Conversations at the Center

Home / Events / Conversations at the Center

Conversations at the Center is a colloquium series that fosters in-depth exploration of theoretical, methodological and regional issues in the study of religion and conflict among faculty, graduate students, and the community.

"Religion, Media, and Climate Change: What’s the Story?" featuring Jeffrey Cohen, Ben Ehrenreich, & Tulasi Srinivas

Journalist Ben Ehrenreich (The Nation) says the media isn’t telling the right stories about climate change. Anthropologist and religious studies professor Tulasi Srinivas (Emerson College) argues that journalists and scientists are missing stories about how religions are transforming community responses to environmental change, and how environmental change is transforming religion. Ehrenreich, Srinivas and moderator Jeffrey Cohen, ASU Dean of Humanities, join in a conversation about these and other issues.
Watch video
Event details

"Religion, Journalism, and International Affairs," featuring Karen Attiah

Religion is always "in the room." From the urgent conflicts in the wake of 9/11 to the pressing issues of today, the role of religion in global affairs is undeniable. How does media shape our understanding of the interaction of religious and secular forces on areas as diverse as conflict and peace, environment and sustainability, migration and international development, health and education, gender, race, and sexuality, human rights and humanitarianism, and so much more? As Global Opinions Editor for The Washington Post, Karen Attiah works a beat that covers these issues for the entire world. Attiah joins moderators John Carlson and Kristin Gilger in exploring how the media approaches the role of religion in public life, politics and policy, and how increasing attention to inclusion and diversity are bringing more voices to bear on such coverage.
Watch video
Event details

"Religious & Social Change in the Middle East" with Anand Gopal, Edith Szanto, & Rozina Ali

The Middle East is often viewed as a crossroads for religion and violence, but rarely do we seek to understand how conflict and violence themselves reshape people's understanding of religious practice, belief, and community. What accounts for religious change or persistence in the midst of conflict? How do changes in politics, society and culture affect religion? Join us for a discussion in which panelists Anand Gopal (ASU), Edith Szanto (American University of Iraq-Sulaimani), and Rozina Ali (The New Yorker) explore these questions in the context of conflict and post-conflict situations across Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
Event details

"Sufi, Salafi, Shi'i: Sectarian Discourses in Nigeria" with Sani Umar

Sani Umar (Ahmadu Bello University - Zaria, Nigeria) discusses his recent research on religious sectarianism in Nigeria, detailing its influences on radicalization, media, politics, and violent conflict
Event details
DateTitleSpeakerLinks
APR 2019Religion, Media, and Climate Change: What's the Story?Ben Ehrenreich, Tulasi Srinivas, Jeffrey Cohen
Video
APR 2019Religion, Journalism, and International AffairsKarin AttiahVideo
FEB 2019The Invention of Humanity: Equality and Cultural Difference in World HistorySiep Stuurman
OCT 2019Sufi, Salafi, Shi'i: Sectarian Discourses in NigeriaSani Umar
SEP 2018Religious and Social Change in the Middle EastAnand Gopal, Edith Szanto, Rozina Ali
APR 2018Language Emancipation of Slavic Microlanguages: A Comparative Case StudyMotoki Nomachi
APR 2018The Kosovan Gorani Ethnolect: A Borderland Enclave in Search of Linguistic IdentityMotoki Nomachi
APR 2018War in a Warming WorldMark DouglasVideo
MAR 2018Manbij: Understanding the Syrian Civil War from the Experience of a Single TownAnand Gopal
FEB 2018Luther and the Legacy of Anti-SemitismVolker Benkert, Gary McCluskey
NOV 2017America’s War Against ISIS: The Ground ViewAnand Gopal
MAR 2017Religion, Civilization, Cooperation and ConflictEdward Slingerland
MAR 2017Making Sense of the Trump Revolt: Where Do the Two Parties Go from Here?Joshua Mitchell
MAR 2017At the Center of the Storm: Syria, ISIS, and the Refugee CrisisAnand Gopal
NOV 2016What is Specific About the Drama of Athletic Events? Towards a Phenomenology of Stadium CrowdsHans Ulrich Gumbrecht
OCT 2016Takin' it to the Streets and the Seats: Promoting Social Justice through Communication Activism Research and TeachingLawrence R. Frey
SEP 2016Understanding the (Surprisingly Religious) History of American SecularismJacques Berlinerblau
SEP 2016Religion, Conflict and Terrorism in the Public ConsciousnessJohn Carlson, Anand Gopal, Daniel Rothenberg, Delia SaenzPodcast
APR 2016Islam and Democracy During Global TransitionsDaisy Khan
APR 2016Interactions and Interchanges: Has the Animal Question Displaced the Woman (of Color) Question?: Diffracting Posthumanities with IntersectionalityRachel Lee
APR 2016Human Rights and Humanitarianism: Distinctions With or Without a Difference?Michael BarnettPodcast
FEB 2016Interactions and Interchanges: Undocumented LiteratureRobert McKee Irwin
JAN 2016By the Grace of God: Religiosity, Religious Self-Regulation, and Perpetration of Intimate Partner ViolenceClaire M. Renzetti
NOV 2015Sacred Battles: Violence in Southern Sport and CultureEric Bain-SelboPodcast
NOV 2015A Conversation with Anand GopalAnand GopalPodcast
NOV 2015Feminist Writing from Pakistan: Remembrance of BeingKanza Javed
SEP 2015Violence and Vulnerable Communities

