2023 EIR Conference - Call for Papers

The EIR is thrilled to announce the theme of our 2023 Regional Meeting! Join us May 6-7 2023 at Queen’s University

(Kingston, ON) for a conference around the theme The Other, Persecution and Response. For more information about this topic, see the full text of our Call for Papers below, or view it as a PDF here. Please email proposals to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2023.

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

2023 Eastern International Regional Meeting of the American Academy of Religion

May 6-7, 2023

Queen’s University

Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6

Deadline for submissions is February 1, 2023

 

The Eastern International Region of the AAR invites you to submit proposals for the 2023 Regional Meeting. The theme for the 2023 Conference is The Other, Persecution and Response. We are interested in exploring how logics of otherness express themselves in religious contexts and the responses that they elicit, such as othering via persecution or otherness as self-identification, from theological perspectives to political ideologies and from media to text.

Related topics could include approaches from queer studies, decolonial religions, and social movements; persecution-response intersection across Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and other religions; creative re-conceptualizations of persecution and response in the study of religions, literary analysis, and popular culture; intersections between nationalism and gender, race, sexuality; the use of science in support of nationalist politics (e.g., eugenics); religion, violence, and extremism; the nature of religious change and secularization or fundamentalism across traditions. Proposals that do not relate to the 2023 conference theme are also welcome. All methodological approaches and areas of study are encouraged. We welcome papers that address these issues from a range of different academic disciplines and methods.

Scholars from any region or association may submit a proposal. Only proposals received by the deadline will be considered for inclusion in the program. Undergraduate-only panels are encouraged – please see instructions below. The Program Committee also welcomes proposals for non-traditional sessions such as roundtables, dialogues, book discussions, etc.

FORMAT FOR PROPOSALS

  • One-page abstract (250 words maximum) describing the nature of the paper or panel.
  • Cover page that includes the submitter’s full name, title, institution, status at the institution (undergraduate, graduate student, faculty, staff, etc.), phone number, and email address.
  • If you require technological support for your presentation/panel (such as an internet connection or audio and projection equipment), you must note this in your proposal.
  • For panel proposals, identify the primary contact person.
  • Proposals must be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by the February 1, 2023 deadline

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

As a general rule, the Region discourages panels comprised of scholars from a single institution. Exceptions to this rule would include a presentation from a research team or a panel based on other types of collaborative research, or an undergraduate-only panel (see below).

Presentations are limited to 20 minutes, with 10 minutes allowed for questions.

 

EIR PARTNERS

The EIR will once again meet concurrently with SCRIPT (the Society for Comparative Research on Iconic and Performative Texts). Proposals for SCRIPT papers should respond to the call for papers at www.script-site.net.

 

UNDERGRADUATE PANELS

The EIR welcomes submissions from undergraduates in the field of Religious Studies or on the theme of the conference. Presentations in undergraduate sessions must be 15 minutes long. Each proposal should contain the following in a single e-mail attachment in Word format:

  • One-page abstract (300 words maximum) describing the nature of the paper or panel
  • Letter from a faculty member who has supervised the student’s work
  • Cover page that includes the student’s full name, institution, phone number, e-mail, and mailing address. For panel proposals, identify the contact person

Please send your proposal to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The deadline for Undergraduate Panel submissions is February 1, 2023.

STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION

Graduate and undergraduate students in the Eastern International Region are invited to enter the student paper competition. Please note that to be eligible, the student must attend a college or university in the Eastern International Region (Ontario, Quebec, Western Pennsylvania and New York). The graduate student award and the undergraduate student award will be formally presented at the business meeting during the conference.

To enter the competition, please attach a short note to your proposal indicating that you wish to enter your paper into the contest. The deadline for proposals is February 1, 2023, and the final draft of the paper must then be submitted to Chris Miller, Regional Coordinator for the EIR at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by April 1, 2023. To be eligible for this award the student must read the entire paper at the meeting, which means the paper and presentation must conform to the respective time limits.