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Online Program Book

This is the most up-to-date schedule for the 2023 AAR Annual Meeting. If you have questions about the program, contact annualmeeting@aarweb.org. All times are listed in Central Standard Time.

A17-201

Theme: Committee Meeting

Friday, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Grand Hyatt-Crockett B (4th Floor)

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P17-203

Theme: Meeting Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies Board

Friday, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Grand Hyatt-Texas Ballroom, Salon C (4th Floor)

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A17-200

Theme: Committee Meeting

Friday, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Grand Hyatt-Crockett A (4th Floor)

Business meeting of the members of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession.

A17-204

Theme: Theology and Ethnography Workshop: The Work of Our Hands

Friday, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

San Antonio Convention Center-Room 225C (Meeting Room Level)

The Ecclesial Practices Unit invites educators, researchers, and doctoral students to participate in a collaborative conversation about qualitative theological methods. Table group discussions create space for participants to share about their past, present, and future ethnographic work. Groups are created based on the interests of participants. This includes conversation with scholars working in similar disciplines, such as ethics, liturgical studies, religion and race, world Christianity, pastoral care, disability studies, and more. It also includes discussion with scholars navigating similar dimensions of the research process, such as establishing partnerships with collaborators, data collection, analysis, writing, and more. Panelists who employ innovative ethnographic methods will share their expertise and facilitate group discussion.

P17-201

Theme: Annual General Meeting and Annual Lecture of the Thomas F Torrance Theological Fellowship

Friday, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Grand Hyatt-Bonham C (3rd Floor)

Our meeting of the Thomas F. Torrance Theological Fellowship this year will be held jointly with the Karl Barth Society of North America and will feature a Panel Discussion of Paul D. Molnar’s recent book, Freedom, Necessity, and the Knowledge of God: In Conversation with Karl Barth and Thomas F. Torrance (London: T&T Clark Bloomsbury, 2022). 

Theme: Tour and Volunteer Opportunity with Primates

Friday, 1:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Offsite

Primarily Primates was founded in 1978, making it the first primate sanctuary in North America and the first to rescue chimpanzees requiring lifetime care following medical research. PPI’s devoted staff supports all dimensions of animal life from diet to medical care to social-behavior management. Staff perform daily animal assessments, including behavior & physical checkups, for illness prevention and social-behavior management. What we will do: Primarily Primates does not offer tours to the public. However, they offer opportunities for visitors to volunteer with them, and a tour will be provided as part of the volunteer work. What to wear and bring: Please wear good walking shoes and comfortable clothes that you do not mind getting dirty. The terrain we will be walking on is rocky, so a golf cart will be available for those who cannot walk long distances. Our hosts also recommend that we bring sunscreen and insect repellent, since November in San Antonio can be warm, sunny, and buggy.

 AAR Member-Hosts: Laura Hobgood & Dave Aftandilian

*$60. The price of this tour includes a $10 donation to Primarily Primates

P17-211

Theme: North American Paul Tillich Society Annual Meeting (Afternoon Session)

Friday, 1:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Marriott Rivercenter-Conference Room 17

1:45–2:15 The Complete Works of Paul Tillich in English

2:15–3:45 Tillich, Personalism, and Ethics

4:00–5:30 Book Panel on Playing as Others: Theology and Ethical Responsibility in Video Games by Benjamin J. Chicka

Panel on Playing as Others: Theology and Ethical Responsibility in Video Games by Benjamin J. Chicka (Baylor University Press, 2021)

Ilona Nord, Universität Würzburg (Moderator)
Greylyn Hydinger, Gannon University
Donna Bowman, University of Central Arkansas
John Thatamanil, Union Theological Seminary
Benjamin Chicka, Curry College (Responding)

