Advertisements
Dear GNPT member
I am writing to you seeking your practical help in respect of a three month sabbatical tour I am planning for mid 2010. The co-ordinating theme of the tour is the postsecular city, an admittedly contested but multi-levelled and fascinating concept. I am co-editor of a forthcoming book on the theme, but would like to do some mapping of potential sites for future research and theory development. I also want to simply walk around and absorb the sights and sounds of these ever-changing urban spaces.
The cities have been chosen because they represent some aspects of postsecularism which have so far been identified as:
- a “melting pot” whereby secular liberal governance encourages the proliferation of resurgent religious and cultural practices but without a particular political agenda,
- new societies emerging into a post-communist dispensation and discovering a renewed religious presence and identity,
- the ongoing growth of religious practice and faith-based civil society alongside existing communist governance,
- the deliberate zoning of religious and non-religious spaces and systems of governance (e.g. Sharia law),
- the active encouragement of faith-based welfare within liberal democratic models,
- the modulation (rather than erosion) of religious practice and culture within aggressive models of neo-liberal development and social restructuring,
- the emergence of radical and progressive faith-based political praxis,
- the re-emergence of the concept of the sacred and its reflection in public spaces, art, building design etc.
In short, postsecularism reflects a new public and urban space in which processes of secularisation continue alongside the re-emergence of vigorous and politically/sociologically significant expressions of religious faith in the public sphere.
Some of the underlying issues I want to explore within this typology are:
- examples of good praxis by faiths groups - especially partnership or multi-faith working or innovative community development work
- narratives of belief and transformation within a postsecular public space
- contrasting but also overlapping discourses within the postsecular public space
- new and old sacred spaces in urban areas including changes in building use
- a wide variety of worshipping spaces and events - both Christian and non- Christian
In order to do this, I would appreciate the opportunity to stay some of the time within local church or academic communities and be guided by local people, seeing the city through their eyes. In return, I would be very happy to lead a seminar or other facilitated event on urban mission, urban theology or public theology based on my previous research into the role of religion in urban regeneration and civil society.
If any GNPT member has contacts in any of these cities or city-regions listed in the itinerary below who would be interested in this project, I would be grateful if you could pass on to me any relevant contact details.
With many thanks and wishing you God's blessing,
Dr Chris Baker
William Temple Foundation
Manchester Centre for Pubic Theology
chris.baker@wtf.org.uk
Itinerary 1 - Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing
Sydney - 4th - May 11th May
Singapore - May 12th - 14th May
Hong Kong -May 15th - May 18th May
Shanghai - May 19th - 22rd May
Beijing - 23th - 28th May
Itinerary 2 - Dubai, Mumbai
Dubai - 14th- 19th June
Mumbai - 20th -26th June
Itinerary 3 - Ankara, Tallinn, Vilnius, Amsterdam
Ankara - 5th - 9th July
Tallinn - 10th - 14th July
Vilnius - 15th - 18th July
Amsterdam - 19th - 22nd July
Postsecular cities, spaces, theories and praxis - edited Justin Beaumont and Chris Baker, London, Continuum Press, 2010 (paperback and hardback)
University of Manchester, UK
Anyone interested in knowing more about our professional doctorate as a template for
students in practice-based research, please visit:
http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/subjectareas/religionstheology/postgraduatestudy/practicaltheology/ to find out more.
Centre for Public Theology, Huron University College, London, Ontario, Canada
The GNPT has received greetings and news from Dr. Darren Marks, the director for the Centre for Public Theology, housed at Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario. The Centre was granted associate status with the GNPT last year. They have recently won a major research grant from the Canadian government and are well underway in planning their research work, including 3 conferences on Afghanistan, HIV/Aids and Climate Change. You can visit their website at www.publictheology.org.