Keynote Speaker Dr. Donovan Schaefer
Dr. Donovan Schaefer will be the keynote speaker at the 4th annual graduate student conference of the Department of Religious Studies at UNC Charlotte, and will be held on March 14th, 2020. The theme this year is Sensory Cultures of Religion. Dr. Schaefer’s talk is titled, Feeling Faithless: Taking the Affective Turn in Secularism Studies. As he explains, “It’s easier than ever to talk about the ways that religion is more than just what’s in our heads. Scholars working on embodiment, ritual and emotion have diagrammed the paths by which religion is felt, experienced, and lived—rather than merely believed. But could we say the same of the secular? Exploring the history of the Sheldonian Theatre at the University of Oxford, this talk suggests not only that what Talal Asad calls “formations of the secular” are felt, but that starting with affect allows us to reframe and revisit the secular/religious binary in productive ways.”
Donovan Schaefer is Assistant Professor of Material Religion and Visual Culture at the University of Pennsylvania. He works on the relationship between affect, power, and religion, with a special interest in formations of the secular. His first book, Religious Affects: Animality, Evolution, and Power, was published by Duke University Press in 2015.
The 4th annual graduate student conference of the Department of Religious Studies at UNC Charlotte will be held on March 14th, 2020 The theme this year is Sensory Cultures of Religion. Through art, food, sacred objects, or ritual practice, religions often embrace a visceral experience that can engage several senses simultaneously. These types of experiences, and countless others will undoubtedly be explored through the papers submitted. We will welcome UNC Charlotte Department of Religious Studies’ very own introductory speaker Dr. Alexandra Kaloyanides, and keynote Speaker Dr. Donovan Schaefer (University of Pennsylvania) to share their own original research in this field. Dr. Schaefer is the author of Religious Affects: Animality, Evolution, and Power (Duke UP, 2015). v
When: March 14th, 2020 Time: 9am – 5pm Where: UNC Charlotte, Cone Building, room 111-A Who: Free and open to the public Light refreshments will be served from 8:30 – 9:00 am Visitor parking is available in the Cone Deck. Please visit the UNC Charlotte Parking website for maps and more information/ 