Programme

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God on Our Side? Questioning Theological Narratives of Nationalism, Populism and Conservatism

The UCSIA Summer School is a one-week mentoring programme that encourages doctoral and postdoctoral students to explore interdisciplinary ways of analysing the relationship between religion, culture and society. Key elements of the programme are expert lectures, paper presentations by the students and individual tutoring by the faculty. The UCSIA Summer School 2024, titled God on Our Side? Questioning Theological Narratives of Nationalism, Populism and Conservatism, marks the start of a three-year cycle of summer schools, focused on the entanglements of religion and politics, the communities in which they take shape and function, and the injustices they entail or critique.

In the 21st century, new forms of nationalism, populism and conservatism are emerging. They take shape at the intersection of historical, geopolitical, socio-economic as well as religious developments and discourses, with theological justifications of nationalist discourses playing an important role in the framing of national identities and the ‘Other’. An analysis of such ‘theological nationalism’ and religiously inspired politics is crucial to discerning the religious dimensions of contemporary politics and their global resonance.

Concepts of theological and political nature have always been reciprocally negotiated; their entangled histories have shaped and continue to shape communities and societies in practice, with diverging concrete effects. By bringing the different disciplines of the human sciences into dialogue with theology, this summer school will explore the dynamic exchange of concepts, ideas and assumptions between the theological and the political realm, that contribute to constructing a nationalist identity. Furthermore, attention will be paid to the racialization of religion, theological and religious nationalism, populism and conservatism and economic theologies. At the other end of the political spectrum, certain forms of socialism and solidarity are based on (secularized) religious or spiritual concepts such as ‘progress’, which – according to Karl Löwith – is the modern, secularized guise of the Christian theological concept of ‘hope’.

Doctoral and postdoctoral students with a research interest in religion are invited to apply to the summer school by submitting a research paper. Papers may address, but are not limited to the following questions: 

  • What is theological or religious nationalism?
  • What accounts for its rise in different parts of the world? What issues does it respond to?
  • How do we understand theologically and socially scientifically the operation of theological ideas outside the realm of their institutions?
  • How is theological and religious nationalism intertwined with political trends of populism and conservatism?
  • How can we distinguish nationalist, populist or conservative theological-political discourses?
  • How do different scientific disciplines interpret public and political theology in these contexts?

Faculty

Jayeel Serrano Cornelio

Portrait of tutor Jayeel Cornelio

Jayeel Serrano Cornelio
© Sigrid Meulemans

Jayeel Serrano Cornelio is Professor of Development Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University. He is currently based as Visiting Professor at the Center for Asian Democracy at the University of Louisville. He is also an associate editor of the journal Social Sciences and Missions (published by Brill) and a regular contributor to Rappler’s Thought Leaders section.

Furthermore, Professor Cornelio has been a valued tutor and guest speaker at the UCSIA Summer School since 2018.

His scholarly work revolves around the areas of religious change, religion and public life, and the sociology of generations.

Publications

He is the author of Being Catholic in the Contemporary Philippines: Young People Reinterpreting Religion (2016) and lead editor of the Routledge International Handbook of Religion in Global Society (2021). His edited volume, Rethinking Filipino Millennials: Alternative Perspectives on a Misunderstood Generation (2020), won Best Book in the Social Sciences in the 2022 National Book Awards. Co-written with Jose Mario Francisco, his latest monograph is People’s Christianity: Theological Sense and Sociological Significance (2022).

Current projects

He is currently co-running two projects funded by the British Academy: a major study on the role of local faith actors in peacebuilding and a two-year mentoring program for aspiring scholars of religion and public life.

Read more…

Vlad Naumescu

Vlad Naumescu is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology of the Central European University. He is an anthropologist of religion with broad interdisciplinary expertise and visual practice.

He has led international summer schools and courses as well as documentary film workshops for over ten years and is co-founder of the Visual Studies Program at CEU.

Professor Naumescu previously joined the UCSIA summer school workshop of 2023 as a guest lecturer.

