American Academy of Religion 2009 in Montreal

I am looking forward to this year’s annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion for a number of reasons. First, it will be my first time attending the conference and thus marks an important “first” in my theological life. Second, the schedule looks fantastic, and I am looking forward to hearing/seeing some scholars that have been important influences in my studies. Third, this will be my first trip to Montreal despite having lived in Canada for over three years now, and it will be nice to visit there a mere two weeks before we move back to the u.s. of a. Finally, I am looking forward to a meeting there with some of the other participants in the Rock and Theology project that I’ve hooked up with in recent months.

For any CA readers who will be in Montreal this weekend, here are some of the sessions that look particularly interesting to me. You’ll note that a lot of these conflict with one another, so choices will have to be made.

FRIDAY

M6-312
Making Whole the People of God: A Gathering of Professional Lay Theologians
5:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-513A
The idea for this gathering began with casual hallway conversations at past AAR meetings and a commitment to pursue the question of the evolving place of lay Catholic theologians in the church and academy. It is estimated that by 2015, 60 percent of all theologians in the Catholic Church will be laypersons. This raises the question: are the prevailing models and structures of theological research and ecclesial institutions prepared for this shift? This gathering is an opportunity for a conversation exploring such questions and to gauge interest in forming a research network of professional lay Catholic theologians.

M6-404
Animals and Religion Consultation
7:00 pm–9:00 pm
FQE-Bersimis
Scholars, students, and any others interested in this burgeoning field are welcome to join this informal Friday evening session. We meet in a relaxed, informal setting in order to easily share our thoughts and observations regarding teaching issues, course development possibilities, undergraduate programs, graduate study possibilities, and publication opportunities. There will be the briefest of introductory comments by members of the Animals and Religion Consultation, all to the point of prompting a productive, egalitarian exchange. This subject is expanding, and the chance to learn about additional points of view is vitally important to the development of a healthy field. Please join us if any aspect of this remarkable topic interests you.

SATURDAY

A7-109
Religion and Politics Section
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-511A
Robert P. Jones, Public Religion Research, Presiding
Theme: The Politics of Religion in the Contemporary United States
John-Charles Duffy, University of North Carolina
Evangelicals, Catholics, and Mormons in Dialogue: Pluralism and the American Religious Right
Ann Duncan, University of Virginia
Motherhood, Faith, and the 2008 Presidential Election
Robert O. Smith, Baylor University
Surveying the Exception: Quantifying American Religious Attitudes Toward the State of Israel
Joseph Kosek, George Washington University
The American Religious Left and Its Secular Critics
Business Meeting:
Andrew Murphy, Rutgers University, and Susan B. Thistlethwaite, Chicago Theological Seminary, Presiding

A7-120
Native Traditions in the Americas Group
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-513D
Natalie Avalos Cisneros, University of California, Santa Barbara, Presiding
Theme: The Impact of Church and State on Indigenous Lands, Traditions, Practices, and Languages
Andrea McComb, University of California, Santa Barbara
Shifting Ideologies: Franciscans in New Mexico Post–1692
Bianca Brigidi, University of California, Santa Barbara
Spaces of Conversion: Franciscans, Jesuits, and Indigenous in the Americas
Verney Marilyn Notah, University of California, Santa Barbara
“As Long As We Have Our Land… ”
Ines M. Talamantez, University of California, Santa Barbara
The Language of the Land
Responding:
Miranda Shaw, University of Richmond
Business Meeting:
Kenneth Mello, Southwestern University, and Mary C. Churchill, Sonoma State University, Presiding

A7-128
Liberation Theologies Consultation
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-520BE
Nancy Cardoso Pereira has withdrawn from the session.
Thia Cooper, Gustavus Adolphus College, Presiding
Theme: Liberation Theologies in the Twenty-first Century
Panelists:
Néstor Medina, North York, Ontario
Sylvia Marcos, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos, and Claremont Graduate University
Heike Walz, Instituto Universitario ISEDET
Mitri Raheb, Incarnation Center of Bethlehem
Wati Longchar, Serampore University
Business Meeting:
Thia Cooper, Gustavus Adolphus College, Presiding

