Engagement with the Arts as Interreligious/Interfaith Studies Interdisciplinarity: A Close Look

Interreligious/Interfaith Studies is an academic field that is inherently interdisciplinary. Engagement with the arts is a multifaceted aspect of this interdisciplinarity. This interactive workshop, facilitated by an interreligious-studies scholar/arts-professional, will enable a robust conversation about the interface between Interreligious/Interfaith Studies and academic study of (or engagement with) the arts. It will feature a brief assessment of the state of the engagement, as discernable in recently released arts-themed Interreligious/Interfaith Studies publications. During the ensuing discussion, attendees will consider questions such as the criteria by which particular engagements between religion(s) and art(s) _qualify_ as examples of Interreligious/Interfaith Studies per se; effective methods of critical inquiry into the arts as an Interreligious/Interfaith Studies theme; personal experiences of the interdisciplinarity of religion and the arts; or projects and publications that will further the practice and assessment of engagement of Interreligious/Interfaith Studies with the arts.