UPDATE: “There is no crisis to which academics will not respond with a seminar.”

November 2021 will be packed with events. Leading up to SBL/AAR in San Antonio (November 20–23), I will be participating in a panel hosted by the North American Association for the Study of Religion (NAASR). The theme will be "Religion and the Study of Religions in Times of 'Crisis.'" (Hence, the title of this post!) Details about the conference in its entirety can be found at NAASR.com, but I have included here information for the panel in which I'll be participating:

Panel 4: Sunday, November 14th, 2021 @ 1:30pm EST.
LOCUTION: Upending the Discipline—A Critical Roundtable on Crisis

Description:
“There is no crisis to which academics will not respond with a seminar.” – Marvin Bressler (1923-2010)

This year’s AAR Presidential Theme calls for “thinking about the actual human implications of religion in a world upended.” Given NAASR’s work as a critical engagement, this roundtable brings together senior and early-career scholars to assess this stated aim. What does it mean to frame the world which we study as a “world upended”? How can we think critically about not just crisis itself but also about what is constructed as “crisis”? What are the implications to our scholarly endeavors and our profession if responding to “crisis” becomes our modus operandi? How does this framework privilege certain voices or interests over others within the field (or within the objects of study)?

Panelists:
Merinda Simmons (University of Alabama)
Jeremy Posadas (Austin College)
Adrian Hermann (University of Bonn)
Robyn Walsh (University of Miami)
Rebekka King (Middle Tennessee State University), Presiding

For more details, please visit NAASR's Annual Meeting page.