NEWS: Islam on the catwalk
on Nov 15, 2009 in Religion in the News abaya Abdul Kareem Said Khadaied Active Attire attire bathing suit beauty Black chiffon Christian Dior creativity Dubai extremist face veil fashion glamour head scarf Indonesia Islam Islamic swimsuit Jakarta Jennifer Pak Jihad Khadani Koran Kuala Lumpur mainstream Malaysia Middle East modesty Monte Carlo Muslim news non-Muslim Nuraini Mohammed Ariffin Old Fashioned Persian Gulf prohibitive Raja Rezza Shah religion religious studies sex object silk Tom Abang Saufi traditional tunics In spite of the current global recession, designers in Malaysia are keen to try and exploit the previously ‘untapped’ area of Islamic fashion. Designers including Tom Abang Saufi, Abdul Kareem Said Khadaied and Nuraini Mohammed Ariffin aim to ins...

Is the Fight for Gay Rights Over?
on Nov 6, 2009 in Religion in the News Albert Mohler Bible and Homosexuality Candace Chellew-Hodge Christianity Christianity and Homosexuality Christianity and Prejudice Christianity and Racism Evangelicalism and Gay Rights fundamentalism Fundamentalism and Gay Rights gay marriage gay rights Gays Homosexuality James Dobson Jerry Falwel John Shelby Spong Keith Bardwell Lesbians liberalism mixed-race marriage Pat Robertson Progressive Christianity Religious Right sexism Bishop John Shelby Spong is revered by those affiliated with progressive Christianity and scorned by conservatives. For years he has been an outspoken advocate for the cause of women, gays and lesbians, and people of color. Candace Chellew-Hodge co...

Virtual Conference Report: Day Nine (29 Oct, 2009)
on Oct 30, 2009 in General Adam J Kalkstein Beowulf Chechnya climate Eileen Joy geography Grozny Interdisciplinary milieu P. Grady Dixon Russia Suicide sustainable urban Wiley-Blackwell By Paula Bowles Today marked the penultimate day of Wiley-Blackwell’s first Virtual Conference. As I am sure you will all agree, thus far, each day has contained many gems, and today has been no different. Eileen Joy’s (Southern Illinois Universi...

Virtual Conference Report: Day Eight (28 Oct, 2009)
on Oct 30, 2009 in General Catherine Sanderson Christine Mallinson Compass cultural culture Diana Crane directions discipline inderdisciplinarity partnerships sciences sociolinguistics Sociology textbook undergraduate Wiley-Blackwell By Paula Bowles Day eight of the conference was once again marked by some excellent contributions. The first paper ‘Cultural Sociology and Other Disciplines: Interdisciplinarity in the Cultural Sciences’ by Diane Crane (University of Pennsylvania...

Virtual Conference Report: Day Seven (27 Oct, 2009)
on Oct 29, 2009 in General Arno Peters classroom Compass culture design Devonya Havis history human nature literary geography Mind Roy Baumeister Sheila Hones space Stefan Müller Teaching text time Wiley-Blackwell By Paula Bowles The seventh day of the conference has continued with the key themes of ‘breaking down boundaries’ and interdisciplinarity. Roy Baumeister (Florida State University) began the day with his keynote lecture entitled ‘Human Nature a...

NEWS: ‘Homophobic’ Scientologists found Guilty of Fraud
on Oct 28, 2009 in Religion in the News Alain Rosenberg bigots California Church of Scientology Church's Celebrity Centre civil partnership civil rights commercial operation Crash Dianetics discrimination Eric Roux European Convention on Human Rights [ECHR] Faith France fraud gay marriage gay rights gay-bashing Georges Fenech guilty homophobes homophobia hypocrites Inter-ministerial Unit to Monitor and Fight Cults L. Ron Hubbard legality life-improvement courses mental manipulation minorities misleading publicity misunderstanding news Oscar Paul Haggis personality test political gesture Proposition 8 religion religious freedom religious studies San Diego sect tolerance Tommy Davis victims vitamins The controversial Church of Scientology has found itself once more under the media and legal spotlight. Two recent stories from the BBC have reported allegations of ‘homophobia’ by an ex-member, as well as a guilty verdict against Scientology, in...

Virtual Conference Report: Day Six (26 Oct, 2009)
on Oct 27, 2009 in General Adam Brown Auschwitz-Birkenau battle of the bands Brian V. Klocke communities Cultures Evil Glenn Muschert good governance holocaust hybrid Jews Moral Panics Peter Ludlow practice Primo Levi privilege Publishing research Second Life theory Vanessa Lafaye virtual winning comment By Paula Bowles Welcome to the second week of the Wiley-Blackwell Virtual Conference. The first day back has started with a keynote speech from Peter Ludlow (Northwestern University) entitled ‘Virtual Communities, Virtual Cultures, Virtual Governan...

NEWS: Sacred Space on Craigslist?
on Oct 26, 2009 in Religion in the News Brooklyn built environment church churches craigslist Faith Lutheran Church music religion religion and popular culture religious studies rock music sacred sacred space secular On Sunday October 25, 2009 Lutheran Church of the Messiah in Greenpoint, Brooklyn celebrated its 110th anniversary. As this special occasion approached, the church’s pastor, Reverend Griffin Thomas, found himself in a position that many other p...

Virtual Conference Report: Day Five (23 Oct, 2009)
on Oct 26, 2009 in General battle of the bands borders databases Dennis Mazur disclosure Duane Wegener Eileen Smith-Cavros fertility globalisation human research inequality obligations publish raw data reproduction scholars science Second Life technology Wiley-Blackwell by paulabowles The first week of the conference has come to an end, and the final day has included two exciting papers, as well as a publishing workshop. The first paper entitled ‘Full Disclosure of the “Raw Data” of Research on Humans: Citizen...

Virtual Conference Report: Day Four (22 Oct, 2009)
on Oct 26, 2009 in General battle of the bands borders databases Dennis Mazur disclosure Duane Wegener Eileen Smith-Cavros fertility globalisation human research inequality obligations publish raw data reproduction scholars science Second Life technology Wiley-Blackwell by paulabowles The first week of the conference has come to an end, and the final day has included two exciting papers, as well as a publishing workshop. The first paper entitled ‘Full Disclosure of the “Raw Data” of Research on Humans: Citizen...