A7-133
Space, Place, and Religious Meaning Consultation
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-515A
Barbara Ambros, University of North Carolina, Presiding
Theme: Inside and Outside Sacred Space: Spaces of Inner Experience and Places of Political Contention
Eric Reinders, Emory University
The Vertical Metaphor in Chinese Buddhist Temple Space
Hazem Ziada, Southern Polytechnic State University
Aesthetics of Ritual Space: The Case of the Mosque
David Howlett, University of Iowa
“Lifting the Scourge”: The LDS Resanctification of the Community of Christ’s Kirtland Temple, 1965–2008
Shelly Nixon, University of Ottawa
Negotiating Religious Meaning in Canadian Museums
Responding:
David Simonowitz, University of California, Los Angeles
Business Meeting:
Jeanne Halgren Kilde, University of Minnesota, and Leonard Norman Primiano, Cabrini College, Presiding

The Niebuhr Society
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-516C
Theme: A Century in Public Theology: Reinhold Niebuhr and Richard John Neuhaus: Religion and American Public Life in the Twentieth Century and Beyond
Panelists:
William Cavanaugh, University of Saint Thomas
Gary Dorrien, Union Theological Seminary
Jean Bethke Elshtain, University of Chicago
David Novak, University of Toronto
10:30 am
Research Reports
K. Healan Gaston, University of California, Berkeley
Kevin Carnahan, Hendrix College
11:00 am
Business Meeting:
John D. Carlson, Arizona State University, Presiding

A7-205
Ethics Section
1:00 pm–3:30 pm
PDC-511B
Aaron Conley, University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology, Presiding
Theme: Neoliberal Economics: Illustrations and Consequences
Joseph Strife, Union Theological Seminary, and Charon Hribar, Union Theological Seminary
“Something We All Need to Live”: Politics and Ethics from Above and Below in the Struggle over Water Privatization in Detroit
Christine E. Gudorf, Florida International University
Water Privatization in the Developing World
Patricia Way, Rosemont College
Mining the Hidden Transcripts of Capitalist Power
Lorena E. Cuevas, New York, NY
Ground Resistance: How the Starbucks Workers Union Is Fighting Back
Business Meeting:
Jane Hicks, Saint John Fisher College, and Miguel A. De La Torre, Iliff School of Theology, Presiding

A7-208
Theology and Religious Reflection Section
1:00 pm–3:30 pm
PDC-524C
Pamela Mary Bright, Concordia University, Presiding
Theme: Theological Contributions in the Work of Gregory Baum
The work of Canadian theologian, Gregory Baum, has spanned more than fifty years, revealing his astonishing openness to being attentive to the theological questions that animated his inquiry. This panel presentation will consider some of the key themes within Baum’s theology, exploring his faithfulness to the Christian mission of solidarity and why that mission speaks to twenty-first century challenges. A central goal of the panel is to reflect on the continued relevance of Baum’s theology, and to situate it in the context of Québec. His theology followed a trajectory that moved him through concerns with economic injustice, human dignity, solidarity, Catholic Church teachings and life, ecumenism, and interfaith dialogue. It is an interdisciplinary journey involving theology, sociology, political economy, and religious studies. It is a responsive theology that is attentive to contemporary concerns and responds to these concerns in a timely manner.
Gregory Baum, McGill University
Doing Theology in Québec
Jean Richard, University of Laval
Gregory Baum’s Critical Theology as Applied to the Social, Political, and Religious Situation of Québec
Christine Jamieson, Concordia University
The Solidarity Catholicism of Gregory Baum
David Seljak, University of Waterloo
Baum, Evil, and the Sociological Imagination
Denise Couture, Université de Montréal
Intersecting Critical, Feminist, and Postcolonial Theology

A7-217
Ecclesiological Investigations Group
1:00 pm–3:30 pm
PDC-520CF
Julie Clague, University of Glasgow, Presiding
Theme: The Church in Post-Christian Society
Thomas Hughson, Marquette University
Is Prophecy Enough? “Deprivatized” Churches in a Secular Society
Mark Chapman, Ripon College, Cuddesdon
Christianity as a Minority Religion: The English Example
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Fuller Theological Seminary
The Church in the Post-Christian Society Between Modernity and Late Modernity: L. Newbigin’s Postcritical Missional Ecclesiology
David Anderman, First Congregational United Church of Christ, Waterville, ME
Conversation, Friendship, and Hospitality: A “Weak” Ecclesiology
Steffen Lösel, Emory University
The Kirchenkampf of the Countercultural Colony: A Critical Response
Responding:
Gilles Routhier, Université Laval

A7-222
Religions, Social Conflict, and Peace Group
1:00 pm–3:30 pm
PDC-520AD
Marla J. Selvidge, University of Central Missouri, Presiding
Theme: Power, Patriotism, and the Military
Justin Latterell, Emory University
In God We Trust: Lincoln and America’s Deathbed Repentance
Gabriella Lettini, Graduate Theological Union
Filming Moral Deliberation in War: The Case of Soldiers of Conscience
Steven Moore, Department of National Defence
Military Chaplains as Agents of Peace: Seeding Reconciliation in Theaters of War
Charlotte Hunter, Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute
Strategies of Power and Patriotism: Public Prayer in the Military Setting
Business Meeting:
Jon Pahl, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, and Marla J. Selvidge, University of Central Missouri, Presiding

A7-301
Special Topics Forum
4:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-517C
Pamela Klassen, University of Toronto, Presiding
Theme: “Our Home and Native Land”: Colonial Encounters and the History of Religion, Spirituality, and the Secular
Sponsored by the American Lectures in the History of Religion
Seeking both to recognize and interrogate the history of our discipline, the History of Religions Jury, under the auspices of the American Lectures in the History of Religions, has convened the Centennial Scholars Panel. Four distinguished scholars and artists will discuss how their work explores some of the ways that colonialism has shaped categories of religion, spirituality, and the secular, especially within the Americas. With increasing awareness of the legacies of colonialism for the study of religion, scholars have gained perspective on the discipline’s contributions both to naturalizing colonialism and to confronting colonial and postcolonial uses of religion for identity creation and domination. The title, taken from the Canadian anthem, points to the unavoidable ambivalence of being “at home” in postcolonial worlds. Gathering together such creative and interdisciplinary conversation partners, the panel offers an extraordinary chance to rethink what it is to be at home in the study of religion.
Panelists:
Ines M. Talamantez, University of California, Santa Barbara
Nelson Maldonado-Torres, University of California, Berkeley
George Elliott Clarke, University of Toronto
Alanis Obomsawin, National Film Board of Canada

A7-309
Theology and Religious Reflection Section
4:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-524C
Joerg Rieger, Southern Methodist University, Presiding
Theme: Rereading Marx for Theology and Religious Reflection
Juan Floyd-Thomas, Vanderbilt University
Seeing Red in the Black Church: Marxist Thought and African American Christianity
Inese Radzins, Pacific School of Religion
Simone Weil’s Marxism: A Move Toward a More Incarnational Christianity
Ian Pattenden, McGill University
Christ, Capitalism, Communism. . . Holy Spirit and Hope? Marx and Žižek on Christ and Money
Mara Willard, Harvard University
Hannah Arendt on Self-idolatry: The False Gods of Ethnic Nationalism
Business Meeting:
Mayra Rivera, Pacific School of Religion, Presiding

A7-311
Black Theology Group
4:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-520CF
Dianne Stewart, Emory University, Presiding
Theme: Fortieth Retrospective of Cone’s Black Theology and Black Power: The Next Forty Years
Elonda Clay, Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago
A Black Theology of Liberation or Legitimation? A Neo-Washingtonian Critique of Cone’s Black Theology
Kevin Patrick Considine, Loyola University
A “Collective Black” Liberation in the Face of “Honorary White” Racism? A Growing Edge for United States Black Liberation Theologies
Ralph Watkins, Fuller Theological Seminary
From Black Theology and Black Power to Afrocentric Theology and Hip-Hop Power: An Extension and Socio-re-theological-conceptualization of Cone’s Theology
in Conversation with the Hip Hop Generation
Andre Johnson, Memphis Theological Seminary
The Prophetic Persona of James Cone and the Rhetorical Construction of Black Theology
Responding:
James H. Cone, Union Theological Seminary
Business Meeting:
Stephen G. Ray, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and Monica A. Coleman, Claremont School of Theology, Presiding

