Emerging Scholars Panel

full name / name of organization: 
ATHE - Religion & Theatre focus group
contact email: 

CALL FOR PAPERS: EMERGING SCHOLARS PANEL

Religion & Theatre Focus Group
The Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) 2010 Conference
Los Angeles, August 3–6, 2010
Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel
"Theatre Alive: Theatre, Media, and Survival"
www.athe.org/conference/index

The Religion and Theatre Focus Group invites new scholars who have not yet presented at a major national conference to submit papers to its 2010 Emerging Scholars Panel. These papers will consider how religion and theatre correspond and overlap, particularly in relation to media and survival. "Religion" and "theatre" may both be conceived broadly, and can include spirituality, spiritual practice, religion as institution, and theology, as well as drama, performance, and performativity. The R&T focus group is particularly interested in engaging such questions as: What does the phrase "religion and theatre" signify? What is its place in the academy and education? How might religion or spirituality as a way of knowing create new understandings of what it means to perform in and with a community?

The theme for the 2010 conference is "Theatre Alive: Theatre, Media, and Survival." Thus, while all submissions are encouraged, we particularly invite papers that address the conference theme in some way. Essays might consider the intersections of theatre, religion, and media which can encourage survival – or threaten it. How have theatre and performance coincided with religious-based needs for, or challenges to, survival? How has the media affected the survival of theatre and religion? What are the spiritual components of theatrical, artistic, cultural, political, linguistic, economical, or human survival, and what are their performative counterparts? How might "religion and theatre" function as a paradigm for historical or cultural research, shape or be shaped by the media, or contribute to the survival of artistic, performance, or spiritual practices?

Please send your one page abstract as a Word attachment by OCTOBER 19, 2009 to:

Vanessa Baker
Bowling Green State University
vbaker@bgsu.edu

Include your name, affiliation, the title of your paper, mailing address, phone number, and email address with your submission, as well as a short bio. If applicable, please also specify what AV equipment you will require.

You can find out more about ATHE at www.athe.org. We look forward to your submission!

Best regards,
Vanessa Baker
Graduate Student Representative
Religion and Theatre Focus Group, ATHE