Space, Place, and Religion Unit
Innovative and Creative Approaches to Teaching and Learning about Religious Space and Place
We are hoping for this panel to be divided into two sessions: one in June (online) and one in November (in person). Though the sessions will stand alone, we intend them to be in conversation with one another, and to that end, we’ll ask for papers to be pre-circulated in order to provide opportunities for dialogue between the two. The sessions will address innovative ways of teaching space, place and religion, whether face to face or in virtual environments. We encourage submissions on innovative teaching methods and technologies (virtual/augmented reality, other immersive environments, artificial intelligence, game-based learning, GIS and mapping technologies, to name a few examples) and especially ones that can be creatively presented in both the online and in person format.
This Unit is a forum for exploring religious sites and the spatial dimensions of religions. We feature ethnographically-informed studies of living sites, historically-informed studies of texts and artifacts, and analyses of architecture and landscape. Our work seeks to shed light on the role of space and place in religious traditions and communities or to examine religious activity (performance, ritual, and practice) in spatial contexts. This Unit recognizes that spaces and places, real and imagined/visionary, are constitutive elements in religious life; it is dedicated to investigating how they contribute to contemplative, ritualistic, artistic, economic, ethnic, or political aspects of religious life using a variety of approaches and methods. We expect to include at least one session focused on spaces and places in Asia, in addition to sessions focused on other themes, regions, traditions or advancing the theoretical analysis of space and place.
| Chair | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Katie Oxx, Saint Joseph's University | koxx@sju.edu | - | View |
| Brooke Schedneck | schedneckb@rhodes.edu | - | View |