[URBANTH-L]CFP: Converted Spaces -- Religion and Spatiality

[Angela Jancius]

CFP: Converted Spaces -- Religion and Spatiality

For an upcoming issue of the journal _Radical History Review_ that focuses
on religion and politics, we invite authors to write and submit short
articles or essays (12-18 pages, double-spaced) to be published in a special
forum exploring the theme "Converted Spaces."  We envision the forum to
include 3-5 pieces that explore the following questions:

How do physical spaces (buildings, streets, shrines, natural landscapes)
function as sites of contestation among competing religious groups?  How do
such sites accommodate multiple religious faiths?

In areas where one religious group became displaced by another, how were
physical spaces "converted" from the old to the new faith?  What were the
social, cultural, and political consequences of such converted spaces?

How are sacred spaces "secularized"?  How are secular, public, or civic
spaces (courthouses, schools) transformed when religious rituals, symbols,
and/or practices enter them? What are the socio-political and cultural
ramifications of such transformations?

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the Christianization of
non-Christian sacred sites in Europe or regions colonized by Europeans; the
destruction of Muslim mosques in India and their conversion into Hindu
shrines; the use of churches for organizing dissent in the former Communist
nations of Eastern Europe; debates about wearing head scarves by Muslim
girls in French schools; the use of public schools in the United States for
religious education and programs; the rise and function of so-called 'mega
churches' in the United States; etc.  We are interested in historical
analyses, as well pieces analyzing current issues with historical
perspectives.

Interested authors should send a proposal to <rhr at igc.org> with "Converted
Spaces RHR 99" in the subject line of the e-mail message.  Deadline for
proposals is September 1, 2005.  If your proposal is accepted for
publication, final essays will be due January 15, 2006.