Re/presenting Islam on Campus

Date: September 6-7, 2018

Venue: The Khalili Lecture Theatre (KLT), SOAS, University of London, UK

Many of today’s prestigious universities, including Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge, have Christian foundations (Aune and Stevenson, 2017). And yet, modern universities, particularly in the West, are typically characterized by traditions of knowledge production that are often conceived as at odds with religious commitment.

This conference aims to explore the diverse experiences and complex dynamics of religion and secularism on higher education campuses in the context of contemporary challenges. By bringing together distinctive expertise and approaches to the study of religion and non-religion on campus, the conference will examine how universities are changing in response to the presence of different religious and non-religious discourses and the interactions between them.

This two-day international conference will explore the diversity of ways in which religious and non-religious identities are experienced, encountered and catered for on higher education campuses in the UK, Europe and beyond.

Possible themes and topics include:

– the place of religion within different conceptualizations of higher education spaces (e.g. neo-liberal universities, religious colleges, multi-faith campuses)
– interfaith dialogue and inter-religious relations on campus
– the intersections of religion, race and gender as manifest within higher education contexts
– pedagogical concerns about religion in the classroom; inclusion and critical engagement with religion as an object of study
– teaching Islam and religion within established academic disciplines
– racism and prejudice (including Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia) on campus
– the university in an age of counter-terrorism and surveillance
– the negotiation of cultural and moral values among the student body
– the role of student voices and student bodies in shaping the religion or belief contours on campus
– the impact of radicalization on academic research
– Methodological reflections on campus-based research

More information at: Re/presenting Islam on Campus