Roger Williams University is named after the founder of the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, the first established with guarantees of separation of church and state. We seek papers for our fourth conference on religion and the state, to be held at the university April 12-14, 2013. The core ideas and theories in this conference seek to span various continents and peoples working from the principles of Roger Williams in regards to secular engagement and individual voice. Thus our theme this year is “Narrative and Negotiation: Agency, Religion and the State” and will focus on emerging stories of engagement, struggle and dialogue between individuals, groups, and states. We welcome submissions addressing matters of religion and the state from any and all regions of the world with particular focus on the 19th and 20th centuries. We hope uncovering these histories helps not only to augment what is known, but challenges researchers to think about the ever-changing contours of power struggle. Researchers are invited to submit panels or individual papers from any academic field.

Please send a 250-word proposal and a one page CV by November 15, 2012 to:

Lydia Serpa mserpa@rwu.edu

Responses will be mailed out by January 10, 2013.

A website is being constructed.

Conference organizers:

Dr. Sargon George Donabed sdonabed@rwu.edu Dr. Matthew S. Hedstrom hedstrom@virginia.edu