Masterclass on Theorizing "Religion" (with a Focus on Ancient Societies) with Brent Nongbri (Oslo) and Nickolas Roubekas (Vienna)
31 October - 1 November 2019
With this Masterclass, we would like to stress the important interaction between the historical study of ancient religion(s) and theoretical reflections within the academic study of religion. Brent Nongbri and Nickolas P. Roubekas have both contributed to the volume Theorizing "Religion" in Antiquity (edited by Roubekas and published in 2019 with Equinox). Their diverging positions on the use of the concept of "religion" offer a challenge for everyone working on religion in the past, while raising critical issues of general relevance to the study of religion\s as such. Apart from their theoretical interest, both speakers bring a wealth of experience in the field of Judaism, Early Christianity, Papyrology, Greek and Roman religions.
The aim of this Masterclass is to bring together international and Swiss colleagues working on religion and history—regardless of their precise academic disciplinary background, yet with an interest in the study of religion\s' disciplinary profile. MA and PhD students are kindly invited to briefly present their research and profit from this opportunity to receive feedback from our invited speakers, as well as from the other participants.
Thursday, 31 October
| 9:45 | Coffee and Tea | |
| 10:00 | Introduction | |
| 10:10 | Nickolas Roubekas: |
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| 12:10 | Lunch | |
| 14:00 | Brent Nongbri: Religion, Science, and Critical Realism: Some Critical Reflections |
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| 16:00 | Break | |
| 16:30 | Discussion |
Friday, 1 November
| 10:00- 16:00 |
Short presentations by the participants, feedback by B. Nongbri & N. Roubekas. We invite MA and PhD students to give a 15-minute presentation of their research and profit from this opportunity to get feedback and engage in conversation with the audience. Please send a preliminary title and abstract when registering. |
Lunch with the participants at the mensa.
Registration
No participation fee, but please register with mattias.brand[at]uzh.ch.
Venue
Religionswissenschaftliches Seminar
Kantonsschulstrasse 1
8001 Zürich
Room: KAA-E-11 (the blue building on the right hand side)