A7-330
Music and Religion Consultation
4:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-513C
Theodore Trost, University of Alabama, Presiding
Theme: Explorations in Music and Religion
Shannon Berry, Catholic University of America
A Bridge between the Sacred and the Secular: Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and the Concept of Theosis
Samuel Laurent, Drew University
A Riff on A Love Supreme: A Model for Theological Engagement Based on the Improvisation of John Coltrane
Iljea Lee, Yale University
Resonance and Attunement: Musical Concepts in Religious Poetry
Kris Oster, Pacifica Graduate Institute
Oxum and Yansan: Candomblé Trickster Archetypal Models for Female Drummers
Clive Marsh, University of Leicester, and Vaughan Roberts, Collegiate Church of Saint Mary, Warwick
Scriptures, Soundtracks, and the Acrobatic Self: Reception and Use of the Music of U2 in the Contemporary Process of Identity Formation
Business Meeting:
Philip Stoltzfus, University of Saint Thomas, Presiding

M7-400
Explorations in Theology and Apocalyptic
6:30 pm–9:00 pm
FQE-Hochelaga 5
Charlie Collier, Cascade Books, Presiding
Theme: Whither Apocalyptic? Critical Reflections in the Wake of Nathan R. Kerr’s Christ, History, and Apocalyptic: The Politics of Christian Mission (SCM
Press/Cascade Books, 2008)
Sponsored by Cascade Books/Wipf and Stock Publishers
Panelists:
Douglas Harink, King’s University College, Edmonton
Travis Kroeker, McMaster University
Cyril O’Regan, University of Notre Dame
Responding:
Nathan R. Kerr, Trevecca Nazarene University
This is one of two additional meetings whose purpose is to explore the possibility of setting up a consultation on “Theology and Apocalyptic” at future meetings of the AAR.

A7-404
Presidential Address
8:00 pm-9:00 pm
PDC-517A
Ann Taves, University of California, Santa Barbara, Presiding
Theme: Beyond Words and War: The Global Future of Religion
In a global era new forms of religion will require the invention of new forms of religious studies. The central themes in the study of religion have changed in the last hundred years — from texts, to myth and ritual, to social conflict — and in the global culture of the twenty-first century the study of religion will continue to evolve. The old approaches will endure, but will increasingly be put to new purposes, such as understanding the encounters among cultures and probing the strata of spirituality that underlie religious diversity. Among the novel approaches will be new syntheses, such as the emerging
field of sociotheology, which utilizes the insights of theology and cultural studies, and the methods of interpretive social sciences, in order to construct the internal logic of religious world views. Rather than being at the periphery of the academy, increasingly religious studies will be seen at the center of understanding our contemporary global world.
Panelist:
Mark Juergensmeyer, University of California, Santa Barbara

SUNDAY

A8-100
Plenary Panel
9:00 am-11:30 am
PDC-517A
Mark Juergensmeyer, University of California, Santa Barbara, Presiding
Theme: Rethinking Secularism
The emergence of strident new forms of religion in the twenty-first century challenge the domain of secular ideas and institutions in the public sphere — and encourage a rethinking of what secularism is, as an ideology and as a way of life. This panel brings together some of the most articulate social theorists writing on the subject, scholars associated with a major project on rethinking secularism sponsored by the Social Science Research Council, a think-tank supported by the professional academic associations of the social sciences. They explore the roots of the secular ideal in eighteenth century European Enlightenment thought, the way it is diversely reconceived in the present day around the world, and how the concept is changing. They raise the question of whether we are moving into a new moment of history marked by resurgent religion in public life — a post-secular age.
Panelists:
Charles Taylor, McGill University
José Casanova, Georgetown University
Saba Mahmood, University of California, Berkeley
Craig Calhoun, New York University

A8-108
Bible in Racial, Ethnic, and Indigenous Communities Group
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-515C
Valerie Bridgeman, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Presiding
Theme: Minority Biblical Interpretation in Canada
Panelists:
Paulette Brown, Knox College and University of Toronto
Ronald Charles, University of Toronto
Alison Hari-Singh, Wycliffe College and University of Toronto
Alcris Limongi, Emmanuel College
Lily Vuong, McMaster University
Gosnell Yorke, Northern Caribbean University
Néstor Medina, University of Toronto
Business Meeting:
Fernando F. Segovia, Vanderbilt University, Presiding

