Announcement for a Muslim-Christian Workshop on Philosophy, Religion, and Science

American University of Sharjah (College of Arts & Sciences)

14-17 March 2018

 

1. Objectives and Format

The main objective of this workshop, the second in a series in the Middle East, is to bring scholars and young academics from the Muslim world and from the USA, trained in philosophy, religion and/or science, to benefit from in-depth lectures and discussions on issues at the interfaces of philosophy, religion, and science from both Islamic and Christian perspectives.

Scholars will give 1-hour lectures or 2-hour workshops to cover major topics, while 15-20 young academics (graduate students, early career professors) will present their selected research papers in 30 minutes each. The goal is for everyone, particularly the young academics, to benefit from multi-disciplinary and inter-religious perspectives and to identify new avenues of research.

The workshop will run over 4 days, March 14 to 17, 2018 not including arrival and departure days.

The submission deadline for papers is: January 21, 2018, possibly extendable to Jan. 31, 2018.

Please see the Call for Papers for submission details.

2. Collaborating Institutions

Three institutions are collaborating in the organization (funding, logistics, scholars and applicants selection, etc.) of the workshop:

• Kaufman Interfaith Institute (MI, USA): Prof. Kelly James Clark and colleagues;
• American University of Sharjah (UAE): Prof. Nidhal Guessoum and colleagues);
• Kalam Research & Media (Dubai, UAE): Mr. Sohail Nakhooda and colleagues.

Additionally, Dr. Shoaib Ahmed Malik (Zayed University, UAE) and Mr. Aedan Lake (Emirates Literature Festival, Dubai, UAE) will be part of the organizing committee.

3. Organizing Committee at AUS

• Prof. Nidhal Guessoum (CAS/Physics)
• Dr. Pia-Kristina Anderson (CAS/INS)
• Dr. Joseph Lumbard (CAS/ATS)
• Dr. Arianne Conty (CAS/INS)
• Dr. Imed Nsiri (CAS/ATS)
• Dr. Yuting Wang (CAS/INS)
• Ms. Noor Abdelmati (CAS/Physics)
• Ms. Flordeliza Khattab (CAS/INS)

4. Suggested Themes and Topics

Scholars, keynote speakers, and young academics, may address one or more of the following subject areas; they can also propose other topics, to be agree to by the organizers:

• Religion and the Sciences of Origins (Cosmology, Evolution)
• Philosophy and Theology/Kalam in science and religion
• Methodological naturalism, science and religion
• The Question of Consciousness and the Soul
• Religion and Psychology
• Scriptures and science
• Multi-disciplinary Views on Ethics

Daily Schedule:

Day 0 (March 13, 2018)

Attendees arrive and check into hotel

Welcoming reception and dinner

Day 1 (March 14, 2018)

9:00 – 10:00: Advanced Lecture A1

10:00 – 10:15: Break

10:15 – 11:15: Advanced Lecture A2

11:15 – 11:30: Break

11:30 – 12:30: Keynote Lecture KL1

12:30 – 1:45: Lunch and Prayer

1:45 – 3:15: 3 x (20 min + 10 min) presentations

3:15 – 3:30: Break

3:30 – 4:30: 2 x (20 min + 10 min) presentations

4:30 – 7:00: Free Time

7:00 – 10:00: Dinner and socializing

Day 2 (March 15, 2018)

9:00 – 10:00: Advanced Lecture B1

10:00 – 10:15: Break

10:15 – 11:15: Advanced Lecture B2

11:15 – 11:30: Break

11:30 – 12:30: Keynote Lecture KL2

12:30 – 1:45: Lunch and Prayer

1:45 – 3:15: 3 x (20 min + 10 min) presentations

3:15 – 3:30: Break

3:30 – 4:30: 2 x (20 min + 10 min) presentations

4:30 – 7:00: Free Time

7:00 – 10:00: Dinner and socializing

Day 3 (March 16, 2018)

9:00 – 10:00: Advanced Lecture C1

10:00 – 10:15: Break

10:15 – 11:15: Advanced Lecture C2

11:15 – 11:30: Break

11:30 – 12:30: Keynote Lecture KL3

12:30 – 1:45: Lunch and Prayer

2:00 – 7:00: Trip

7:00 – 10:00: Dinner and socializing

Day 4 (March 17, 2018)

9:00 – 10:00: Advanced Lecture D1

10:00 – 10:15: Break

10:15 – 11:15: Advanced Lecture D2

11:15 – 11:30: Break

11:30 – 12:30: Keynote Lecture KL4

12:30 – 1:45: Lunch and Prayer

1:45 – 3:15: 3 x (20 min + 10 min) presentations

3:15 – 3:30: Break

3:30 – 4:30: 2 x (20 min + 10 min) presentations

4:30 – 7:00: Free Time

7:00 – 10:00: Final Gala Dinner

Departure of participants

5. Conference Proceedings

Contributed papers will be blind-reviewed. The organizers plan to publish a volume from the workshop to include the lectures as well as the most noteworthy of the papers from the young academics’ contributions.

Photo Credit

American University of Sharjah, UAE.