Toleration in Comparative Perspective Conference
The conference is open to the public, and we encourage anyone who is interested to register through this link.
The Center for Democracy, Toleration and Religion is pleased to work in conjunction with Reset Dialogues on Civilizations to host the conference “Toleration in Comparative Perspective: Concepts, Practices, Documents” from January 19-23, 2021, over Zoom. The conference gathers scholars to talk about the ways in which religious toleration has been articulated and practiced in places and periods outside of modern “Western” history. Each day will feature a thematic panel—on spaces, philosophy, law, political theory and textual interpretation—that brings together speakers from across fields and disciplines. The conference will begin with a keynote address by Professor Denis Lacorne, of Sciences Po.
Schedule:
Tuesday, January 19 (9:30 am–1 pm PST // 12:30 pm–4 pm EST)
9:30 am – Introduction and Welcome: Karen Barkey and Jonathan Laurence
9:50 am – Keynote Address: Religious Tolerance Revisited — Denis Lacorne (Sciences Po)
11 am – Panel: Thinking Toleration
- On pluralism in the Quran and Islamic philosophy – Souleymane Bachir Diagne (Columbia University)
- Beyond Toleration? Syncretism, Amalgamation, and Religious Multiplicity in the Shinto Tradition – Fabio Rambelli (UC Santa Barbara)
- Hasidism and Toleration – Sam Berrin Shonkoff (Graduate Theological Union)
- Commenter: Jonathan Laurence (Boston College)
Wednesday, January 20 (11 am–1 pm PST // 2 pm–4 pm EST)
11 am – Panel: Minorities, Pluralism, Law
- Toleration: Thought and Practice in the Societies of the Medieval Islamic World – Lev Weitz (Catholic University of America)
- The Elusive Toleration of Islam in Europe – Jonathan Laurence (Boston College)
- PAPER TITLE TBA – Eugenio Menegon (Boston University)
- Commenter: Karen Barkey (UC Berkeley)
Thursday, January 21 (11 am–1 pm PST // 2 pm–4 pm EST)
11 am – Panel: Sacred Space and Tolerance
- PAPER TITLE TBA – Charlotte Fonrobert (Stanford University)
- Sounds of Emancipation: Politics, Identity, and Music in 19th-century Italian Synagogues – Francesco Spagnolo (UC Berkeley)
- Intolerance Under the Guise of Tolerance: Religious Diversity in Thirteenth-century India – Elaine M. Fisher (Stanford University)
- Tolerance and Rights: An Exploration of Medieval Canon Law – Alberto Melloni (University of Modena-Reggio)
- Commenter: Anna Elizabeta Galeotti (University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli)
Friday, January 22 (9 am–11 am PST // 12 pm–2 pm EST)
9 am – Panel: Politics, Political Theory and Toleration
- Politics, Political Theory and Toleration – Susanna Elm (UC Berkeley)
- PAPER TITLE TBA – Sudipta Kaviraj (Columbia University)
- Asoka’s Dhamma: Social Toleration or Communal Harmony – Rajeev Bhargava (Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi)
- Church and State in the European Toleration Debates, 1560-1655 – Noah Dauber (Colgate University)
- Commenter: Simon Brown (UC Berkeley)
Saturday, January 23 (11 am–1 pm PST // 2 pm–4 pm EST)
11 am – Panel: Text, Translation, Interpretation
- Tolerance and Intolerance in the Hebrew Bible – Robert Alter (UC Berkeley)
- Ecumenical Community, Introduction – Hamza Zafer (University of Washington)
- Toleration, Religion, and the Enlightenment – William Bulman (Lehigh University)
- Commenter: David Marno (UC Berkeley)
For more information, please visit the Center for Democracy, Toleration, and Religion website.
Recordings of this conference can be found on the Center for Democracy, Toleration, and Religion website.