Journeys of Expressions V: Tourism and the Roots/Routes of Religious Festivity

Journeys of Expressions V: Tourism and the Roots/Routes of Religious Festivity

Belfast, Northern-Ireland, 13-15 March 2006

This is a call for papers for JOURNEYS OF EXPRESSIONS V: TOURISM AND THE ROOTS/ROUTES OF RELIGIOUS FESTIVITY which will take place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 13th to 15th March 2006. Regularly updated information and a registration form can be found at our website www.tourism-culture.com .



In this, the fifth of our continuing conference series exploring the multi-faceted relationships between tourism and festivals, Journeys of Expression aims to discuss touristic practices in relation to forms of traditional and contemporary religious festivity. The conference seeks to examine the meanings and roots of religious festivity within the context of tourism and related studies, the ways by which tourists arrive at, and consume religious festivity, and the ways in which touristic practice encounters, and in some instances shapes, the religious. In a world apparently struggling with the boundaries of 'the religious', we are interested in the social practice of tourism, as a spatial displacement of the human body creating, a priori, a liminal space for mental and physical recreation. Situating this approach within the field of tourism, we hope, permits to analyse important shifts and transformations of traditional liturgical practices, manifested in particular by the veneration of new, now touristic forms of 'sacred' objects, spaces and elements ('nature', 'culture', 'art', 'sun', 'water', etc.). Within the contemporary transnationalised world how do we make sense of the religious - its symbolic expression, its politicisation etc. - through both festivity and tourism? How do festivals mobilise religious symbols to tell stories and make visible particular representations of the self? What are the festive roles attributed to, or taken by tourists and how are these integrated with forms of festive exchange and ritual? And, how can a better understanding of tourism-festival relationships shape agendas for 'intercultural dialogue' and peace as articulated by international organisations such as UNESCO.

Indicative themes of the conference include:

- Defining Religious Festivity: Genesis, Genealogy and Displacement
- Tourism, Pilgrimage and Travel Liturgies: Variations and Continuity of the 'Sacred Journey' in the Contemporary World
- Tourism and Transnational Festival Spaces: Festive Ostentation, Sacrifice, Transgression and Exchange in the Contemporary World
- Festive Economics / Politics of Making Visible: Religious Symbols, Discourse and the Formulation of Social Spaces / Boundaries in the Contemporary World
- Material Diasporas: Tourism Souvenirs and Meanings
- Tourism, Intersubjective Encounters and Power Relations in Religious Festivals
- The Continuity / End of War and Conflict: From Paradigms of Clash to Paradigms of Peace?

The conference is designed to be a discussion led small scale event hosting approximately 50 international delegates. In the tradition of the Journeys of Expression series, we wish to animate an interdisciplinary debate on the suggested themes and welcome paper proposals from academics from various disciplinary backgrounds including: tourism studies, anthropology, cultural studies, cultural geography, religious studies, theology, philosophy, performance studies, cultural economics, politics, etc. If you wish to submit a paper proposal, please send a 300-word abstract with full address and institutional affiliation details as an electronic file to Daniela Carl (d.carl@shu.ac.uk). We will start reviewing abstracts on 10th January 2006 and accept late abstract till the end of January. Please find regularly updated information regarding this conference, registration procedures and (at a later stage) a programme at our website www.tourism-culture.com .