A8-203
Special Topics Forum
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
PDC-517A
Lawrence Mamiya, Vassar College, Presiding
Theme: The Marty Forum: James H. Cone
Sponsored by the Public Understanding of Religion Committee
The recipient of the 2009 Martin Marty Award for contributions to the public understanding of religion is James H. Cone, the Charles A. Briggs distinguished professor of systematic theology at Union Theological Seminary. Cone is the author of eleven books, including Black Theology and Black Power (1969) and A Black Theology of Liberation (1970). He is also the author of the highly acclaimed God of the Oppressed (1975) and Martin and Malcolm and America: A Dream or a Nightmare? (1991). His most recent publication is Risks of Faith (1999). He has also published over 150 articles and has lectured at more than 1,000 universities and community organizations throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The Marty Forum provides an informal setting in which Cone will talk about his work with Cornel West, the Class of 1943 professor at Princeton University.
Panelists:
James H. Cone, Union Theological Seminary

A8-218
Ecclesiological Investigations Group and Evangelical Theology Group
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
PDC-513F
Michael Attridge, University of Saint Michael’s College, Presiding
Theme: Ecclesial Being and Belonging: Ecumenical, Evangelical, and Interdisciplinary Perspectives Today
Timothy Lim Teck Ngern, Regent University
Ecumenism and Evangelical Ecclesiology: Friend or Foe?
Erica Olson, Fordham University
The De-Churching and Re-Churching of Young Evangelicals: Rethinking Evangelical Ecclesiology
Michael Montgomery, Chicago Theological Seminary
Finding the Right Direction: Ecclesiology from Below
Peter Ward, King’s College, London
Mediation, Post-Christian Society, and the Liquid Church

A8-252
Wildcard Session
3:00 pm–4:30 pm
PDC-517A
Lissa McCullough, Los Angeles, CA, Presiding
Theme: Whither the “Death of God”: A Continuing Currency?
This session features a conversation between prominent radical theologian Thomas Altizer and well-known cultural critic Slavoj Žižek on the continuing and changing currency of the “death of God” idea within theology, religious studies, philosophy, the arts, and the trajectory of global culture in general. How has the notion of the death of God evolved as the secularization thesis has declined? Has the phrase become passé or is it alive, current, and still significant? Must we understand this phrase in new senses in the present globalizing world? What are the most important resources and thinkers for contending with its meaning? Around the core exchange of the two panelists, some thirty or more scholars, junior and senior, who have been closely engaged with the death of God idea have been invited to participate actively from the audience, with the intent to catalyze a lively, multifaceted conversation on these issues.
Panelists:
Thomas Altizer, Mount Pocono, PA
Slavoj Žižek, University of Ljubljana

A8-257
Religion and Politics Section
3:00 pm–4:30 pm
PDC-511F
Andrew William Getz, Saint Mary’s University, Presiding
Theme: Political Theology: Public and Private, Culture and Counterculture
Danielle Dubois, Johns Hopkins University
Charles Taylor’s Concept of Fullness: Recognizing Religious Identity in the Public Sphere
Robert Virdis, McMaster University
Arendt and Voegelin on Totalitarian Methods of Organization
Andrea Parliament, Burlington, ON

A8-273
Religion in Latin America and the Caribbean Group and Liberation Theologies Consultation
3:00 pm–4:30 pm
PDC-516A
Hugo Córdova Quero, Graduate Theological Union, Presiding
Theme: Despedida: Futures of Sexual Theology after Marcella Althaus-Reid
Panelists:
Mario I. Aguilar, University of Saint Andrews
Kwok Pui Lan, Episcopal Divinity School
Mary E. Hunt, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual

A8-275
Religions, Social Conflict, and Peace Group
3:00 pm–4:30 pm
PDC-511B
Jon Pahl, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Presiding
Theme: Resistance, Peacemaking, and Restorative Justice
Jason Springs, University of Notre Dame
Burning Flags, Banning Scarves, and Patriotism as National Cult: Post-September 11 France and the United States Compared
Kristen Tobey, University of Chicago
“Transferring Reality”: Violence and Nonviolence in the Plowshares Anti-Nuclear Movement
Nathan Funk, University of Waterloo
Engaging Islamic Perspectives on Restorative Justice
Joshua Thomas, Emory University
We Can Do It Better: Children as Interfaith Peacebuilders

