Arizona State University. For earlier posts in this series click here. –JF

[Reposted by permission of John Fea's The Way of Improvement Leads Home]

I always enjoy my time in Southern California. Every six weeks I take a quick flight from Phoenix into Burbank to spend the weekend visiting a few of my favorite people. My uncle, a PR executive, lives in Sherman Oaks, and a close friend works for the Associated Press and lives one block off Hollywood Blvd. My geographical zone remains relatively small while visiting. I might enjoy the sunshine and cool air in my uncle’s backyard, or I stay with my friend in her tiny apartment, watching chick flicks and eating take-out.

During the past weekend, I ventured out of my typical routine and drove north and west along the Pacific Coast Highway toward Malibu. Rather than celebrity-watch at a beachside café, I spent Saturday participating in the Western Regional Conference on Faith and History. The Conference met on the campus of Pepperdine University, situated on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I drove the meandering road from the 101 Freeway into the Malibu Valley before the sunshine and heat dispelled the morning fog, but after the second panel the haze lifted. The ocean views made conference-going a difficult option, but the intriguing panel line-up drew me inside.

The conference theme, “The Historian and the Text,” seemed the perfect forum to discuss History to the People. I submitted my unorthodox proposal to Bryan Lamkin, the President of the Western Regional chapter of the CFH and Professor of History at Azusa Pacific University. My proposal looked more like a call to action than scholarly research, but it undoubtedly aligned with the theme of the conference. To break down the barriers between academic historians and people and to provide the general public with the skills necessary to think historically are two of the main tenants of HTTP.

I presented in a panel entitled “Public Texts” with Steven Wentland, a Professor of Liberal Studies at Azusa Pacific. Dr. Wentland examines the challenges teachers face incorporating the study of religion into lesson plans (despite their overwhelming presence in state standards). He offers some prescriptions, because he suggests “you can’t understand American history without studying religion.”

Ryan McIlhenny, from Providence Christian College, provided comments for Dr. Wentland and I. Dr. McIlhenny suggested we had several points in common, most importantly, our commitment to preserving democracy and diversity in the study of history. HTTP will attempt, through a more democratic use of the historian’s tools, to teach others to lay aside self-interest and see the world from the perspective of someone else. As John Fea suggests, “unlike any other discipline, history requires us to engage the human condition primarily through understanding and empathy, not criticism.” This quote gets to the second point in common between Dr. Wentland and I—the culture wars. If a person encounters the text with the necessary tools, it becomes less easy to condemn the actions of other people. Perhaps we can ease our culture wars by disclosing the ways in which we’ve honed our historical thinking and encouraging such behavior in more people in a more intentional way.

The audience seemed enthusiastic about HTTP. Aside from some brief discussion on this blog, I have not had the chance to present the idea to an academic audience (other than my classmates). I received great questions at the end: How will we achieve nuance and complexity in short blog posts? How will we reorientate the way in which people think about history? How will we protect ourselves against bias? These are great questions, some of which I have already spent a good deal of time thinking through. At HTTP we value specificity and we write and edit in a community. This keeps us morally engaged, accountable, and self-critical. A willingness to work collaboratively, in a community of scholars open to debate and dialogue and the testing of ideas keeps us honest—this goes for all good history.

I had a great experience at the Western Regional CFH. It provided me the opportunity to not only present an idea, but it also gave me the opportunity to think about how my faith plays a role in my commitment to bring history to the people. In preparing for the conference I found a quote by Henri Nouwen, a twentieth century priest and writer. Nouwen, meditating on the gifts given to a body of believers, believed that “the basis of all ministry is the experience of God’s unlimited and unlimiting acceptance of us as beloved children, an acceptance so full, so total, and all-embracing, that it sets us free from our compulsion to be seen, praised, and admired and frees us for Christ, who leads us on the road of service. This experience of God’s acceptance frees us from our needy self and thus creates new space where we can pay selfless attention to others.” Because I have acquired certain skills, I have a responsibility to use these skills in service to others. The website provides a space for me to share these skills outside the classroom, and in hopes, foster a sense of historical thinking that might change the world one person at a time.