Kamran Ali, Miriam Cooke, William Hart

Podcast
SEP 2015Choreographing the Trauma of the Syrian RevolutionMiriam Cooke
APR 2015Bargaining for Women’s Rights: Activism in an Aspiring Muslim DemocracyAlice KangPodcast
APR 2015The Catholic Church and the Mexican RevolutionPhil Stover
APR 2015Radioactive Ghosts: Precarious Lives in the Aftermath of Nuclear ContaminationGabriele M. SchwabPodcast
APR 2015Interactions and Interchanges: Beyond the Hijab: Pakistani Women’s Perspectives

Kanza Javed, Tehreem Aurakzai, Mawhish Khan, Zahra Hamdani, Aisha Usman

Podcast
MAR 2015Global Dynamics of Violent Extremism

Chad Haines, Abdullahi Gallab, Ibrahim Hassan, Raza Rumi

Podcast
FEB 2015Interactions and Interchanges: Ledfeather, A Reading and DiscussionStephen Graham JonesPodcast
JAN 2015Faith, Death, and Freedom on the Arizona FrontierLuis CabreraPodcast
DEC 2014Apocalyptic Violence: The Desire for Universal Destruction and Its Historical OriginsMatthias RiedlPodcast
NOV 2014Talking to the Enemy: The Making and Unmaking of TerroristsScott AtranPodcast
NOV 2014Measuring Religion: Sacred Values in Human ConflictScott AtranPodcast
NOV 2014Measuring Religion: Political and Economic Influences on Religious NGOsEvelyn BushPodcast
OCT 2014Interactions and Interchanges: Why Human Rights Depend on the HumanitiesSophia McClennenPodcast
OCT 2014A Conversation with Andrew BacevichAndrew J. Bacevich
OCT 2014Interactions and Interchanges: Chicana/o Studies and Transnationalism: Constructing Paradigms of Future Critique from Foundational Studies of the PastJayson Gonzales Sae-Saue
APR 2014Soft Power and Web 2.0: Public Diplomacy as Anti-TerrorismValentina Bartolucci
APR 2014Safety, Soldier, Scapegoat: Pat Tillman and American Civil ReligionJonathan EbelPodcast
MAR 2014The Transhumanist Imagination: Technological Singularity: A Crucial Event in God's Self-Actualization?Michael ZimmermanPodcast
MAR 2014The Choosing People: The Puzzles of American Jewish VotingKen WaldPodcast
JAN 2014Fuzzy SovereigntyAlessandro Monsutti
NOV 2013"Closing" GuantánamoJohn Carlson
NOV 2013War Against Evil: The Religious Foundations of US Foreign PolicyIra ChernusPodcast
NOV 2013The American Way of Religion and Violence?John Carlson
NOV 2013Religion, Politics and American DemocracyLinell Cady
NOV 2013The Dead Sea Scrolls and the BibleJames H. Charlesworth
SEP 2013The Decline of Religiosity?Laurence R. IannacconePodcast
APR 2013The Bad, the Ugly-but Maybe Some Good?- of Religion and Intergroup RelationsSteven NeubergPodcast
APR 2013The Transhumanist Imagination: Governance, Progress and Converging TechnologiesBrice LaurentPodcast
MAR 2013The Politics of Native American Religious FreedomSuzan Harjo
MAR 2013The Sacralization of Democratic Politics in Europe and BeyondAnna Grzymala-Busse
FEB 2013The Transhumanist Imagination: Vannevar Bush, the Endless Frontier, and Human EnhancementGregg Zachary
FEB 2013Politics and ReligionLinell Cady, Bruce Meyerson, Rev. William Burrill, Robert McWhirter, Jeffery Ventrella