M8-307
Ecclesiological Investigations Group
4:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-524B
Phyllis Zagano, Hofstra University, Presiding
Theme: Ecclesiology’s Emerging Scholarship
A platform for emerging and ongoing scholarship in the discipline of ecclesiology. Sponsored by Peter De Mey and the Centre for Ecumenical Research, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven.
Karen Guth, University of Virginia
Constructing a Feminist Public Theology for the Church in a Pluralistic Society
Jeremy M. Bergen, University of Waterloo
The Apologies of Church and State: Thinking Theologically about Canada’s Apology for Indian Residential Schools in Light of Previous Church Statements
Mark Godin, University of Glasgow
Sacramental Hermeneutics, Québec, and the Presbyterian Church in Canada: A Congregational Case Study
Carlos Bedoya, Trinity College, Dublin
“Belonging in Unity” or “Unity in Belonging”? The Postmodern Challenge of Difference to Ecumenical Ecclesiology
Coleman Fannin, Baptist Theological Seminary, Richmond
What Sort of Community? The Catholic Vision of the Church after Toleration
Jeffrey Conklin-Miller, Duke University
Theory in Search of a People: Context-ualization and the Missional Church

A8-314
Theology and Religious Reflection Section
5:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-510D
Susan Abraham, Harvard University, Presiding
Theme: Dissent, Tradition, and Modernity
Daniel Campana, University of La Verne
Domesticating the Revolutionary: A Case Study in the Role of the Dissenting Voice in the Christian Community
Brenna Moore, Fordham University
Modernity and European Catholicism: A Typological Approach
Thomas A. Lewis, Brown University
The Polyvalent Politics of the Modern Turn to Tradition

A8-321
Gay Men’s Issues in Religion Group
5:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-511A
Peter Savastano, Seton Hall University, Presiding
Theme: The Work of Roman Catholic Theologian James Alison
Andy Buechel, Emory University
Redeemed Subjectivity: James Alison as Political Theologian
Aaron Klink, Duke University
Being, Grace, and Truth: James Allison and a New Way for Christian Sexual Ethics
Donald L. Boisvert, Concordia University
Transcribing the Pink Triangle: A James Alison and Renee Girardian Perspective on the Contemporary Assault on Gay Men
Bryce Rich, Lancaster Theological Seminary
Eucharist, Prayer, and Positive Mimesis in the Thought of James Alison
Responding:
John J. Ranieri, Seton Hall University

MONDAY

A9-100
Special Topics Forum
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-514C
Gilya Gerda Schmidt, University of Tennessee, Presiding
Theme: Global Economies of the Sacred
Sponsored by the International Connections Committee
For many, globalization means, first and foremost, what Mary Elizabeth Gallagher calls “contagious capitalism.” What then might be the relations between the global market and the globalization of religion? In this forum, our panelists will address not only how economic factors might be influencing the spread and exchange of religions, but also how religions themselves might function as goods and services for transactions in a globalized world.
Panelists:
Andrea Smith, University of California, Riverside
Amos Yong, Regent University
David Chidester, University of Cape Town
Ginette Ishimatsu, University of Denver
Amir Hussain, Loyola Marymount University

A9-107
North American Religions Section and Native Traditions in the Americas Group
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-513F
Casey Koons, Syracuse University, Presiding
Theme: The Doctrine of Discovery and Indigenous Peoples
Philip P. Arnold, Syracuse University
Challenging the Doctrine of Discovery for Survival
Jennifer Reid, University of Maine, Farmington
The Doctrine of Discovery in Canadian Law
Mary N. MacDonald, Le Moyne College
Land and Religion: The Case of Indigenous Peoples and Settlers
Robert J. Miller, Lewis and Clark Law School
Christianity, the Doctrine of Discovery, and Indigenous People
Steve Newcomb, Education Department, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation
The Myth of Christian Discovery in Federal Indian Law
Responding:
Lisa J. M. Poirier, Miami University

