Religion & (Breaking) Boundaries

Boundaries define communities, institutions, and epistemologies. Yet, these boundaries are never completely secure and are often contested, negotiated, or broken, despite efforts to maintain them. Migrants cross nation state borders, queer people challenge gender and sexuality binaries, ritual participants generate communities within liminal spaces, and interdisciplinary studies bridge categories of scholarship. What is the work of religion in creating, negotiating, or breaking boundaries What can we learn through the process of studying boundaries – both those built by others and those we employ ourselves? How is the study of religion aided or limited by their construction or contestation?

Boston University’s Graduate Program in Religion Student Association is pleased to announce a virtual Graduate Student Conference on “Religion and (Breaking) Boundaries.” We invite papers from many disciplinary and theoretical perspectives and welcome creative and provocative presentations that open new avenues of inquiry. For more information, contact Tyler J. Fuller at BUreligionconference@gmail.com.

Note on COVID-19 Impact: COVID-19 continues to impact public health, economic stability, institutional access, travel restrictions, and research possibilities. Thus, BU Religion Conference Committee has decided to make this year’s graduate conference on religion virtual, following the success of last year’s virtual conference.