Call for Submissions
In our upcoming issue we would take into consideration the disparate and contradictory interpretations of secularism the world over. The structures of secularism and their outreach would be central to the methodology. While research within the broader framework of intellectual history is welcome, we would also like to include papers tracing the morphology of the concept, its reception and practice both on the level of individuals as well as part of state policy.
The acts of Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal-Jihad or Boko Haram in the common parlance, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are but one part of this never-ending puzzle of conflict within the world systems, with the Charlie Hebdo massacre a recent addition to the number of lives already claimed. Some would try and delineate the progression from the arming of the Taliban, the Gulf War and the destabilization of regimes guided by vision of a world order. There is also the ensuing debate about what is blasphemous (If at all?) and what are the effective restrictions on freedom of speech?
Secular meaning ‘of this world’ in its essence negates beliefs propounded from a religious order due to the very nature of divinity relying on the otherworldly. However, the spurt of fundamentalism in recent times has shaken the secular credentials of many countries to the core. Whether it is Islamism, Christian Fundamentalism, Hindu Nationalism, etc. almost all of the proponents of supremacist theories have been successful in laying claims and counterclaims to the modern world. Scholars have now begun asking the quintessential question about the hen and the egg. There are also attempts at reconciling the secular and the sacral suggestive of attempts at cohabitation.
What constitutes the secular ethos in the disparate terrains of modernity? What is the role of religion today? Isn’t the very principle of identying citizens with their religious identity fraught with the dangers of encroachment in everyday existence, especially in multireligious societies?
We are looking for papers which foreground this conflict not within the prism of a philosophical debate but with possible focus on the way ahead. Genealogical inquiries which also look at the historical relativity of its normalization into world systems and, whether through normal progression or through colonial imposition, the variety of meanings that it came to constitute within such domains would naturally form the core theme. Papers dealing with the teleology of secularism are also welcome. Analyses of the political, economic and cultural factors aiding and abetting this conflict would also naturally be a part of this issue. The very nature of secularism entails using interdisciplinary methods of analyses and we would encourage papers from any relevant disciplinary vantage point. As stated elsewhere while trying to include papers around a close-knit theme, we would also publish papers which may present interdisciplinary research of exceptional value which might not engage with the theme.
The last date of submission is 31st March, 2016. Papers can be sent in to editors.jshc@gmail or editors@jshc.org.
The guidelines for authors can be read here: http://jshc.org/instructions-for-authors/.
For further inquiries write in to info@jshc.org.