Vlad Naumescu

Research

His research is centered on Eastern Christianity in historical-comparative perspective, as well as multimodal anthropology and cultural transmission. He has conducted long-term fieldwork in Eastern Europe and South India on different Orthodox communities, looking at the practices, institutions and politics that shape local traditions.

Publications

Naumescu’s publications cover a broad range of topics, from his first book on religious transformations in postsocialist Ukraine (2007) to ritual, temporality and ethics among Russian Old Believers in Romania, pedagogies of prayer in South India, Orthodox theopolitics and religious orthodoxies, and a forthcoming monograph on ritual, history and ethics in the Old Belief. He combines ethnography with filmmaking, producing several documentary films that speak to his writings: Birds’ Way (2009), Bread of Life: The Word/The Silence (2014).

Current projects

He is currently working on a project on the remaking of global Orthodoxy, bringing together the differentiated, localized histories of Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxies to study the entanglement of law, politics and religion.

Read more…

Jennifer Philippa Eggert

Jennifer Philippa Eggert

Jennifer Philippa Eggert is a social, political and cultural scientist with a background in research and practice.

Her work explores questions related to conflict transformation, sustainable development and humanitarian action, with a focus on faith, gender and local actors.

Jennifer has 20 years of experience working with universities, NGOs and international organizations in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. She is policy and practice editor of the journal Religion and Development.

Research

Jennifer’s research focuses on the roles of faith, gender and local actors in violent conflict, sustainable development and humanitarian action, with a focus on Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. She is particularly interested in collaborative and practice-focused research aimed at overcoming epistemic injustice and (neo)colonial practices in knowledge production.

Publications

Jennifer’s book Women and the Lebanese Civil War: Female Fighters in Lebanese and Palestinian Militias (2021) focuses on the roles of female militants and fighters in Christian, Muslim, Druze, leftist Lebanese and Palestinian non-state armed groups involved in the civil war in Lebanon (1975-1990). Her most recent publications include journal articles on gender and conflict in Pakistan; the role of religion during fieldwork; privilege, entitlement and refusal in conflict research; and religious-secular dynamics in humanitarianism.

Current projects

She currently writes her second book, which focuses on Muslim women, terrorism and counterterrorism, and works on two special issues – one on decolonization, development and faith and one on LGBT actors and faith communities in development.

Read more…

Assignments

1. Paper presentation

During this 90-minutes session students will have the chance to present their research project and signal the difficulties they are facing in their particular research phase. The time allocated for the presentation of the research project is 25-30 minutes. Students are free to use visual aids or audiovisual equipment during the presentation. After the presentation, the assigned tutor and two respondents from the peer group will provide feedback (5-10 minutes each). The remaining time will be used for debate.

2. Response

Each student will be a respondent during two presentations. A respondent should try to find the main problems in the research project and give useful feedback on research questions, concepts, methodology or ethics. Next to that, he/she can give the presenter some challenging insights from his/her own field of expertise. The scientific committee matches the presenters and the respondents based on research topic, discipline and research phase. In order to prepare thoroughly for this assignment, the detailed schedule and syllabus will be made availble online by mid-July.

Classes

Biographical encounter
Getting to know each other: meet UCSIA, the faculty and your peers.

Plenary lectures
The faculty presents its own current research and introduces or discusses theoretical frameworks within their disciplinary approach. Their lectures are followed by Q&A. The public lecture is open to the general audience of UCSIA.

Parallel paper sessions
The faculty members will each tutor a group of five students of relating disciplines. In these small groups they will thoroughly discuss the papers of the group members. Each paper is allotted 25-30 minutes for its presentation, the remaining 60 minutes will be used for discussion.
In preparation of each session, students are asked to read the respective papers in advance. The active participation of students is required in order to ensure an enriching and lively discussion.

Individual tutorial
Book an appointment (15 minutes / slot) with a tutor to receive personal feedback on conceptual, methodological or multidisciplinary problems within your own research project.

Interdisciplinary encounter
Students discuss current issues in the study of religion with their peers, the faculty and the members of the scientific committee.

