Religion, Mobilities and Belonging in Contemporary Anglophone Literature and Film/TV Series Production

Lydia Roupakia Announcement
Subject Fields
Film and Film History, Humanities, Literature, Race / Ethnic Studies, Religious Studies and Theology

SPECIAL ISSUE - CALL FOR PAPERS

Ex-Centric Narratives: Journal of Anglophone Literature, Culture and Media 

(Special Issue 5, Dec. 2021)

 

SPECIAL THEME:

Religion, Mobilities and Belonging

in Contemporary Anglophone Literature and Film/TV Series Production

 

SPECIAL ISSUE GUEST EDITORS:

Dr. Efthymia-Lydia Roupakia, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

roupakia@enl.auth.gr

Dr. Eleni Sideri, University of Macedonia, Greece

elasideri@uom.edu.gr

 

Religion has re-emerged as a public force, a marker of ethnic identities and one of the main ways of identifying the ‘difference’ of migrants, diasporic subjects and transnationals in contemporary multicultural societies. As Craig Calhoun has pointed out, we live in a “postsecular” world, where the term “postsecular” registers the awareness that religious belief is not something to be overcome, but rather a force to be continually contended with (2011). Processes of dislocation and resettlement have resulted in a resignification of religious practices and religious identity. Religious identities are recognized as open to revision, a process that involves different generations negotiating their interpretations of sacred scriptures, rituals, communal claims and norm-setting institutions.

Meanwhile, the globalization of politics and the new technologies of international media transmission cannot but affect religious identities and identifications through the creation of transcultural bonds and alliances, the production of dominant perceptions, and the popularizing stereotypes. Not surprisingly, there is a growing awareness that, as William Connolly has insisted, rather than demarcating the line between irrational religion and secular reason, contemporary multicultural societies should expand their thinking about the kind of pluralism which has come to mark 21st century experience (2005). From the culture wars that succeeded the 9/11 terrorist attacks, to the waves of displaced peoples from the Global South that have challenged conceptions of citizenship, and the recent global success of TV series that engage with the theme of religion, what creative expression and sociopolitical fact remind us is that religion maintains a significant role in 21st century societies.

This special volume of Ex-Centric Narratives: Journal of Literature, Culture and Media aims to explore the ways in which religion and mobilities (old and new) have shaped and still shape belonging in Anglophone literature and film/TV production. How is religious difference currently being received, interpreted, revised and represented?  How are the emergence of new appreciations of religiosity shaping people’s perception of boundaries or new inter-connections? The goal of this volume is to draw attention to the necessity of forging new interdisciplinary ways of understanding the challenges posed by intercultural conversation, interfaith cooperation and multicultural coexistence. The editors of this volume invite essay submissions that address (but are not limited to) the following themes:

  • immigrant communities and religious practices
  • gendered migrations and religion
  • religion and cosmopolitanism
  • conflicts, borders and religious identities
  • post-secularism, mobility and deterritorialisation
  • transnationalism/ diasporas and religious resignification
  • religion and affective belonging
  • refugee displacement and gated communities
  • religion, interfaith dialogue and peacebuilding
  • migration and religious fundamentalism
  • globalization and religious identities
  • transnationalism, religious radicalism and global terrorism
  • post-religion and pursuit of spirituality
  • transculturalism, religion and gender

All abstracts must be received by Sept 15th, 2020.

The length of the abstract should be between 150-180 words.

Your abstract submission should include: 

  • title
  • author(s)
  • author contact information
  • affiliated institution
  • keywords (4-5) 

Please send your emails to:

Dr Lydia Roupakia (roupakia@enl.auth.gr)

Dr Eleni Sideri (elasideri@uom.edu.gr)

 

GUEST EDITOR BIOS

Dr. Efthymia Lydia Roupakia is an Assistant Professor at the School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. She holds a PhD and an MPhil in English Studies from the University of Oxford, UK.  Her research and publications focus on issues of multiculturalism, identity construction and religion, cultural theory and inter-American studies, contemporary literature and ethics. 

 

Dr. Eleni Sideri is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia, Greece. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), UK. She also holds a degree in Film Studies from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and has researched and published work on diasporas and transnational migration. 

JOURNAL INFORMATION

Ex-centric Narratives: Journal of Anglophone Literature, Culture and Media is coordinated by the Hellenic Association of American Studies (HELAAS), itself a member of the European Association of American Studies (EAAS).  Interdisciplinarity constitutes the core of the journal. The journal aims at housing scholarly articles from academics and scholars from Greece and abroad whose research interests cover topics in the area of Anglophone literature, media and culture. It is published once a year. Every issue is divided into two parts: Part I hosts the special issue, while Part II publishes independent scholarly articles.

 

The Journal General Editors are:

Dr. Tatiani G. Rapatzikou (trapatz@enl.auth.gr)

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Dr. Theodora Tsimpouki (tsimpouki@enl.uoa.gr)   

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

Dr. Smatie Yemenedzi-Malathouni  (smatie.yemenedzi@gmail.com)

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

 

Journal Homepage: http://ejournals.lib.auth.gr/ExCentric/index

 

Contact Information

Dr. Efthymia-Lydia Roupakia, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

roupakia@enl.auth.gr

Dr. Eleni Sideri, University of Macedonia, Greece

elasideri@uom.edu.gr

Contact Email
roupakia@enl.auth.gr