Religion, Protest and Social Upheaval

NOVEMBER 15-17, 2017

The recent proliferation of social, political, and economic protest and populist expression, from Black Lives Matter to Hindu Nationalism, invites renewed exploration of religion's age-old power to fuel and shape cultural change. This conference brings together a diverse group of scholars across national and religious divides to examine the impact of religion on various social and political movements. Organized around six themes — nationalism, immigration, race, gender, ecological concern, and economics — the conference aims to illuminate the complex dynamics of religion in protest and social upheaval. 

This conference is co-sponsored by Religious Studies and the McFarland Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture.

Publication Now Available

Religion, Protest, and Social Upheaval
Edited by Matthew Eggemeier, Peter Fritz, and Karen Guth
July 2022, Fordham University Press

 

Conference Schedule

Read about the speakers here.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15

1-3:15 PM: Religion and Nationalism

Presider: Caroline Johnson Hodge, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Is Hindutva Just Hindu Nationalism? ‘Swadeshi Fascism’ in India
Balmurli Natrajan, Associate Professor of Anthropology, William Paterson University

Whiteness and Civilization: Shame, Race, and the World Trump Built
Donovan Schaefer, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania (former lecturer at University of Oxford)

Respondent: Mathew Schmalz, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

3:30-5:45 PM: Religion and Immigration

Presider: Caner Dagli, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Caught in the Crosshairs: Muslims and Migration
Zayn Kassam, John Knox McLean Professor of Religious Studies, Pomona College

Rootedness on the Slippery Earth: Latinx Migration in a Time of Social Upheaval
Nichole Flores, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, University of Virginia

Respondent: Justin Poché, Associate Professor of History, College of the Holy Cross

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16

9-11:15 AM: Religion and Gender/Sexuality

Presider: Karen Guth, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Metaphor, Religion, and Women's Protest
Kwok Pui Lan, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Theology at Candler School of Theology, Emory University

Between Dissent and Heresy: Queer Politics in Korea
Ju Hui Judy Han, Assistant Professor of Gender Studies, UCLA

Respondent: Mary Roche, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

1-3:15 PM: Religion and Race/Ethnicity

Presider: Joanne Pierce, Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Capital’s ‘Secret Orders’: A Du Boisian Lens on Today’s Alt-Right
Mark Lewis Taylor, Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Theology and Culture, Princeton Theological Seminary

Black Malpractice
J. Kameron Carter, Associate Professor of Theology, English, and African American Studies, Duke Divinity School

Respondent: Nadine Knight, Associate Professor of English, College of the Holy Cross

3:30-5:45 PM: Religion and Economy

Presider: Todd Lewis, Murray Professor of the Arts and Humanities and Professor of Asian Religions, College of the Holy Cross

In Search of an Outside: Capitalism, Religion and Protest
Devin Singh, Assistant Professor of Religion, Dartmouth College

Iftars, Prayer Rooms, and #DeleteUber: Postsecularity and the Promise/Perils of Muslim Union Organizing
C. Melissa Snarr, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt Divinity School

Respondent: Kendy Hess, Associate Professor of Philosophy, College of the Holy Cross

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17

9-11:15 AM: Religion and Ecology

Presider: Rev. William Clark, S.J., Associate Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

“Touch Not One Flower, Even Not One Stone”: People’s Spirituality of Resistance Against US Military Expansion in Korean Jeju Island, an Island of Peace
Tara Chung Hyun Kyung, Associate Professor of Ecumenical Studies, Union Theological Seminary (New York)

As the World Burns: Laudato Si, the Climate Crisis, and Papal Power
Mary Doak, Associate Professor, Theology and Religious Studies, University of San Diego 

Respondent: Rev. William Reiser, S.J, Professor and Chair, Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross