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There are two events coming up this weekend in New York that readers of this blog might be interested in attending. Or at least that I’d want to attend. First, there’s the “Global Secularisms” conference at NYU, organized by Michael Rectenwald. Michael is a professor there in the Global Liberal Studies program, and an occasional contributor to Loren Goldner’s journal Insurgent Notes. A few days ago I republished his article “A Singular Deception.” It’s a two day conference with a long list of participants, which you can check out below.

Besides that, there’s also an event on “Isyan and the Turkish Left” at SVA in Manhattan hosted by the Platypus Affiliated Society, the organization of which I formerly a member. Though I resigned several months ago now, this still looks like it’ll be an interesting talk. Ivo Furman, a native of Istanbul currently living in London, will lead the discussion. You can read his article “Isyan: The participation of the radical left in the Gezi Park protests,” online. The event description is included below.

Global Secularisms

Friday & Saturday
November 15-16, 2013
NYU

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The Global Liberal Studies Program at NYU is hosting its inaugural international, academic conference on November 15 and 16 in New York. The focus of the conference is Global Secularisms.

In recent years, secularism has become a subject of pressing importance for philosophers, social scientists, activists, and theologians. Secularism received renewed scholarly attention with the publication of Charles Taylor’s important book A Secular Age in 2007.

Secularism is a vexed topic with global implications and consequences, affecting virtually every part of the world, every nation state and every culture. Questions related to secularism (and post-secularism) have become increasingly urgent and involve enormous real-world implications. From the emergence of the “new atheism,” to battles over “Shariah law” in Europe and the Middle East, to the reemergence of religion in the politics of India and Turkey, to battles over the authority of science in the United States, to struggles both intellectual and political over the shape of the public sphere, the question of secularism proves critical.

This conference returns to these and other related issues, in the light of recent events that are having serious effects on the way we live now, on the shape of global politics and culture for the immediate future.

Zaheeda Alibhai, Carleton University
Rochelle Almeida, New York University
Sara Anderson, Lamar University
Joyce Apsel, New York University, President, Institute for the Study of Genocide
Jennifer Bannan, University of Pittsburgh
Jonathan R. Belo, The School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London
Anya Bernstein, Harvard University
Gregorio Bettiza, European University Institute
Rajeev Bhargava, Centre for the study of Developing Societies
Pamela Brown, New York University
Didem Doganyilmaz, Project Researcher in UNESCO, Chair of Intercultural Dialogue in the Mediterranean (Tarragona/Spain)
Arolda Elbasani, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
Sean Eve, New York University
Bert Gasenbeek, University of Humanistic Studies in Utrecht, The Netherlands
Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Northwestern University
Philip Kitcher, Columbia University
Stijn Latré, University of Antwerp (Belgium), Department of Philosophy and Center Pieter
George Levine, Rutgers University (Emeritus)
Amy Logan, Independent Author
Patrick Loobuyck, UA Centre Pieter Gillis/Centre for Active Pluralism, Antwerp, Belgium
Farzad Mahootian, New York University
James McBride, New York University
Eddis Miller, Pace University
Ayse Seda Muftugil
Maryam Namazie, One Law For All
Roberta Newman, New York University
Elayne Oliphant, Brown University
Father Justin Pech, Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Heiligenkreuz
Mahaarum Kusuma Pertiwi, University of Oslo
Mitra Rastegar, New York University
Michael Rectenwald, New York University
Justin Reynolds, Columbia University
Robert Richards, The University of Chicago
Charles Richter, The George Washington University
Bruce Robbins, Columbia University
Laura Samponaro, New York University
Catherine Scott & Jonathan Scott, New York University
Vikash Singh, Rutgers University
Murat Somer, Koç University
Jolyon Baraka Thomas, Princeton University
Ozlem Uluc, Institute for Middle East Studies, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey
Andrew Ventimiglia, University of California, Davis
Michael Warner, Yale University
Chika Watanabe, Yale University
David Sloan Wilson, Binghamton University

conference website:
http://globalsecularisms.org

register at
https://www.nyu.edu/as/forms/ls-conference.html

conference chair: Michael Rectenwald
michael.rectenwald@nyu.edu

mailing address:
Liberal Studies/Global Liberal Studies
726 Broadway
6th Floor
New York, NY 10003

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Isyan and the Turkish Left

Saturday
November 15, 2013
SVA

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A talk by: Ivo Furman
Hosted by the Platypus Affiliated Society in NYC
Followed by an audience Q&A and open discussion

“İsyan and the Turkish Left” will explore the historical transformation of the Left in Turkey from the 1960s onward. The power struggles of various organizations will be discussed in terms of the political parties, state, and students involved in the historical fragmentation of the radical Left. This fragmentation has developed from a revolutionary student movement in the 60s, to ethnic separatism during the mid 90s, and social marginalization from 2000 onward. The 2013 protests pose an unprecedented opportunity for the radical Left to reach out to a post-1989 generation that has no direct recollection of communism. As a result, there is now the task of fostering a theory and praxis adequate to the demands of a generation who have just begun to be politicized. The question then arises as to whether or not the Gezi Park protests created an opportunity for the radical Left in Turkey to re-establish itself as a significant force in the international political situation.