LETTER OF INVITATION, ISREV 2018

November 17, 2016

Dear ISREV Member/Associate Member,

It is with pleasure that we invite you to attend the twenty-first session of ISREV which will be held in Nürnberg, Germany, at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg from 29th July to 3rd August 2018. Manfred Pirner and his team are busily at work formulating arrangements for an academically stimulating and interpersonally enriching program. The purpose of this letter is to give you some details about the meeting, and to remind you to note the dates. The official registration form will be sent later as will the invitation to submit an offer form for collegial papers and symposia.

The main theme of ISREV XXI is “Comparative Perspectives and Contextual Challenges in Religious and Values Education”. There are five sub-themes which will be addressed in the plenary sessions:

Sub-theme 1 – The role and contribution of confessional and non-confessional religious education. This will have two strands - confessional RE and RE for multi-faith/secular societies

Sub-theme 2 – Religious and/or values education pedagogy and curriculum in plural contexts

Sub-theme 3 – Addressing spirituality in religion and values education in secular societies

Sub-theme 4 – Comparative research in religious and/or values education

Sub-theme 5 – Contextualizing religious education research in higher education and teacher training

Collegial papers will be subject to a review process which will be carried out by the Program Committee. Collegial papers may be presented on any subject appropriate to the general aims of the Seminar and do not have to specifically address the main theme of ISREV XXI. However, if the subject of the proposed collegial paper is relevant to the main theme, it will be possible to have the paper reviewed for the book publication that is intended to result from the Seminar. Registration Forms, Collegial Abstract Submission Forms, and Travel Fund Application Forms will be sent to all full and associate members on Wednesday, February 1, 2017. The closing date for reception of Collegial Abstract Forms will be Monday, August 7, 2017.

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For those who are interested in forming a symposium, please note that it is expected to consist of at least four related collegial paper presentations of ISREV members. The theme of the symposia should be appropriate to the overall interests of the Seminar. Any ISREV member can be the initiator of a symposium. The initiator should invite other members or associate members to contribute to the symposium and collect the abstracts of collegial papers that will together constitute the symposium. This set of abstracts should them be presented to the Program Committee for approval.

We look forward to receiving your Collegial Paper and Symposia submissions on the official forms in due course. Reminder messages will be sent to the membership by email.

Location and Accommodation

Nürnberg is one of the most famous German cities with origins dating back to the ninth century, a medieval imperial castle and several major historical church buildings (see (https://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/home.html). It was one of the centers of the Reformation, but also the place of the Nazi rally ground in the Third Reich. Today, Nürnberg actively faces its problematic Nazi past and has developed an image as city of peace and human rights that cherishes cultural diversity.

The venue for the 2018 ISREV conference will be on one of the Nürnberg campuses of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg. The meetings will be held in the Educational Building St. Paul (“Bildungshaus St. Paul”, http://www.nuernberger-forum.uni-erlangen.org/pictures.shtml), Dutzendteichstrasse 24, and accommodation will be arranged in the nearby Ramada Park Hotel (http://www.ramada-nuernberg.de/index_eng.html), Münchener Strasse 25 (about 800 meters / half a mile walking distance). The venue is about half an hour by public transport from Nürnberg Airport and ten minutes by city train (“S-Bahn”) from Nürnberg Main Station.

More information on local travel and directions can be found at http://www.evrel.ewf.uni-erlangen.de/img/uploaded/How_to_get_there.pdf). If you have any questions you can contact the local conference team at .

Costs

Costs, including breakfast, lunch and dinner (starting with refreshments and an evening meal on the Sunday and ending after lunch on the Friday) and five nights’ accommodation: 655 € (single room) or 500 € (double room) (equivalent to 563 £ or 430 £ at current exchange rates).

Optional Seminar Outing

The Optional Seminar Outing will take place on Wednesday, 1st August 2018. The convenors will provide details of the outing and the cost in a later email.

Program Details

Program details including lists of presenters, respondents and chairs of all sessions will be sent to all registered participants as soon as the Program Committee completes the review process. For more program details, and other information about ISREV, visit the ISREV website www.isrev.org

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Nürnberg.

Sincerely yours,

Gloria Durka, President, ISREV Manfred Pirner, Convenor of ISREV XXI