Engagement with the Arts as Interreligious/Interfaith Studies Interdisciplinarity: A Close Look

Interreligious/Interfaith Studies cultivates the connection between theory and practice in the midst of critical investigation of relations between people who orient around “religion” differently. It is, therefore, an academic field that is inherently interdisciplinary. Engagement with the arts is an aspect of this interdisciplinarity—and a multifaceted one, given that “the arts” includes painting, sculpture, calligraphy, mosaic, music (instrumental; choral or vocal, with or without instrumental accompaniment; electronic), architecture, drama, poetry, and more. Clearly, Interreligious/Interfaith Studies engagement with the arts merits a close look.

This interactive workshop, facilitated by an interreligious-studies scholar who is deeply involved with various art forms, is designed to enable a robust conversation about the interface between Interreligious/Interfaith Studies and academic study of (or engagement with) the arts. To launch this exchange, the facilitator will offer a brief assessment of the state of the intersection between these disciplines, as discernable in recently released arts-themed Interreligious/Interfaith Studies publications (journals, online exhibitions, books). During the ensuing discussion, workshop attendees may consider questions such as the criteria by which particular engagements between religion(s) and art(s) _qualify_ as examples of Interreligious/Interfaith Studies _per se_; effective methods of critical inquiry into the arts as an Interreligious/Interfaith Studies theme; personal experiences of the interdisciplinarity of religion and the arts; or projects and publications that will further the practice and assessment of engagement of Interreligious/Interfaith Studies with the arts.