University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp (UCSIA)
Summer Seminar 14 - 25 September 2005
“Faith-based Radicalism:
Christianity, Islam and Judaism
between Constructive Activism and Destructive Fanaticism”
PROGRAMME
Part 1: Theological and Conceptual Frames of Faith-based Radicalism
Thurs. 15/9 : Literalism in the Sacred Texts
§ “Christian Writings”, by Christopher Rowland, Oxford University, UK.
Christopher Rowland is Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at Queen’s College. His research interests are the interpretation of the new testament, theology of liberation, the radical tradition in Christianity and methods in grassroots reading of the Scripture.
ROWLAND, C. (ed.) La Teologia de la liberacion. (Cambridge university Press, 2000); Id. Radical Christian Writings: A reader (Blackwell Publishers, 2002).
§ “Muslim Writings”, by Michiel Leezenberg, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Michiel Leezenberg is Professor of Philosophy of Sciences. He conducts research in the Islamic world, on linguistics, philosophy, the Kurds.
LEEZENBERG, M. Islamitische filosofie: Een geschiedenis (Islamic Philosophy: A History) (Amsterdam: Bulaaq 2001).
§ “Jewish Writings” (in prospection)
§ Workshops
§ Official opening session at the City Hall with Scott Appleby and Christopher Rowland.
Friday 16/9 : The Ambivalence of Faith-based Radicalism
§ “The Ambivalence of the Sacred”, by S. Appleby, Kroc institute, University of Notre Dame, USA.
Scott Appleby is Professor of History and Director of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies (since 2000). He conducts research into the roots of religious violence and the potential of religious peace building.
From 1988 until 1993, he was co-director and co-edited the five-volume Fundamentalist Project (University of Chicago Press); APPLEBY, The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence and Reconciliation (Rowman & Littlefield 2000).
§ Response, by Michiel Leezenberg, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
§ Workshops
Sat. 17/9: Gender and Faith-based Radicalism
§ “Women and fundamentalism”, by Shahin Gerami, Southwest Missouri State University, United States.
Shahin Gerami is Professor of Sociology. Her research interests include social inequality focusing on gender and racial inequality. Since 1985, she has investigated the rise of religious fundamentalism cross-culturally and its effect on women’s status.
GERAMI, Women and Fundamentalism: Islam and Christianity. (Garland Press, 1996; now in second edition). Id. “Mullahs, Martyrs and Men: Conceptualizing Masculinity in the Islamic Republic of Iran” in: KIMMEL, M. and others (ed) The Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities (Thousand Oaks, 2003).
§ Response, by Chia Longman, University Ghent, Belgium.
Chia Longman is Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer in Comparative Sciences of Culture. She conducts research in the fields of Gender Studies in Anthropology and Religious studies.
LONGMAN, “Engendering Identity as Political Practice: Gender Discourse among Strictly Orthodox Women” in: PINXTEN, R. VERSTRAETE, G. and LONGMAN, C (eds) Culture and politics: Identity and Conflict in a Multicultural world. (New-York – Oxford, 2004).
Part 2: Faith-based Radicalism on the Individual Level
Mon. 19/9: Psychology of Religion
§ “A way beyond Fundamentalism”, by Heinz Streib, Bielefeld Universität, Germany.
Heinz Streib is Professor of Practical Theology, Religious Education and Ecumenical Theology and Director of the Center for Biographical Studies in Contemporary Religion. His Research focuses on Theory and Research in Faith Development, Religious Transformation and Deconversion, deinstitutionalized religion, fundamentalism and new religion.
Research Report Biographies in Christian Fundamentalists Milieus and organizations (Bielefeld, 2000); STREIB, “Is there a way beyond Fundamentalism?”, in: FRANCIS L. and others (eds) The Fourth R for the third Millennium: education in religions and values for the global future (Dublin, 2001); 3rd Edition Manuel for Faith Development Research (Bielefeld, 2004).
§ “Intolerance as an element of Fundamentalism”, by Dirk Hutsebaut, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.
Dirk Hutsebaut is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for the Psychology of Religion. He is a researcher in the field of Psychology of Religion: the Development of a new Religious Attitude Scale.
FONTAINE, J. DURIEZ, B. LUYTEN, P. CORVELEYN, J. and HUTSEBAUT, D. “Consequences of a multi-dimensional approach to religion for the relationship between religiosity and value priorities.” The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion (15, pp123-143, 2005).
§ Workshops
Tue. 20/9 : Political Psychology
§ “Political Psychology: Fundamentalism”, by Jerrold Post, George Washington University, United States.
Jerrold Post is Professor of Psychiatry, Political Psychology and International Affairs and Director of the Political Psychology Program. He developed a political psychology profile of Saddam Hussein. He received the Nevitt Sanford Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Political Psychology in 2002.
He is an expert in his field and published widely on crisis decision-making, leadership and on the psychology of political violence and terrorism. POST, Personality and Political Behavior (Corneel Univ. Press, in press).
§ Response
§ Workshop
§ Public Lecture (in cooperation with the Centre for the Philosophy of Religion, Department of Philosophy, University of Antwerp, Belgium[1]): “The Borderline between accepted and pathological Religious Emotions”, by Fraser Watts, Cambridge University, UK.
Fraser Watts is Lecturer in Theology and Natural Science, Fellow and Director of Studies in Theology at Queens’ College and Director of Psychology and Christianity Project. His Research Interests are the nature of scientific and theological discourses and the human emotions in relation to theological anthropology.
