Friday - Sunday, May 1 - 3, 2009

Re-Describing the Sacred/Secular Divide: The Legal Story II

"For the walls collapse and the spaces which were once distinct intermingle
and penetrate each other, as in a labyrinthine architecture of light."
(Carl Schmitt, Political Theology II)

This conference brings together scholars of law, humanities and the social sciences for a sustained conversation regarding contemporary relations between law and religion. Public policy in this area is being reconsidered at every level of government in many parts of the world, and the boundaries between the "sacred" and the "secular" seem very much in play in a variety of contexts and traditions. The conference seeks to diagnose and re-describe our current environment and to deepen understanding of the dynamics connecting law and religion. [More ...]

Program

[Download pdf copy of program here]

Friday, May 1, 2009
509 O'Brian Hall, University at Buffalo Law School

9:00 - 9:30 am Registration, coffee and pastries

9:30 - 10:00 am

Welcome by Rebecca French, Director, Baldy Center for Law & Social Policy, University at Buffalo Law School
Introduction by Winnifred Sullivan, University at Buffalo Law School

10:00 am – 12:00 noon
Panel I: Genealogy of the Legal Secular

Chair: Mateo Taussig-Rubbo, University at Buffalo Law School
Rachel Weil, History, Cornell University
"Allegiance, Religion and Secularization in the English Revolution of 1688" [Read Abstract]
Tomoko Masuzawa, History, Comparative Literature, University of Michigan
"Instituting the Academic Secular: the Heresy Trial of W. Robertson Smith (1876-1881) and the Advent of Biblical Studies" [Read Abstract]
Jakob de Roover, Comparative Sciences of Culture, University of Ghent; visiting at Comparative Liberatures, University at Buffalo
"Secular Law and the Realm of Idolatry" [Read Abstract]
Respondent: Antoni Abad i Ninet, Legal Theory, Filosofia Teorčtica i Pràctica, Universitat de Barcelona; Visiting at University at Buffalo Law School

12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch

1:00– 3:00 pm
Panel II: Law and Political Theology

Chair: Winnifred Sullivan, University at Buffalo Law School
Paul Kahn, Yale Law School
"Why Political Theology Again" [Read Abstract]
Robert Yelle, History, University of Memphis
"Moses' Veil: Secularization as Christian Myth" [Read Abstract]
Leonard Kaplan, Law, University of Wisconsin
"The Political as Prior: Arendt, Schmitt and Strauss" [Read Abstract]
Bruce Rosenstock, Religious Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana
"Sovereign Impunity: The Theologico-Political Horizon of the International Criminal Court" [Read Abstract]
Respondent: Frederick Rosén, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

3:00-3:30 pm Coffee break

3:30- 5:00 pm
Panel III: Secular Law and Religion: Encounters

Chair: Robert Yelle, History, University of Memphis
Rebecca French, University at Buffalo Law School
"With God in My Briefcase" [Read Abstract]
Tim Jensen, Institute of Philosophy, Education, and the Study of Religions, University of Southern Denmark
"When is a Knife a Knife, and Religion Religion, - and Who Decides?" [Read Abstract]
Stephanie Philips, University at Buffalo Law School
"Liberal Protestant Theology as "Secular" Legal Principle: Intolerance of Intolerance in the Unitarian Controversy and Contemporary Politics" [Read Abstract]
Respondent: Kenneth Ehrenberg, Philosophy, University at Buffalo

Saturday, May 2, 2009
Saturn Club, 977 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo

9:30 am Coffee and pastries

10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Panel IV: Formations of the Secular 1

Chair: Mateo Taussig-Rubbo, University at Buffalo Law School
Hussein Agrama, Anthropology, University of Chicago
"Secularism, Sovereignty, Indeterminacy: Is Egypt a Secular or a Religious State?" [Read Abstract]
Mary Anne Case, Law, University of Chicago
"Why Evangelical Protestants are Right When They Say that State Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages Threatens Their Marriages and What the Law Should Do About It" [Read Abstract]
David Engel, University at Buffalo Law School
"Thai Customary Law of Injuries and the Sacred-Secular Divide" [Read Abstract]
Respondent: Noah Salomon, University of Chicago Divinity School

12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch

1:00 – 2:30 pm
Panel V: Formations of the Secular 2

Chair: Winnifred Sullivan, University at Buffalo Law School
Greg Johnson, Religious Studies, University of Colorado
"Courting Culture: Unexpected Relationships between Religion and Law in Contemporary Hawai'i" [Read Abstract]
John Henry Schlegel, University at Buffalo Law School
"An Oblique Perspective, Perhaps" [Read Abstract]
Markus Dressler, Sociology, Istanbul Technical University
"Secular Law, Laicism and the Issue of Religious Difference in Turkey" [Read Abstract]
Respondent: Frank Reynolds, History of Religions and Buddhist Studies, University of Chicago Divinity School

2:30-3:00 pm Coffee break

3:00 - 5:00 pm
Panel VI: Sacrifice

Chair: Frederick Rosén, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University
Mateo Taussig-Rubbo, University at Buffalo Law School
"Sacred Property: Searching for Value in the Rubble of 9/11" [Read Abstract]
Banu Bargu, Political Science, New School for Social Research [Read Abstract]
"Stasiology: Political Theology and the Figure of the Sacrificial Enemy"
Thomas Blom Hansen, Sociology & Anthropology, University of Amsterdam
"Cool Passion. The Political Theology of Modern Conviction" [Read Abstract]
Jonathan Sheehan, History, University of California, Berkeley
"Assenting to the Law: Sacrifice and Punishment at the Dawn of Secularism" [Read Abstract]
Respondent: Ramya Sreenivasan, History, University at Buffalo

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Sunday morning wrap up session for presenters and respondents only.

Papers and Abstracts

Abstracts are available here. Conference papers are available only to presenters and repondents and are password protected.

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Organizers

Winnifred Sullivan, Law, University at Buffalo, SUNY
Robert Yelle, History, University of Memphis
Mateo Taussig-Rubbo, Law, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Registration

Registration is open for both Friday and Saturday, May 1 and 2. Register for the conference by sending your name, address (including institutional affiliation), email address, and telephone number to Anita Mazurek at the Baldy Center at amazurek@buffalo.edu. Indicate whether you will attend on Friday, Saturday, or both days. There is no registration fee, but registration is required as space is limited. Abstracts are publicly available here, but papers are only available to presenters and respondents.

Accommodations

Conference presenters and respondents are staying at the Holiday Inn Buffalo-Downtown, 620 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202. Tel: (716) 886-2121.

 

Baldy Center For Law & Social Policy
511 O'Brian Hall, University at Buffalo Law School
Buffalo, NY 14260
T: (716) 645-2102