10.1558/bsor.v41i2.008
Field Notes!
News and Announcements in the Discipline
The Bulletin welcomes announcements, including call for papers, conference announcements, grant competitions, news items, and other informative updates on happenings in the discipline. Such announcements (like those below) will first appear on the Bulletin’s blog for timely distribution with occasional inclusion in issues of the Bulletin. Please email all announcements to the editors. Our editorial staff will also be watching for interesting items to include in this section of the Bulletin.
Deadline Reminder: Call for Papers – “Religion and the Politics of Humor”
CALL FOR PAPERS deadline is fast approaching on the topic “Religion and the Politics of Humor” – The Bulletin for the Study of Religion is accepting submissions for a special issue on humor and religion. Articles engaging any aspect of the theme are welcome, especially the politics of parody, but including general studies of religious parodies, the presence of humor on the Internet (e.g., video clips, web comics, etc), and cultural analyses of the use of humor in various religious traditions (including comparative analysis but also specific area studies). Articles engaging theoretical and methodological issues in the study of humor and religion are especially desired. Queries should be sent to the editors, Craig Martin ([email protected]) and Philip L. Tite ([email protected]). Online submissions and guidelines: http://www.equinoxpub.com/bulletin/ Deadline for submissions: July 1, 2012.
Ph.D. Scholarships at the University Of Newcastle in Religion and Political Life
Shared from Dr. Timothy Stanley’s Blog (http://timothywstanley.com/blog/ripl-phd-scholarships.html)
One of the exciting things about the new Religion in Political Life (RiPL) Research Program at the University of Newcastle is that it earmarks Ph.D. funding for at least two excellent students in this growing area of international academic concern. Religion and Religious Studies at the University of Newcastle was ranked 4* in the last Australian Research Council Excellence in Research Assessment (ERA), which put it first equal with only three other institutions in the country. The research culture is vibrant, growing, and the RiPL program provides us an opportunity to attract high quality Ph.D. students to join us.
RiPL’s main focus areas or steams investigate the interactions between religion in: 1) democratic authority; 2) political radicalism; 3) gender; and, 4) post-colonial legacies. A series of symposiums and seminars are planned in the coming years which will result in published outcomes.
If you are an Australian student who has achieved a first class honors degree and would like to pursue further Ph.D. research in Religion in Political Life, then please do consider applying. The Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) are for three years and include a $5k topup beyond the normal $22,860 p.a. award (tax free living allowance).
So too, international students with a high quality Master of Arts degree performance and demonstrations of research excellence through a thesis and, ideally, at least one peer reviewed publication, are strongly encouraged to apply. Postgraduate funding integrates two schemes, the University of Newcastle International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (UNIPRS) and the University of Newcastle Research Scholarship Central (UNRSC). The UNIPRS scholarship provides tuition fees and the UNRSC is a living allowance scholarship, which is $22,860 p.a. (tax free).
All University of Newcastle PhD students are also provided with a laptop computer as well as a $5k research expenditure budget for conference travel, essential research materials, etc.
Application process: Students should follow the normal application procedures for entry into the University of Newcastle PhD degree. Application materials for domestic as well as international students can be found at the following URL: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/students/research-higher-degree/scholarships/.
Very important: The only difference in application procedure for students interested in Religion and Political Life research, is that they must indicate clearly how their research aligns with the RiPL research program within their application’s research proposal. Students must also choose one of the RiPL researchers as their primary supervisor. This will then flag the application for special review.
Closing dates:
Applications will be accepted by email to [email protected] or fax to 61 2 4921 6908 up until midnight of the closing date. Originals of applications, transcripts etc. submitted in this way must be also be posted to the University as soon as possible.
The Religious Studies Project: Podcasts and Resources on the Contemporary Social-Scientific Study of Religion
The Religious Studies
Project (http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/),
in association with the British Association for the Study of Religions and with
some support from the University of Edinburgh, was launched in January 2012.
This is a website and podcasting project featuring weekly audio interviews (of
around 30 minutes) with leading scholars drawn from religious studies and
related fields. So far, these podcasts have featured James Cox, Armin Geertz,
Carole Cusack, Donald Wiebe and Graham Harvey, speaking on topical issues,
novel approaches and important scholars and methodologies of religious studies
in the 21st Century. Future interviews will include Grace Davie, Jay Demerath,
Callum Brown, Linda Woodhead and many more. In addition, the website also
features weekly articles from postgraduate students and other scholars on the
themes of the interview that week, in addition to other useful resources and
articles relevant to teachers and students of religion in the modern world.
If you have any suggestions or would like to contribute please contact: [email protected]
Religion and the Media: University of Sheffield Blog Announcement
The Centre for Freedom of the Media at the University of Sheffield has recently launched a new blog site on “Religion and the Media” (http://religionmedia.wordpress.com/), in part organized by James Crossley, Professor of Bible, Culture and Politics, and Jackie Harrison, Professor of Public Communication. As a collaborative project, the blog is be dedicated to updates, news and analysis of a wide range of issues relating to religion and the media.