FEB 2013The Arab Spring: Between Hopes and ChallengesJonathan Fine
JAN 2013Ministries of Presence: Chaplains as Priests of the SecularWinnifred Fallers SullivanPodcast
NOV 2012What is the "Turkish Model"?: Muslimism in Turkey and BeyondNeslihan Cevik
NOV 2012Religion and International Affairs: Religion and Strategic Targeting in World War IIRon E. Hassner
OCT 2012Guantanamo: Ethics & Law, Religion & PoliticsTyler Cabot, Howard R. Cabot, Andrew S. Gordon, John Carlson, Daniel Rothenberg
OCT 2012The Legal Response to Hate Speech: Should the U.S. be more like Europe?Jeremy Waldron, James Weinstein
OCT 2012Islam and PluralismImam Feisal Abdul RaufPodcast
SEP 2012Religion in Conflict: Modern East AsiaHuaiyu Chen, Zhange NiPodcast
MAY 2012Violence and New Religious MovementsJames R. Lewis
APR 2012Waiting, Tolerating, and Cooperating: Modern Religious Belief as a Restraint DeviceMike McCulloughPodcast
MAR 2012Beyond the Arab Spring: Back to Islamism?Asef BayatPodcast
MAR 2012The Global Diffusion of Law: Gender, Transnational Crime and the Case of Human TraffickingBeth Simmons
FEB 2012New Approaches to the Study of Science and ReligionWesley Wildman
OCT 2011Un/Forgiving Memory & Counter/Redemptive Hope: Film Screening and DiscussionMartin Beck Matuštík
OCT 2011Notes on the Study of African Religion in the DiasporaJualynne E. Dodson
SEP 2011Religion and Ethnic Conflict: Observations from the Shatter Zones of Southeastern Europe and the CaucasusJohn O’Loughlin
SEP 2011The Difference a Decade Makes: Religion, Politics and Public LifePodcast
MAR 2011Revolution 2.0 in Egypt and BeyondMerlyna Lim
MAR 2011Gender, Religion, and Human Rights: Afghanistan's Changes and ChallengesMarzia BaselPodcast
MAR 2011Is There a Secular Body?Charles Hirschkind
MAR 2011Is Israeli-Palestinian Peace Possible? Obstacles and OpportunitiesGershon Baskin
DEC 2010God's Century: Resurgent Religion and Global PoliticsDaniel Philpott
DEC 2010Law, Religion, and the Politics of International Human RightsElizabeth Shakman Hurd
NOV 2010Rethinking Public Diplomacy: Religion Discourse in the Middle EastEvelyn A. Early
NOV 2010Afghanistan: States of IndeterminacyChad Haines
APR 2010Human Sacrifice: Religion and StatecraftWilliam HartPodcast
FEB 2010There's a Spirit that Transcends the Border: Religious Activists for Immigrant RightsPierrette Hondagneu-SoteloPodcast
OCT 2009Moral Judgment and the Humanitarian Crisis in DarfurMathias ThalerPodcast
APR 2009Becoming Modern: The Social Gospel and Gender Ideals for a New EraSusan CurtisPodcast
MAR 2009'What Would Walter Want?': Walter Rauschenbusch and the Future of Religious ProgressivismChristopher EvansPodcast
MAR 2009Society as the Subject of Redemption: The Social Gospel, Walter Rauschenbusch, and the Politics of Economic and Racial JusticeGary DorrienPodcast
OCT 2008Heresy and Healing: Conversations on the Soul, Social Justice, and Mental Illness in the Practice of IslamStefania Pandolfo