Events in Religion at Otago

Seminar Programme, Semester 1, 2010

Unless stated otherwise, the Religion Seminar meets fortnightly on Fridays at 1pm in Seminar Room 4C.11 (4th Floor, Arts/Burns Building). Each seminar runs for about ninety minutes.

If you would like to be added to our electronic mailing list please contact Sandra Lindsay.

March 12 Eric Repphun

Every Story is a Ghost: Chuck Palahniuk and the Renchantment of Suffering.
March 26 Sam Stevens "The God Slot(s)": A Brief History of Change in New Zealand Religious Radio.
Wednesday, April 14

12-1pm Room TBA

 Hwee-San Tan Sounds of the Human World: Globalising Buddhist Music as an Expression of Spirituality.
April 23 Elizabeth Guthrie

Isara Treesahakiat

 "The Holy Man" of Southeast Asia: Charisma, Politics and Meditation.
May 7 Douglas Osto TBA
May 21 Lisa Knitter The Role of Spirituality in New Zealand Cancer Care.
Please note this timetable may be subject to change.

Conferences

Call for papers: Bible and Critical Theory Seminar (7-8 February 2010)

The next Bible and Critical Theory seminar will be held in Dunedin in February 2010.

Papers are invited on all aspects of the intersections between the Bible and critical theory, which also includes matters of religion, politics and culture.

Contacts:

Due date for paper proposals: 31 December 2009.

Call for papers: Towards a Unified Science of Religion (12-14 February 2010)

The belief in gods, demons, and other supernatural agents is a persistent feature of human culture, which cries out for explanation. In the last twenty-five years explanations of religion have reached a new level of sophistication. We now have a range of different scientific theories of religion, in cognitive science, anthropology, and evolutionary psychology, drawing upon a significant body of empirical data. This conference, sponsored by the Department of Philosophy at the University of Otago, will bring together researchers from these different disciplines and different theoretical perspectives, to explore the possibility of a unified science of religion.

Participants are invited to submit paper proposals presenting original research on any topic related to the theme of the conference. The proposal should take the form of an abstract of no more than 200 words, and should be submitted electronically (along with contact details) to the conference secretary: Jonathan Jong by 15 December 2009.

Further details about registration and accommodation and will be available soon on the conference website.

Religious Studies imageEvents in Semester 2, 2009

Symposium: November 18-19, 2009

Last year a number of University of Otāgo academics formed a research group, Te Whakapapa o te Whakapono: Lineages of Faith, in conjunction with Te Wānanga a Rangi (the Presbyterian Church’s Theological College for Māori ministers) in order to further research into Māori interactions with Christianity.  This research is multi-disciplinary, with a strong emphasis on both theology and history. The project aims to examine the encounters between the Christian Church and the Tāngata Whenua in New Zealand, to trace the growth and development of Christian faith among the Māori people, and to consider the ways in which that development has contributed to the shaping of New Zealand identity and society. To further the aims of the research project a Symposium will be held at Salmond College, Dunedin from November 18-19, 2009.

Speakers include:

Kathie Irwin              John and Hōriana Laughton
Hirini Kaa            Tīhei taruke!: Mohi Turei and Ngāti Porou Christianity
Bernie Kernot            Translating the Gospel in the Māori Art Tradition: the works of the late Rt Rev. Hāpai Winiata.
Robert Joseph            1. Rangatiratanga in the American West - The Hirini Whaanga Whānau Migration to Utah in the 19th Century
                               2. Are Mormons Maori? Doctrinal and Historical Parallels between Māoritanga and Mormonism
Peter Lineham        Is Destiny Church a Māori faith or a faith of Māori?
Nathan Matthews            Kaikatikīhama – Tō tātou taonga whakahirahira. The role of Māori Catholic Catechists in the Marist Mission 1870 -1900.
Simon Moetara       Māori & the Pentecostal Churches in Aotearoa-NZ
Hugh Morrison       Presbyterian children, images of Māori and imperial sentiments
Keith Newman            Rātana, the Prophet. Mā te wa; the sign of the broken watch
Lachy Paterson            Race, gender and te ao Māori: Pākehā women field workers of the Presbyterian Māori Mission
Murray Rae            Rua Kēnana and the Iharaira
Wayne Te Kaawa       The Contribution of James MacFarlane
Hone Te Rire              Hīhita me ngā Tamariki o te Kohu.
Yvonne Wilkie            The Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union and their response to Māori Mission

Costs to cover catering. $37.50 (includes lunch on both days and morning and afternoon teas.)
Conference Dinner on Thursday Evening, November 18. (Optional) $35.00 (Buy your own drinks)

To register, please contact Associate Professor Murray Rae.

 

Open Lectures

Dr. Heidi Campbell, Texas A&M University, will deliver an Open Lecture entitled 'When Religion Meets New Media: Considering the Religious-Social Shaping of Technology' on Monday 16th November at 5.10pm. The lecture will be held in Burns 7.

Dr. Campbell has a PhD in Practical Theology and Computer-mediated Communication from the University of Edinburgh-Scotland and is been an active researcher studying religion and the internet. She is author of Exploring Religious Community Online (Peter Lang, 2005) which explores the relationship between online and offline Christian communities and implications online religion has for offline faith communities and religious institutions. She is also co-editor of A Science and Religion Primer (Baker Academic, 2009) an introductory resource to the study of science, technology and religion and author of the forthcoming book When Religion Meets New Media (Routledge, forthcoming 2010) on how religious communities negotiate their use of new media. Dr. Campbell writes about her research interests also in her blog: When Religion Meets New Media.

Presentation of Tipitaka

On 27th August 2009, the Most Venerable Sudhammo, Chaiman and General Sectretary of the 60th Dhammachai Education Foundation will present a copy of the Tipitaka, the Buddhist Pali Canon, in Thai, Sinhala and Burmese script, to the Department of Theology and Religion. Sue Pharo, the University Librarian will accept the gift on behalf of the University. If you would like to attend, please contact Dr Will Sweetman.

Open Lectures

Professor James Cox, University of Edinburgh, will deliver an Open Lecture entitled 'A Case for Including Indigenous Religions among the "World" Religions' on Monday 28th September at 5.15pm. The lecture will be held in Te Wananga (R1S3), Tumu Building (Richardson South Tower).

Seminar Programme

The Religion Seminar meets fortnightly on Fridays at 1pm in Burns 4. Each seminar runs for about ninety minutes.

If you would like to be added to our electronic mailing list please contact Sandra Lindsay.

July 24 Majella Franzmann

Concepts of seclusion and public exhibition in relation to women and female figures in Manichaean texts
Aug 7 Elizabeth Young Politics of the End-Times: Preliminary Findings
Aug 21 Elizabeth Guthrie Martyr Monks of the Mekong Delta-Okhna Son Kuy
Sept 18 Greg Dawes 'A Certain Similarity to the Devil': Historical Criticism and Christian Faith
Sept 25 James Cox The Invention of God in Africa
Oct 2 Gautam Ghosh Cosmology, Sovereignty and the Epic Internet

Please note this timetable may be subject to change.

University of Otago Religious Studies Programme