A9-109
Religion and the Social Sciences Section
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-518B
Marla Frederick, Harvard University, Presiding
Theme: Ethnographies of Religion: Practice, Problems, and Possibilities
Panelists:
Kersten Priest, Loyola University
Tracey Hucks, Haverford College
R. Marie Griffith, Harvard University
John L. Jackson, University of Pennsylvania
Business Meeting:
Carol B. Duncan, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Douglas A. Hicks, University of Richmond, Presiding

A9-113
Theology and Religious Reflection Section
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-516D
Derek Simon, Saint Thomas University, Presiding
Theme: Rethinking Identity Politics
Wesley Barker, Emory University
Identity and Ethics: From Irigaray to Incarnation and the Horizon of Identities
Dhawn Martin, Drew University
Resurrections, Insurrections, and How Identities Might “Get a Life”
Susan Abraham, Harvard University
Exhausting Difference: Aporias in Postcolonial and Religious Identity
Deena Lin, Claremont Graduate University
Reflecting on the Limit: Problematizing Positivity and Going Beyond the Mystical

M9-100
Christian Theological Research Fellowship
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-518A
James K. A. Smith, Calvin College, Presiding
Theme: The Politics of Discipleship: Becoming Postmaterial Citizens — A Panel Discussion on Graham Ward’s New Book by Baker Academic
This session will consider the merits of Graham Ward’s new book in Baker’s Church and Postmodern Culture series, The Politics of Discipleship: Becoming Postmaterial Citizens.
Panelists:
Luke Bretherton, King’s College, London
Ron Kuipers, Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto
Responding:
Graham Ward, University of Manchester

A9-207
Religion and the Social Sciences Section
1:00 pm–3:30 pm
PDC-514C
Rebecca Todd Peters, Elon University, Presiding
Theme: Religion, Economy, and Politics
Amy Reynolds, Princeton University
Liberating the Economy: A North American Religious Response to Globalization
Ken Estey, Brooklyn College
How Conservative is “Conservative”? The Labor Struggles of Working Class Evangelicals and Fundamentalists
Robert P. Jones, Public Religion Research
Beyond the Quiet Hand of God: New Insights from the 2008 Mainline Protestant Clergy Voices Survey
Melissa Spas, Duke University
Two Nations Under God: Political Behavior and Theological Conservatism

A9-211
Theology and Religious Reflection Section and Native Traditions in the Americas Group
1:00 pm–3:30 pm
PDC-510A
Andrea Smith, University of California, Riverside, Presiding
Theme: Iroquois Spirituality and Culture
Panelists:
Rick Monture, McMaster University
Vera B. Palmer, Dartmouth College
Ellen Gabriel, Québec Native Women’s Association
Responding:
Mary C. Churchill, Sonoma State University

A9-227
Religion in the American West Seminar
1:00 pm–3:30 pm
PDC-512B
Tisa Wenger, Yale University, Presiding
Theme: Imagining Territories: Land and Regional Identity in Colorado and Kansas
Cara Burnidge, Florida State University
Conquest, Freedom, and Redemption: Kansans’ Identity as the Nation’s “Spiritual Tuning Fork”
Brandi Denison, University of North Carolina
Ponies, Plows, and Possibilities: Land in American Religious History
Responding:
Roberto R. Lint-Sagarena, Middlebury College
Kathleen Holscher, Villanova University
Teaching “Religion Along the American Frontier”
Quincy Newell, University of Wyoming
Teaching “Religion in the American West”
Business Meeting:
James B. Bennett, Santa Clara University, Presiding

A9-300
Special Topics Forum
4:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-517B
Anant Rambachan, Saint Olaf College, Presiding
Theme: The Turn to Spirituality: Enlightenment after the Enlightenment?
Sponsored by the Theological Education Steering Committee
That there is a widespread cultural turn to discourses about “spirituality” over the last several decades is incontestable. Interest in spiritual disciplines is high and the descriptor “spiritual but not religious” has become commonplace. This interest in spirituality is also deeply-rooted among seminary and divinity school students; students in a variety of institutions are calling for curricular attention to spirituality. Nonetheless, much remains unclear. What do we mean by “spirituality?” Can spirituality be taught? What accounts for the cultural turn toward spirituality? Is this interest in “enlightenment” a sign of the end of the Enlightenment? Are we in a postmodern moment wherein it becomes credible once more to think again about the relationship between knowing and the formation of the knower? If philosophers can speak without blushing of “philosophy as a way of life” (Hadot), what then about theologians? What might this turn to spirituality mean for theological education?
Panelists:
Thomas Beaudoin, Fordham University
Paul Lim, Vanderbilt University
John J. Makransky, Boston College
Sarah Coakley, University of Cambridge

