Mirza Family Chair Inaugural Symposium
9:00 — 10:30 a.m.: "On the Muslim Question"
Muslims in both Europe and North America have been figured by both extremists and mainstream politicians as “outsiders,” and “enemies.” It is no surprise then that they face a range of discriminatory practices in these contexts. Some theorists have framed the discrimination they have faced as akin to the discrimination faced by Jews in Europe in the past and present. This panel will explore whether or not these forms of discrimination are as similar as such an analogy suggests.
Featuring Anne Norton, Stacey and Henry Jackson President’s Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
Chair: A. Rashied Omar, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
Respondents:
- Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peace Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
- Mahmoud Youness, Ph.D. candidate, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
11:00 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.: "The Study of Religion: Anthropology and the Theological Moment"
With the increased impact of anthropology in the past decades, the place of theology has received greater attention in the academic study of religion. In different iterations of traditions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, theology is not merely another word for unthinking confessionalism. Rather, theology explores questions of value, truth, aesthetics, and practices of justice and peace that are critical to a more comprehensive understanding of the role and place of religion in late modernity.
Featuring Khaled Furani, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Tel-Aviv University
Chair: Gabriel Reynolds, Jerome J. Crowley and Rosaleen G. Crowley Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame
Respondents:
- Joshua Lupo, Content Writer/Editor and Classroom Coordinator for Madrasa Discourses, Contending Modernities, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
- Khan Asfandayar-Shairani, Ph.D. candidate, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies