21 October 2009

Book: "Political Theologies in the Holy Land"

A number of books on political theology in Israel and Jewish political theology have been released recently or about to be released by authors and editors associated with the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and in particular with a former study group/research programme of the latter on political theology, which was discontinued about two years ago.

Among them, David Ohana (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) wrote a book on "Political Theologies in the Holy Land: Israeli Messianism and Its Critics" (Routledge, 15 October 2009):

www.routledge.com/books/Political-Theologies-in-the-Holy-Land-isbn9780415491686

Publisher's description: "This book examines the role of messianism in Zionist ideology, from the birth of the Zionist movement through to the present. Is shows how messianism is not just a religious or philosophical term but a very tangible political practice and theology which has shaped Israeli identity.

"The author explores key issues such as: the current presence of messianism in the Israeli public sphere and the debates with [J]ewish settlers in the occupied territories after the 1967 war; the difference between transcendental messianism and [P]romethean messianism; the disparity between the political ideology and political practice in the history of Israel; the evolution of the messianic idea in the actions of David Ben-Gurion; the debate between Martin Buber, Gershom Scholem, Isaiah Leibowitz, J.L. Talmon and other intellectual figures with Ben-Gurion; the implications of political theology and the presence of messianic ideas in Israeli politics.

"As the first book to examine the messianism in Israeli debate since the creation of the Israeli state, it will be particularly relevant for students and scholars of Political Science, modern intellectual history, Israel studies, Judaism and messianism."

Those able to read Hebrew may be equally interested in a recent book edited by Christoph Schmidt (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and co-edited by Eli Schonfeld (University of Tel Aviv and Hebrew University): "Ha-Elohim lo yealem dom: ha-moderna ha-yehudit ve-ha-teologia ha-politit" (God will not stand still: Jewish modernity and political theology; Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, Tel Aviv, 2009).

www.vanleer.org.il/eng/content.asp?id=330

According to a review of this book in today's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, it appears to be on exactly the same subject matter as the book by Ohana, who is present with a chapter in Schmidt's collection.

The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and Hakibbutz Hameuchad also just published "State of exception and state of emergency" (translation), edited by Yehouda Shenhav, Christoph Schmidt and Shimshon Zelniker. Presumably this book too is on political theology. Unfortunately, I don't have the original Hebrew title.

19 October 2009

CFP: Journal "Res Publica" invites contributions on political theology

The journal "Res Publica: Revista de Filosofía Política" – published by the Universidad de Murcia in Spain – invites contributions on political theology.

http://revistas.um.es/respublica/index

"Res Publica" is an open access journal, available free of charge on the Internet, dedicated to the study of political philosophy and history, and often a very methodological approach of conceptual history. At the same time, it gives special importance to the tradition of political ideals based on the republican spirit and always understood in their proper historical context.

The journal intends to create a digital section that will become recognized as "Res publica hispana", which will analyze the most important works of history of political thought and Hispanic political relations, as well as major new publications on this subject.

Another focus of the journal is offered by those authors who have challenged the possibilities of republicanism, whether from political theology, more traditional views of sovereignty, or from the most current versions of the impolitic. "Res Publica" is also interested in understanding the political thinkers of the Weimar Republic, and what their significance means for the work of Max Weber in the construction of democratic legitimacy in a society that falls squarely in the era of the masses.

Abstracts are available in Spanish and English. Articles are available in Spanish in PDF format. Please check with the editors whether articles have to be submitted in Spanish.

Editorial contacts: Prof José Luis Villacañas Berlanga and Prof Antonio Rivera García (both Universidad de Murcia): jlvilla@um.es, anrivera@um.es

13 October 2009

CFP: The Politics of Peace

2010 biennial conference of the Society for Continental Philosophy and Theology (SCPT), Messiah College, Grantham, Pennsylvania, USA,
16-17 April 2010

Call for papers: "The Politics of Peace"

Keynote speakers:
- Catherine Keller (Drew University)
- William T. Cavanaugh (University of St. Thomas)

SCPT's 2010 conference will focus on Peace. They invite papers that examine the many dimensions of peace from social, political, religious, scientific, theological, and philosophical points of view. They also seek papers dealing with complementary topics such as justice, reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace-making, and that deal with the practical aspects of the above topics.