Second Biennial Conference on Religion and American Culture

[Taken from H-Net]

Second Biennial Conference on Religion and American Culture
Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture
Indianapolis, Indiana
June 2-5, 2011

We are pleased to announce the Second Biennial Conference on Religion and
American Culture, to be held at the new J.W.  Marriott in downtown
Indianapolis, June 2 through June 5. The theme for this meeting is “change,”
focusing both on changes in religion in North America over time and changes
in how we understand the topic. Scholars from multiple perspectives will
serve on interdisciplinary panels. The conference schedule is given below.

Like the conference in 2009, the room will be set up in a circle with
audience members on risers around the central round table. This set-up
promotes more participation from the audience and deeper conversation among
the panelists and those surrounding them. The hotel is again conveniently
located in downtown Indianapolis among restaurants, museums, and public
parks – all very conducive to continuing conversations begun in sessions.

Thanks to a grant from Lilly Endowment, we have reserved a block of rooms at
the J.W.  Marriott at the special rate of $74.50 per night. Once those rooms
have sold out, rooms will be $149, so please be sure to reserve your room
right away. Early registration rates are available until May 5. To reserve
your room, register for the conference, or print a copy of the schedule,
please go to www.iupui.edu/~raac/<http://www.iupui.edu/~raac/>. (Note: the
special hotel rate of $74.50 will not appear on the screen but will be
billed correctly.)

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Thursday, June 2

Arrival and Registration
Opening Reception

Friday, June 3

PART A: CHANGING WHAT “RELIGION” MEANS
“What are our academic assumptions about religion?”
Panelists:             Penny Edgell (Sociology, University of Minnesota)
Robert Orsi (Religious Studies, Northwestern
University)
Ann Taves (Religious Studies, UC Santa
Barbara)

“Revisiting the secularity/secularization question”
Panelists:             Tracy Fessenden (Religious Studies, Arizona State
University)
Paul Froese (Sociology, Baylor University)
Rhys Williams (Sociology, Loyola University
Chicago)

PART B: CHANGING RELIGION IN A CHANGING CULTURE

“Religion’s role in political identity”
Panelists:             Edward Curtis (Religious Studies, Indiana University
- Purdue University Indianapolis)
Paul Djupe (Political Science, Denison
University)
Clyde Wilcox (Government, Georgetown
University)

“Religion’s role in immigration and globalization”
Panelists:             Gerardo Marti (Sociology, Davidson College)
Timothy Matovina (Theology, University of
Notre Dame)
Fenggang Yang (Sociology, Purdue University)

Saturday, June 4

“Religion’s role in personal identity”
Panelists:             Sylvester Johnson (Religious Studies, Indiana
University-Bloomington)
Sally Gallagher (Sociology, Oregon State
University)
Laurie Maffly-Kipp (Religious Studies,
University of North Carolina)
“Market models for understanding religion”
Panelists:             Roger Finke (Sociology, Pennsylvania State
University)
James Hudnut-Beumler (Vanderbilt Divinity
School)
Kathryn Lofton (American Studies and
Religious Studies, Yale University)

PART C: CHANGES IN THE FUTURE, REAL AND IMAGINED
“Changes in the understanding and uses of scripture”
Panelists:             Charles Cohen (History and Religious Studies,
University of Wisconsin)
Kathleen Flake (Vanderbilt Divinity School)
Charles Hambrick-Stowe (First Congregational
Church, Ridgefield, CT)

“The future of religion in America”
Panelists:             David Daniels (Church History, McCormick Theological
Seminary)
Mark Silk (Religion, Trinity College)
Julie Byrne (Religion, Hofstra University)

Concluding reception

________________
Philip K. Goff, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs
Executive Director, Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture
Professor, Religious Studies and American Studies
Co-Editor, Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation

I.U. School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
425 University Blvd., CA 417
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5140
Phone: 317-274-8409
Fax: 317-278-3354
Email: pgoff@iupui.edu<mailto:pgoff@iupui.edu>
Website: www.iupui.edu/~raac/<http://www.iupui.edu/~raac/>