A9-303
Ethics Section
4:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-511A
Keri Day, Vanderbilt University, Presiding
Theme: Ethical Contributions of Marginalized Communities in the United States: New Ethical Methodologies, Critiques, and Approaches to Moral Reason
Pia Altieri, DePaul University
Reconciling Memories and Histories: Turning Old Bulls into New Hopes
Sharon Tan, United Theological Seminary
Complex Integrity: An Approach to Moral Agency for Asian-Americans
Rodolfo Hernández-Díaz, University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology
Methodologies in Womanist and Mujerista Theologies: Implications for Social Ethics
Tammerie Day, Southern Methodist University
Decolonizing the White Mind and Soul: A Liberative Epistemology
Responding:
Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas, Vanderbilt University

Roman Catholic Studies Group
4:00 pm–6:30 pm
PDC-518C
Mary Doak, University of San Diego, Presiding
Theme: Theological Investigations
Patrick Clark, University of Notre Dame
The End of an Era? How Benedict XVI’s Theology of History Problematizes the Modern Tradition of Catholic Social Teaching
Erin Michele Brigham, Graduate Theological Union
Can the Catholic Church Have a Universal Voice in a Post-Metaphysical Age? Philosophical and Theological Methodologies of Catholic Social Thought and the
Challenge of Jürgen Habermas
Edward R. Sunshine, Barry University
The Curious Concept of Intrinsic Evil: From Stoic Philosophy to Catholic Church Rhetoric on Sexual Morality, Presidential Politics, and the Avoidance of Cancer
David Mislin, Boston University
The Conflict that Wasn’t: American Catholics and Organic Evolution, 1875–1896

TUESDAY

A10-109
Religion and the Social Sciences Section
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-514B
Paul Freston, Wilfrid Laurier University and Balsillie School of International Affairs, Presiding
Theme: Avoiding Disciplinary Amnesia: Recovering Twentieth Century Social Scientists of Religion
Robert C. Fuller, Bradley University
Unrepentant Reductionist: James Leuba’s Pioneering Study of Religion
Ibrahim Abraham, University of Bristol
Religion as Counterculture: The Sociology of J. Milton Yinger
Raymond Ward, Boston College
Social Science Perspectives on Collective Moral Agency
Nichole Phillips, Vanderbilt University
Reconstructing Knowledge from Marginalized Perspectives

A10-113
Teaching Religion Section
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-513A
Kenny Smith, Georgia State University, Presiding
Theme: Online Learning? An Oxymoron?
Heather Hartel, Lockport, NY
“Being There”: A Model for Building Online Learning Communities in the Virtual Religious Studies Classroom
Brent Hege, Butler University
Creating an Online Theology Classroom: Strategies for Creating and Sustaining a Community of Distance Learners
Jon Paul Sydnor, Emmanuel College
Documentaries and Films in the Online Course
Julie Lytle, Episcopal Divinity School
Message, Method, then Media: High Tech/High Touch Meets Religious Studies and Theological Education
Richard Pruitt, Columbia College
The Application of Cognitive-Developmental or Mediated Cognitive Learning Strategies in Online College Coursework

A10-114
Theology and Religious Reflection Section
9:00 am–11:30 am
PDC-513E
Mayra Rivera, Pacific School of Religion, Presiding
Theme: Living on the Margins of Empire
Jyoti Raghu, Columbia University
Constructing, Deconstructing, and Reconstructing Hinduism: Rethinking Hinduism in a Postcolonial Context
Devin Singh, Yale University
Alternative Modernities and the Fragile Secular: The Decolonial Difference
Carson Webb, Syracuse University
The Heavenly Multitude: The Angelic Body in Early Medieval Imperialism and in the Age of Empire
Marion S. Grau, Graduate Theological Union
“Her Father’s Staff”: Harriette Colenso, the Zulu, and the Crown