SCPT is an organization that seeks to promote inquiry at the intersection of philosophy and theology, through the study of phenomenology, deconstruction, feminism, Radical Orthodoxy, and other related fields:

www.scptonline.org

Only complete papers with a maximum of 3,000 words will be accepted. Papers should be prepared for blind review and sent to: peacestudies@messiah.edu

Deadline: 8 February 2010

Book: New Carl Schmitt biography in German

Reinhard Mehring (Humboldt University of Berlin) has written, in German, "the first truly comprehensive" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) biography about Carl Schmitt, titled "Carl Schmitt. Aufstieg und Fall" (Carl Schmitt: Rise and Fall; my translation; published by C.H. Beck, September 2009):

www.chbeck.de/productview.aspx?product=28142

According to the publisher's description, Carl Schmitt – along with Martin Heidegger and Max Weber one of the most influential German thinkers of the twentieth century – is a "Shakespearean figure at the centre of the German catastrophe". A "white raven", as Schmitt called himself, torn between his brilliancy and aspirations and a deep-seated resentment against the smugness of bourgeois existence.

His radical theories about political theology, friend and enemy, legality and legitimacy, and the concept of the political have been translated into all major languages and are read by Catholic conservatives and communist revolutionaries alike.

The new biography already ranks at no. 1 among Philosophy titles on the German Amazon site.

10 October 2009

CFP: "Tikvah Journal for Jewish Thought" on religion and reason

Call for papers for the "Tikvah Journal for Jewish Thought", the new graduate online journal of the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto.

Proposals on (Jewish) political theology are explicitly welcome.

The first issue of the "Tikvah Journal for Jewish Thought" invites explorations on the theme: "Religion and Reason". Historically, the process of secularization brought about a debate among philosophers, politicians, and theologians concerning the role of religion in the public sphere and distinguishing secular reason from religious conviction. Yet questions pertaining to the nature of the relation between religion and reason are as old as theology and philosophy. The editors welcome papers addressing such questions, spanning the ancient, medieval, modern, and postmodern eras, and drawing from a broad range of disciplinary fields.

Suggested topics include: the crisis of the Enlightenment: skepticism and naturalism; the "end" of metaphysics; faith, rational justification, and common sense; divine attributes and allegorical thought; translation: biblical terms and philosophical concepts or categories; the role of religion in the public sphere; the nature of justification in religious and secular laws; religious calendars and political bonds; political theology; modern alienation

Suggested interlocutors include: Aristotle; Philo of Alexandria; Plotinus; Al-Farabi; Al-Ghazali; Maimonides; Shmuel Ibn Tibbon; Hasdai Crescas; Abarbanel; Descartes; Spinoza; Leibniz; Kant; Fichte; Schelling; Hegel; Kierkegaard; Hermann Cohen; Martin Buber; Franz Rosenzweig; Walter Benjamin; Hans-Georg Gadamer; Emmanuel Lévinas; Paul Ricoeur

Submission details: Please send an abstract no longer than 500 words and prepared for "blind-review" (with the author's name and institutional affiliation appearing on a separate page) to the following e-mail address: tikvahjournal@gmail.com

Deadline: 15 November 2009

If accepted, you will be asked to submit a paper ranging in length between 5,000 and 7,000 words by 15 January 2010. Accepted papers will appear in Vol. 1 of the "Tikvah Journal for Jewish Thought" late in the spring of 2010.

