Session Descriptions

RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE

“Law, Religion, and Social Progress in the Age of COVID-19”

Organized by Drs. Susanne Scholz and Qudsia Mirza

Sponsored by Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute (DCII), Southern Methodist University (SMU)

Sunday (September 17, 2023) Kirby Parlor @SMU Perkins School of Theology

4:30-5 pm Welcome at The Lumen

5:15-6:30 pm First Session: Who Are We, What Are We Thinking, and Why? (Kirby Parlor at SMU Perkins School of Theology)

6:30 pm Dinner (leaving from Kirby Parlor)

 

Monday (September 18, 2023) Kirby Parlor @SMU Perkins School of Theology

Breakfast at The Lumen (on your own)

9-9:10 am Words of Welcome by Bishop Michael McKee, Leighton K. Farrell Endowed Dean, ad interim, Perkins School of Theology, SMU

9:10-10:30 am Paper Session A

Paper 1 Religious Rhetoric and Pandemic Precautions: A Hindu Response to Covid-19, Bhakti Mamtora, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

Paper 2 Love in the Time of Covid-19: Exploring Avenues to Protect Psychedelic Spiritual Practice in Canada, Amy Bartlett, Department of Classics and Religious Studies, University of Ottawa, Canada

Paper 3 Law, Religion and Social Progress in the Time of Covid-19: The Case of India, Jos Chathukulam, Centre for Rural Management (CRM), Perumbaikkad, Kottayam, Kerala, India

Response 1 and QA: Nia Parson, Department of Anthropology, Dedman College, SMU

10:30-11 am Coffee Break

11-12:30 pm Session B

Paper 4 Internet, Law, and Antisemitism: Antisemitism and Combating Online Hate Through Law in the Age of Covid-19, Megan Hollinger, Department of Classics and Religious Studies, University of Ottawa, Canada

Paper 5 Religious Leadership, Power, and Culpability: An Examination of Faith and Culture during the Pandemic, Laulie Eckeberger, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK

Paper 6 Bishops, Popes, and Covid-19: How Catholicism Effects the Global Social and Economic Crisis, Carol J. Dempsey, OP, Department of Theology, University of Portland, OR, USA

Response 2 and QA: Serge Frolov, Dedman Department of Religious Studies, Southern Methodist University

12:30-2 pm Lunch

2-3:30 pm Session C

Paper 7 Addressing the Intersection of Law, Religion, and Covid-19 in Nigeria: Developing Policy Strategies for Coherent Social Progress, Ahmed Salisu Garba, Bauchi State University, Gadau, Nigeria

Paper 8 Religion, Gender and Social Progress in the Age of Covid-19: Notes from Japan, Paola Cavaliere, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Japan

Response 3 and QA: Ben Voth, Communiation Studies, Southern Methodist University

3:30-4 pm Coffee Break

4-5:30 pm Session D

Paper 9 Muslim Women, Discrimination Law and Covid-19 in the British Context, Qudsia Mirza, Royal Docks School of Business and Law, University of East London, London, UK

Paper 10 (Post)Pandemic Biblical Studies in the Emerging Biotechno-Feudal Order, Susanne Scholz, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas, TX, USA

5:30-6:30 Refresher at The Lumen (on your own)

6:30 pm Dinner (meeting at The Lumen and we will go from there)

 

Tuesday (September 19, 2023) Great Hall of Prothro Hall @Perkins School of Theology

9-9:10 am Words of Welcome by Dr. Scott Norris, Scott, Director of the Dedman College of the Interdisciplinary Institute (DCII)

9:10-11 am “How the (Post)Corona Era Has Shaped My Academic Field and World: Interdisciplinary Voices and Conversations” (Panel and Conversation with the Audience)

Panelists: Bhakti Mamtora, Megan Hollinger, Matthew Wilson, Amy Bartlett. Ahmed Salisu Garba, Jeanne Stevenson Moessner

11-11:30 Coffee Break

11:30-12:30 pm Final Assessment and Outlook

12:30-2 pm Lunch

2 pm Departure