5:30–6:00 Business Meeting

M17-202

Theme: AIIS Annual Meeting

Friday, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Offsite

The Annual Meeting invites opportunities to connect with guest speakers and engage in open conversations with peer scholars and practitioners about the current state of interreligious and interfaith research, scholarship, curricula, and pedagogy in academic and civic contexts. Meeting will be held at The University of Incarnate Word. Join us also for a Reception and Gathering 6:00pm-8:00pm - Guadalajara Grill 301 South Alamo, San Antonio, TX 78205 Restaurant serving Mexican and Tex/Mex cuisine in the middle of the La Villita Historical Arts Village. Enjoy authentic food surrounded by South Texas history within easy walking distance of the convention center. Southwestern Buffet (vegetarian options available) Includes 1 drink ticket and a cash bar $15/$10 graduate students & emerging scholars Register for Meeting and/or reception at www.aiistudies.org

M17-205

Theme: Annual Forum of the Biblical Language Center

Friday, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Marriott Rivercenter-Conference Room 19

The 2nd annual forum is for anyone who may be interested in, or already using, the biblical language curricula of the Biblical Language Center (BLC). It provides an opportunity for instructors using the curricula to interact with each other and some of the content creators for the purpose of passing along pedagogical insights, eliciting ideas for specific teaching situations, sharing additional resources, and hearing about recent improvements to the online curricula. In addition, BLC will share about its new relationship with Whole Word Institute and hear from current instructors about hopes for future curriculum developments. For more information, email support@biblicallanguagecenter.com.

A17-206

Theme: Teaching Buddhism through Visual Media

Friday, 2:00 PM - 5:15 PM

San Antonio Convention Center-Room 212B (Meeting Room Level)

The workshop offers concrete examples on how to adopt cinema and TV to discuss Buddhism, Buddhist culture, and modernity in higher education and furthers the developing academic analysis concerning the use of visual media in teaching Buddhism.

Scholarly conversations concerning the relationships between certain films and Buddhism have become increasingly popular (e.g., Cho 2017; Suh 2015; Whalen-Bridge and Storhoff 2014). Despite this popularity, however, such materials are often overlooked when designing classroom exercises related to Buddhist doctrine and practice. This workshop will feature educators sharing their pedagogies, assignments, and techniques to cultivate students’ critical viewing ability, increase religious literacy, and challenge prevalent assumptions about Buddhist practice.

Through examining how the dynamic and visionary power of cinema and TV media can better engage and motivate students to learn about Buddhism, the workshop aims to fulfill the “AAR Religious Literacy Guidelines” and introduce students to the lived realities of Buddhist practice.

All workshops will take place Friday, November 17, and are an additional fee. Fees vary by workshop. You can register for a workshop during the registration process. Workshops have limited seats, so register early!

M17-201

Theme: Session 3- (Roundtable) The Dharma of the Scholar-Practitioner: Pedagogy, History, Philosophy, and Controversies

Friday, 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Marriott Riverwalk-Alamo Ballroom, Salon C

This panel will be addressing the entire range of issues that are involved in the work of scholar-practitioners of the Dharma traditions.  These include navigating the expectations of the academy and of one’s spiritual community in one’s scholarship and public presentations, presenting traditions in the classroom in ways that meet the standards of the academy and are true to one’s sensibility as a practitioner, and addressing difficult issues and controversies with both rigor and sensitivity.  

  • Abstract

    This presentation will draw on well-known Latin American writers on epistemicide and use their work to rationalize the need for Dharma Studies, Hindu Studies, and South Asia scholars to be alert to epistemic violence, which harms the planetary community. The scholar-practitioner has a particular responsibility not to silence the voice of the tradition which carries its epistemologies—but any such reclamation must be done critically.

  • Abstract

    I consider myself a practitioner of Yoga according to Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra, which begins with a distinction between interpretation (explanation in terms of propositional attitudes) and the explicatory method of Yoga, which renders explicit inferential relations (YS I 2-4). This is not simply an object of my research: every research advance I have made as a philosopher and scholar is an application of Yoga, and what this research reveals is that the wide spread failure in the academy to shed White Supremacy and its colonial artefacts (like the categories of religion and spirituality) is a result a choosing the anti-logic methods of interpretation.  My Yoga practice now facilitates making the harms of Western colonialism transparent in my scholarship, while facilitating my own recovery as a racialized scholar.    