CFP: Deadline extended for "The Absent Center" graduate student conference on political theology

The deadline for this previously announced conference has been extended to 1 November 2009:

Call for papers: "The Absent Center: A Graduate Student Conference on Contemporary Issues in Political Theology"

University of Texas at Austin, Government Department,
19-20 February 2010

For details see the original post:

www.political-theology.com/2009/04/cfp-absent-center.html

08 October 2009

Journal "Political Theology" increases frequency

In line with the increase in interest in political theology, Equinox, the publisher of the journal "Political Theology", has announced that the journal will in 2010 increase its pagination and frequency to 6 issues per volume (until now 4).

While other Equinox journals retain 2009 price levels in 2010, "Political Theology" will become accordingly dearer.

As of today, there is no information to be found on the journal's website. You can find submission guidelines, though:

www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/PT

Journal description: "Political Theology is a journal that investigates and examines religious and political issues. The journal is interdisciplinary, drawing on the disciplines of theology, religious studies, politics, philosophy, ethics, cultural studies, social theory and economics. As such, it aims to reflect the diversity of religious and theological engagements with public and political life. Articles are welcome from scholars, practioners and clergy that address religion and political life in all its variety. The journal has a review section which embraces reflections upon religion, theology, polit[i]cal [sic] theory, political biography, film and fiction."

07 October 2009

Book: "Religious Anarchism: New Perspectives"

Alexandre J.M.E. Christoyannopoulos recently published an edited volume on "Religious Anarchism: New Perspectives" with Cambridge Scholars Publishing (August 2009):

www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/Religious-Anarchism--New-Perspectives1-4438-1132-7.htm

On that site a link is provided to a sample PDF including table of contents. Already the first chapter, by Richard Fitch (Birkbeck), mentions political theology repeatedly.

Publisher's description: "Both religion and anarchism have been increasingly politically active of late. This edited volume presents twelve chapters of fresh scholarship on diverse facets of the area where they meet: religious anarchism.

"The book is structured along three themes: [1] early Christian anarchist 'pioneers', including Pelagius, Coppe, Hungarian Nazarenes, and Dutch Christian anarchists; [2] Christian anarchist reflections on specific topics such as Kierkegaardian indifference, Romans 13, Dalit religious practice, and resistance to race and nation; [3] religious anarchism in other traditions, ranging from Wu Nengzi's Daoism and Rexroth's Zen Buddhism to various currents of Islam, including an original Anarca-Islamic 'clinic'.

"This unique book therefore furthers scholarship on anarchism, on millenarian and revolutionary thinkers and movements, and on religion and politics. It is also of value to members of the wider public interested in radical politics and in the political implications of religion. And of course, it is relevant to those interested in any of the specific themes and thinkers focused on within individual chapters. In short, this book presents a range of innovative perspectives on a web of topics that, while held together by the common thread of religious anarchism, also speaks to numerous broader themes which have been increasingly prominent in the twenty-first century."

The editor, Alexandre Christoyannopoulos (University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University), last year contributed a chapter on Leo Tolstoy's Christian anarchism to my own book, "Anti-Democratic Thought" (Imprint Academic, 2008). His other publications include a chapter in the present volume as well as peer-reviewed articles in Anarchist Studies, The Heythrop Journal, and Politics and Religion.

"Bringing together the work of international writers, both new and established scholars and practitioners, this book fills an important gap in the existing literature. [...] Another important strength is that the authors work in variety of disciplinary fields and are thus able to bring insights from history, philosophy and political theory as well as anarchist studies, to bear on the subject. [...] [T]he authors examine a range of ethical questions about the legitimate boundaries of the state and the limits of authority, the duty of obedience and the primacy of conscience in political action." – Ruth Kinna (Loughborough University)

"[I]t presents a wide range of little known and unexpected sources, inspiring a fresh look at contemporary approaches to change. [...] Each article explores new issues in areas as diverse as Pelagian studies, Hungarian history and Islamic political theology." – Ronald Creagh (Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier)