[KS] Call for Proposals - Korean Religions Unit, American Academy of Religion

[John Grisafi]

 Korean Religions Unit
https://papers.aarweb.org/pu/korean-religions-unit
Call for Proposals for November Meeting

The Korean Religions Unit welcomes proposals for paper sessions, roundtable
sessions, and individual papers. Proposals in all areas of Korean Religions
will be considered. This year, we especially invite submissions to the
subtopics proposed by interested AAR members, as listed below. If you would
like to contribute to one of the panel proposals below, please contact the
organizer(s) directly, and submit your proposal at least two weeks prior to
the AAR submission deadline which will be on February 26, 2024, 5:00 PM
Eastern Standard Time.


Global Korean Buddhism: Transnational and Trans-denominational Change

Organizer: Jonathan Feuer (jonathan.feuer at yale.edu)

Historically, Buddhism on the Korean peninsula was deeply intertwined with
the greater East Asian Buddhist tradition, so much so that identifying a
“Korean” Buddhism is a problematic task. Since the late 19th century,
however, nation-centered histories have distinguished “Korean” Buddhism
from other forms of Buddhism, for better or worse. In reality, Korean
Buddhism is not monolithic or insular, and, in recent years, the footprint
of Korean Buddhist organizations has grown around the world. Buddhist
teachings have been adapted to the dynamic, transnational religious
landscape of the 20th and 21st centuries. What does Korean Buddhism’s place
in the world Buddhist community reveal about the religion? How has the
“Koreanness” of Korean Buddhism been retained, reformulated, or challenged
when the religion leaves the Korean peninsula? We would especially like to
include (but are not limited to) papers that address Buddhist denominations
other than the Chogye Order, such as the Ch’ŏnt’ae and T’aego Orders, or
more innovative Buddhist groups, such as Wŏn Buddhism.



Marginal Religion in Korea

Organizer: John Grisafi (john.grisafi at yale.edu)

“Marginal religion” can refer to any religious movement, tradition, or
community—or subset within a religion—that is considered outside of the
mainstream or otherwise occupies a precarious status within society or
within its religious milieu. The concept includes minority religions, new
religious movements (NRMs), foreign religions and immigrant religious
communities, minoritized populations within major religions, and other
forms of marginalization of or within religion, yet offers a theoretical
and methodological lens to understand marginalization and religion in a way
that is inclusive of but beyond the scope of these terms. How are religions
marginalized in the diverse and complex religious landscape of South Korea?
What role does the state play? Is all religion marginalized by the state in
North Korea? Are foreign populations in Korea marginalized due to religion?
We seek papers that address varying examples of marginal religion in Korea
past and present, including but not limited to the examples above, tying in
with the 2024 annual meeting’s theme of “Violence, Nonviolence, and the
Margins,” to offer novel insights and to generate conversation on the issue
and the concept and its importance for Korean religions.



Self-Cultivation in Korean Religions and Beyond
<https://papers.aarweb.org/pu/co-sponsored-session-comparative-studies-religion-unit-and-korean-religions-unit>

Organizer: Victoria Ten (yoneun at gmail.com)

The concept and exercise of cultivating the self, whether on the level of
emotion and cognition, body and action, community or cosmos, can take
divergent forms and direct toward dissimilar goals. These theories and
practices often lie at the heart of East Asian religions but are not
limited to religious domains. In Korea, mind-body practices based on the
cultivation of ki  (氣 life energy) are promoted under the name of ki suryŏn
(氣修練). Similar practices worldwide are often considered a part of New Age
culture. Recently, ideas have emerged within the scholarly community for
conceptualizing various forms of self-cultivation, and the calls for
establishing it as a separate field of study, not necessarily subsumed
under the rubrics of religion, mysticism, medicine, sports, or arts. To
promote such developments, case-studies of self-cultivation are required,
comparing different religious concepts and practices of the past and the
present. We invite paper proposals on self-cultivation broadly conceived,
following traditions perceived as old, newly-invented, or non-traditional
in Korea and other places. We hope that in time, such research will help
generate methodological and other tools for future evolution of
self-cultivation as a concept and discipline.

Any other papers that address the relationship between society, culture,
and religion as broadly construed can be submitted directly through the AAR
portal. Other inquiries can be directed to Sean Kim ckim at ucmo.edu, or Liora
Sarfati lsarfati at tauex.tau.ac.il. In submitting proposals, please follow
the AAR guidelines carefully.
Statement of Purpose

This Unit provides a forum for the scholarly exchange of ideas on the
religions of Korea. It addresses all aspects of religions and religious
experiences of Korea — past and present and traditional and modern. The
Unit investigates Korean religions in all its diversity, including social,
cultural, historical, political, and philosophical, giving full weight to
the complexity of religious phenomena in Korea. The Unit encourages
conversations that compare aspects of Korean religions with those of other
religious traditions, as well as theoretical conversations about religion
that are grounded in Korean religions. In order to facilitate a
comprehensive understanding of Korean religions, the Unit welcomes scholars
from both in and outside of Korean religions and fosters a dialogue among
scholars from different religious traditions as well as different
disciplinary approaches to religions.
Co-Sponsoring

   - CO-SPONSORED SESSION: Comparative Studies in Religion Unit and Korean
   Religions Unit
   <https://papers.aarweb.org/pu/co-sponsored-session-comparative-studies-religion-unit-and-korean-religions-unit>
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