  • Abstract

    "Great! I wanted a real Vedantin on my committee." These words, pronounced by a Hindu student about my role in his studies, opened complex questions for me as a convert and moderately conservative Catholic theologian. In my presentation, I will reflect on these questions, including my emerging self-acceptance as a Vedantin Catholic . . . but probably not as a Hindu Catholic. 

  • Abstract

    As undergraduates at the University of Notre Dame, Jeffery Long and Patrick Beldio studied many of the same subjects, took courses with many of the same professors, and participated in some of the same social justice initiatives on campus. Though our tenures overlapped by three years, we only met many years after college. As we now compare notes on our personal inner journeys as scholar-practitioners of two different Dharma traditions, we find that while we have both departed from conventional Catholic boundaries, we find that, instead of a sharp rejection, our spiritual growth has included deeper levels of appreciation for the tradition of our upbringing.

     

    Our presentations will focus on the traditions to which our journeys have led us–the Ramakrishna Vedanta tradition in the case of Jeffery and the Sufi tradition of Meher Baba in the case of Patrick–and the ways in which our Catholic upbringings have played a positive role in our respective journeys.

  • Abstract

    I have been a practitioner for about 10 years before having embarked on the academic path. Entering academia, I naturally wanted to study the topics close to my heart, but also wanted to rationalize my experiences as a practitioner. I have faced various obstacles generated by both non practicing academics as well as by fellow practicing scholars, and it has taken me time to define my path. However, gradually I was able to find my own path and at present I am encouraged by both academia and my tradition. Moreover, being situated as such, I believe that I am in a position to contribute to both academia and my own tradition.

  • Abstract

    Although Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, and Sikh communities express the paradigm of Dharma/Dhamma/Dharam uniquely, this shared principle can "support" partnerships among various communities. Through my research and experience community initiative, I will explore how Dharma could help forge bonds among Indic communities and forge new frontiers in scholarship.

  • Abstract

    “Are you an ‘emic’ (insider) or an ‘etic’ (outsider) student/scholar of Indic religions?” As the students from the Indian Diaspora enter the field of the academic study of Indian religions, they face this question in their careers, both from the etic side (co-students and teachers) and from the emic side (their selves). As I progressed through my career, this question kept incorporating more dimensions and newer challenges. In this paper, I reflect upon this issue with my experiences and potential suggestions to reconcile this emic and etic perspectives dichotomy. Can one transcend the emic and etic boundaries and develop a global perspective? Can one’s background merge with one’s academic training to reconcile “insiderism” and “outsiderism” and replace them with a peripheral perspective about a tradition? Can one study and teach different world traditions from a common ground? 

  • Abstract

     Strongly motivated by religious interests, I could be described as a “pluralist” about common truths, and believe that religions should dialogue with, and hopefully learn from each other.  Intercultural philosophical dialogue is more critical than faith-based theology of religions, and reductionistic, humanistic and social scientific theories.

A17-205

Theme: Centers for Religion and Public Life Workshop

Friday, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

San Antonio Convention Center-Room 221A (Meeting Room Level)

An important networking and dialogue opportunity for anyone involved in leading or supporting a research, public engagement or educational center or program focusing on the impact of religion in public life. This is an ongoing venue to share best practices, pool ideas, and develop collaborations.

All workshops will take place Friday, November 17, and are an additional fee. Fees vary by workshop. You can register for a workshop during the registration process. Workshops have limited seats, so register early!

P17-320

Theme: Sectional Meetings by Discipline

Friday, 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Marriott Rivercenter-Grand Ballroom, Salon H

3:30-4:45 Session 5A. Sectional Meetings by discipline

Discussion (15 min)

4:45-5:30 PM
Black Theology Group (Alexander Douglas)

A17-300

Theme: Visionaries, Trailblazers and Change-Makers: A Career-Development Workshop with PCR’s Women Pioneers

Friday, 3:30 PM - 6:00 PM

San Antonio Convention Center-Room 214D (Meeting Room Level)

In this workshop, several women trailblazers in the PCR field will share their insights about scholarship, teaching, and leadership in the face of an often-resistant status quo. Join Pamela Cooper-White, Bonnie Miller-McLemore, Nancy Ramsay, Phillis Sheppard, and others in an open conversation about breaking new ground and finding ways forward.