Call for Proposals: Religion and World Affairs Fellowship 2022-2023
“Religion and Authoritarianism”
The Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA) and School of Theology at Boston University invite applications from Boston University faculty and graduate students to serve as Religion and World Affairs Fellows for the 2022-2023 academic year. Selected fellows participate in the twice-monthly interdisciplinary Colloquium on Religion and World Affairs to workshop papers. Each fellow presents their own paper as part of the Colloquium and participates in the discussion of papers by other fellows and invited authors from outside BU. The colloquium sessions are open to the general public, with the expectation that all attendees read the papers in advance and that the sessions focus on providing feedback and suggestions to the authors.
The theme for the 2022-2023 Colloquium is “Religion and Authoritarianism.” After a long period of global democratic expansion, authoritarianism has been on the rise for at least the past decade. In a number of countries, religion has been a key element in the election of autocratic rulers and the spread of authoritarian practices. Whether considering Christian nationalism in places like the United States, Poland, and Hungary or Hindu nationalism in India or the growth of anti-LGBTQ+ laws in places like Uganda and Nigeria, religion has served as a tool in the expansion of populist rule and the exercise of state power. In a few other places, as in apartheid South Africa or Communist Poland or Tunisia during the Arab Spring, religion has served as a tool for resisting authoritarian rule. We welcome papers from any discipline that explore the role of religion in supporting or resisting authoritarianism. In addition to the Colloquium, CURA will sponsor a conference in spring 2023 on the theme, where the fellows will be able to engage with scholars from outside BU presenting on the topic of religion and authoritarianism.
We hope to build a working group that draws from diverse disciplines, methods, and regions of the world. Past fellows have come from anthropology, international relations, political science, religion, sociology, the writing program, the School of Medicine, and various programs in the School of Theology. Those selected as fellows will be asked to prepare a working paper of 5,000-8,000 words that will be scheduled for presentation next year. The papers will be made available a week in advance of their scheduled discussion. The Colloquium is an excellent opportunity to receive feedback on a paper to prepare it for publication in a journal or as a book chapter. Fellows will be expected to attend all sessions, read papers in advance, and provide feedback for other participants. Colloquium sessions will be held on Fridays, 12:00-1:30, about twice a month. Fellows will receive a $1,000 stipend for successful participation of the colloquium.
The deadline for applications is June 10, 2022. For more information, please contact Arlene Brennan at 617-353-5241 or arleneb@bu.edu or Timothy Longman at 617-353-9751 or longman@bu.edu.