WATTS, “Psychological and religious perspectives on emotion” in: Zygon 32:234-260; Id. (in press). Shame, sin and guilt. IN: SOROT, M. and McFADYEN, A. (eds.) Title to be confirmed. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Part 3: Faith-based Radicalism on the Collective Level
Wed. 21/9 : Faith-based Radicalism and Politics
§ “Global Religions versus Secular States”, by Mark Juergensmeyer, University of Santa Barbara, United States (to be confirmed).
Mark Juergensmeyer is Professor of Sociology, Global Studies and Religious Studies and Director of the Global and International Studies (since 1995). He is an expert on religious violence, conflict resolution and South-Asian religion and politics.
JUERGENSMEYER, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (University of California Press, revised edition 2003). Id. Global Religions (Oxford University Press, 2003).
§ Response, by Rik Coolsaet, University Ghent, Belgium (to be confirmed).
Rik Coolsaet is Professor Political Sciences. His research interests are international politics, Belgian foreign politics and diplomacy.
COOLSAET, Research Paper – International Terrorism. Department of Political Sciences, September 2004; Id. Al Qaeda. The Myth. The Root Causes of International Terrorism and How to Tackle them. (Academia Press, 2005).
§ Workshops
Thurs. 22/9: Faith-based Radicalism as a Social Movement
§ “Christian case”, by Nancy Ammerman, Boston College, United States (to be confirmed).
Nancy Ammerman is Professor of Sociology of Religion. Recently she has spend much of her time studying American Congregations. Prior to this work, she wrote extensively on conservative religious movements.
AMMERMAN, N. Bible Believers: Fundamentalists in the Modern World (N.Y. Rutgers University Press, 1987 Id. (ed.) “Accounting for Christian Fundamentalisms” in: Accounting for Fundamentalisms (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994); Id. Pillars of Faith: American Congregations and their Partners, Building Faith, Building Community (Under review).
§ Response
§ Workshop
§ “Jewish case”, by Menachem Friedman, Bar Ilan University, Israel.
Menachem Friedman is Professor of History and Sociology of Religion. He conducts research in the processes of secularization and the confrontation between religious and non-religious Jewish groups as well as the process of extremism and zealotry.
FRIEDMAN, The Haredi Ultra-Orthodox Society: Sources Trends and Processes (Jerusalem, 1991); Id. “Haredi Violence in Contemporary Israeli Society”, P. MEDDING (ed) Studies in Contemporary Jewry, (18, pp186-197, 2002). Id. “Halakhic Rabbinic Authority in the Modern Open Society”, J. WERTHEIMER (ed) Jewish Religious Leadership – Image and Reality, (N.Y.: JTS Press, 2004).
§ Response
§ Workshop
§ Public Evening Session: Panel “Terrorism and Religion”, with Anne Speckhard.
Anne Speckhard is Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Georgetown University Medical School, Washington (Since 2002) and Professor of Research at Vesalius College at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium (Since 2001). Current and recent research activities are the Psychological aspects in Suicidal Terrorism and Hostage Taking and Abortion Clinic Terrorism in the United States.
SPECKHARD, “Terrorism and Religion the Plague of the 21rst Century: A Worldwide Perspective” Invited Research Presentation to the NATO Security Related Civil Science Committee, Brussels, May 2003; Id. “Soldiers for God;: Insights into the Psychology of Religiously Motivated Terrorism”. Paper presented for the Harvard Club in Belgium, Brussels, May 2003.
Friday 23/9: Faith-based Radicalism as a Social Movement
§ “Muslim case”, by Emmanuel Sivan, Hebrew University Jerusalem, Israel. (to be confirmed).
Emmanuel Sivan is Professor of Islamic History. His research interests are Contemporary Islamic Fundamentalism, comparative Fundamentalism and Collective Memory.
SIVAN, E. “The Holy War tradition in Islam” in: Orbis (Spring 1998, vol42, issue 2, p171) Id. And APPLEBY, S. ALMOND, G. Strong religion: The Rise of Fundamentalisms around the world. (University of Chicago press, January 2003); Id. “The Clash within Islam” in: Survival (Spring 2004, vol46 issue 1, p25).
§ Response, by Sami Zemni, University Ghent, Belgium.
Sami Zemni is Professor Dr. of Political Sciences. He conducts research on Islam and Fundamentalism, Islam and Societal change.
ZEMNI, Islamism and Modernity. A Political comparative study of Islamism in Morocco, Algeria and Egypt (Gent, 2001). Id. “Islam, European Identity and the Limits of Multiculturalism”, in: SHAHID, W. Religious freedom and ht e Neutrality of the State (Leuven, Forthcoming).
§ Workshop
Sat. 24/9: Faith-based Radicalism: an Economic Approach
§ An Economic Perspective, by Mario Ferrero, University of Eastern Piemont, Italy
Mario Ferrero is Professor of Political Economy. His Research Interests are Economic models of Political systems and economic approach to political and religious extremism.
FERRERO, “The political life cycle of extremist organizations” in: BRETON, A (eds) Political Extremism and rationality (Cambridge university Press, 2002); Id. “Radicalization as a reaction to failure: An economic model to Islamic extremism” (Working Paper, POLIS, Piedmont, 2002; forthcoming in Public Choice, 2005).
§ Response
§ Workshop
§ Closing session: Round-up
6
[1] International Conference on “Religious Emotions - Historical and Contemporary Perspectives”, 19-21 September 2005, University of Antwerp, Belgium. (To visit the website: http://www.ua.ac.be/main.asp?c=*RELEMO)