The Inaugural Convening of 鈥淥n the Edge: New Directions in the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion鈥

Feb. 9-11, 2017

The contours of apocalyptic thinking and movements are well traced. We are unsurprised by the unusual political alliances, militaristic mindsets, and end-of-world expectations to which apocalyptic and millennial thinking give rise. Still, as a mode of thinking and of rhetoric, apocalyptic discourse is nimble and often adapting. Given this, we invite scholars from any discipline to explore with us the edges of apocalyptic thought and practice. Where are the places that apocalyptic patterns, symbols, and rhetorics are unexpected and unexplored, either in the present or in the past? How is apocalyptic discourse as lived or as an academic category being deployed to new ends and in new ways?

Keynote

“鈥楨very Time a Horn Goes, Another Replaces It鈥: Cyclicality and Conquest in Muslim Apocalypticism鈥

David Cook (Rice University)

David B. Cook is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University. He is author of听Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic听(2003),听Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature听(2005),听Understanding Jihad听(2005),听Martyrdom in Islam听(2007), and, with Olivia Allison,听Understanding and Addressing Suicide Attacks听(2007). He is听currently working on two major projects: Mystical Radical Islam (an exploration of the magical and mystical religious transformation current in radical Islamic takfiri movements), and Contemporary Shi`ite apocalyptic literature (from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon).

 

Schedule

Thursday, Feb.9

4:00: Welcome, Brian K. Pennington, Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society

4:15-5:15:听Session 1: Apocalypse and Temporal Imagining听

Amy Allocco, presider

  • William Sherman (Stanford University), 鈥淎pocalypse, Again: Language and Repetition in a Qur鈥檃nic Imitation鈥
  • Arun Chaudhuri (York University), 鈥淗indu Nationalist Futures and the Perpetual Imagination of the End鈥

5:45-6:45: Keynote Address: David Cook (Rice University), 鈥溾楨very Time a Horn Goes, Another Replaces It鈥: Cyclicality and Conquest in Muslim Apocalypticism鈥 (McKinnon Hall, Moseley Student Center)

7:00: Dinner (McKinnon Hall, Moseley Student Center)

 

Friday, Feb. 10

9:00-10:00听Session 2: Apocalypse and Social Cohesion

Pamela Winfield, presider

  • Bob Royalty (Wabash College),鈥淭he Glorious Appearance Daily at 4:30 pm: Tensions and Contradictions in Contemporary Christian Apocalypticism鈥
  • Robert Glenn Howard (University of Wisconsin, Madison), 鈥淎pocalypse Failed?: Vernacular Authority in a New Age Religious Movement鈥

10:00-10:45: Coffee, Sponsored by Religious Studies Department

10:45-11:45:听Session 3: Apocalypse and Gender in Popular Culture

Ariela Marcus-Sells, presider

  • Megan Goodwin (Syracuse University), 鈥淕endering the End Times: 鈥楢pocalypse, Apocalypse, We Caused It with Our Dumbness鈥欌
  • Kristian Petersen (University of Nebraska Omaha), 鈥淭he Shadow of the End: An Islamic Horror Film鈥

12-1:30: Lunch (Belk Pavilion 208)

1:30-2:30: Undergraduate Research听Poster Session (Sacred Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion)

3:00-4:30:听Session 4: Apocalypse as Contemporary Ideology

Tom Mould, presider

  • Matthew Sutton (Washington State University), 鈥淏illy Graham鈥檚 End of Days: The Mainstreaming of Fundamentalist Apocalypticism鈥
  • Jonathan Herman (Georgia State University), 鈥淢eet the New Age, Same As the Old Age: Vanishing Millenarianism in the Western Appropriation of Daoism鈥

6:00 Reception & Dinner: Home of Brian Pennington and Amy Allocco

 

Saturday, Feb. 11

9:00-10:00听Session 5: Apocalypse as Queer Unveiling

Evan Gatti, presider

  • Lynn Huber (黑料不打烊), 鈥溾楶ulling Down the Sky鈥: Queer Interpretation of Revelation and the Apocalypse of Keith Haring and William S. Burroughs鈥
  • Kent Brintnall (University of North Carolina, Charlotte), 鈥淭he Politics of Revelation: Unveiling Negativity in the Work of Lee Edelman and Georges Bataille鈥

10:00-10:15: Break

10:15-11:30: Concluding Analysis and Discussion