Preliminary schedule

Sunday

7.00 pm UTC+2

Welcome dinner

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

9.00 - 10.30 am UTC+2

Parallel paper session 1

Plenary lecture

Plenary lecture

Plenary lecture

10.00 - 10.30 am UTC+2

Welcome by UCSIA

10.30 - 11.00 am UTC+2

Biographical encounter

Coffee break

Coffee break

Coffee break

Coffee break

11.00 - 12.30 am UTC+2

Parallel paper session 2

Parallel paper session 4

Parallel paper session 5

Interdisciplinary encounter

 

12.30 - 2.00 pm UTC+2

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Farewell lunch

2.00 - 3.30 pm UTC+2

Plenary lecture

Parallel paper session 3

Social activity

Individual tutorial

3.30 - 4.00 pm UTC+2

Coffee break

Coffee break

4.00 - 5.30 pm UTC+2

Plenary lecture

Individual tutorial

Free afternoon

6.00 - 7.00 pm UTC+2

Dinner

7.00 - 8.30 pm UTC+2

Dinner

Dinner

Public lecture

Programme overview

Sunday

7.00 pm UTC+2

Welcome dinner

Monday

9.00 – 10.00 am UTC+2

Welcome by UCSIA

10.30 – 11.00 am UTC+2

Coffee break

11.00 – 12.30 am UTC+2

Biographical encounter

12.30 – 2.00 pm UTC+2

Lunch

2.00 – 3.30 pm UTC+2

Disciplinary encounter

3.30 – 4.00 pm UTC+2

Coffee break

4.00 – 5.30 pm UTC+2

Plenary lecture

5.30 – 7.00 pm UTC+2

Free time

7.00 – 8.30 pm UTC+2

Dinner

Tuesday

9.00 – 10.00 am UTC+2

Plenary lecture

10.30 – 11.00 am UTC+2

Coffee break

11.00 – 12.30 am UTC+2

Parallel paper session 1

12.30 – 2.00 pm UTC+2

Lunch

2.00 – 3.30 pm UTC+2

Parallel paper session 2

3.30 – 4.00 pm UTC+2

Coffee break

4.00 – 5.30 pm UTC+2

Parallel paper session 3

5.30 – 7.00 pm UTC+2

Free time

7.00 – 8.30 pm UTC+2

Dinner

Wednesday

9.00 – 10.00 am UTC+2

Plenary lecture

10.30 am – 11.00 UTC+2

Coffee break

11.00 – 12.30 am UTC+2

Parallel paper session 4

12.30 – 2.00 pm UTC+2

Lunch

2.00 – 3.30 pm UTC+2

Individual tutorial

3.30 – 4.00 pm UTC+2

Coffee break

4.00 – 5.30 pm UTC+2

Social activity | Free afternoon

5.30 – 7.00 pm UTC+2

Free time

7.00 – 8.30 pm UTC+2

Dinner

Thursday

9.00 – 10.00 am UTC+2

Plenary lecture

10.30 – 11.00 am UTC+2

Coffee break

11.00 – 12.30 am UTC+2

Parallel paper session 5

12.30 – 2.00 pm UTC+2

Lunch

2.00 – 3.30 pm UTC+2

Parallel paper session 6

3.30 – 4.00 pm UTC+2

Coffee break

4.00 – 5.30 pm UTC+2

Parallel paper session 7

6.00 – 7.00 pm UTC+2

Dinner

7.00 – 8.30 pm UTC+2

Public lecture

Friday

9.00 – 10.00 am UTC+2

Plenary lecture

10.30 – 11.00 am UTC+2

Coffee break

11.00 – 12.30 am UTC+2

Q&A session

12.30 – 2.00 pm UTC+2

Lunch

2.00 – 3.30 pm UTC+2

Individual tutorial

3.30 – 4.00 pm UTC+2

Coffee break

4.00 – 5.30 pm UTC+2

Parallel paper session 8

5.30 – 7.00 pm UTC+2

Free time

7.00 – 8.30 pm UTC+2

Farewell dinner

Saturday

11.00 – 12.30 am UTC+2

Wrap up

12.30 – 2.00 pm UTC+2

Lunch

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