Date posted: February 3, 2015

When: Thursday, April 9, 2015 – 8:00am
Where: Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, 830 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30314

We are excited to announce that together with the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, we are organizing a two-day conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Fostering Dialogues in Education, Ethics and Non-Violent Peacebuilding: Global, Social and Religious Movements Today will be the focus of the conference from April 9-10, 2015 at the MLK International Chapel at Morehouse.

Peacebuilders Conference aims to bring together scholars and practitioners who would provide insights that focus on people-to-people relationships, rather than political processes, that further non-violent social change in societies. We are particularly interested to create a venue to discuss how peace in today’s turbulent world can be achieved through informal, apolitical, educational, and grassroots mechanisms. The conference will feature a keynote plenary session by a major scholar in the field, noted for his/her scholarship and expertise on the chosen theme of this conference. The editorial board, (listed below), of the conference will select the papers chosen for presentation. The conference will result, hopefully, in the publication of an edited volume, or as a special issue in an academic peer-reviewed journal, edited by Richard Penaskovic, Emeritus Professor of Religion at Auburn University and Mustafa Sahin, Director of Academic Affairs at the Atlantic Institute.

Possible Panel and Paper Topics:

Scholars and researchers are invited to submit proposals related to – but not limited to – the following topics. Please note that there are no geographical limitations for the cases and themes covered in this conference.

A. Education and Society: Education and social issues in regard to social and religious movements involving poverty, gender (Women) and the environment

B. Ethics and Morality: Debates on ethics and morality and their sources in social and religious traditions

C. Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution: Peacebuilding and Relief Activities – cases and themes

D. General Themes: Ideas and Legacies of such notables as Gandhi, King, Ikeda, and Gulen. Comparisons between civic and social movements

Cost

There is no registration fee for the conference. Participants should cover their own travel and accommodation expenses. Conference organizers will provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner for conference panelists and their local transportation in Atlanta. The Atlantic Institute has a limited amount of funding, but will cover travel and hotel costs for select panelists based on need. Please contact the Atlantic Institute for grant requests.

Panel Formats

We envision this conference to have three panelists per panel, along with a chair and discussant. Panelists can make their presentations around a central theme. Each presentation will be 15-20 minutes in length.

Selection Criteria

Since the conference expects to address a broad range of topics while the number of participants has to be limited, writers submitting abstracts are requested to bear in mind the need to ensure that their language is technical only where absolutely necessary and intelligible to non-specialists and specialists in disciplines other than their own; present clear, coherent arguments in accordance with the usual standards and format for publishable work.

Submission Procedure

Abstracts of proposed papers due by January 15, 2015 to [email protected] and Mustafa Sahin ([email protected]) and Richard Penaskovic ([email protected]). Authors must indicate if audio-visual equipment may be required in the presentation of their paper and relevant technical specifications. The abstracts submitted will be reviewed and selection made by the Editorial Board in light of the criteria set out above. The decision of the Board is final.

Full papers should be of the following description:

No less than 3,000 words and no more than 5,000 words (excluding bibliographies) containing a bibliography at the end of the paper within the same Word document, including references where necessary and page numbers. Use the author-date method of citation as found in The Chicago Manual of Style’s 15th edition. Instead of footnotes or endnotes, place an alphabetical list of Works Cited at the end of the article and referred in the text in parenthesis, e.g., Sahin 2014, 99-100. Use gender neutral, non- sexist language throughout the text.

Upon submission, each paper will be assigned to one editor on the board who will classify the paper as one of the following:

• Accepted – No Recommendations. This means the paper is accepted without any recommendations.
• Accepted – See Recommendations. This means the paper is accepted. However, the author should make the suggested recommendations.
• Conditional Acceptance – See Recommendations. This means the paper is acceptable provided the stated recommendations are taken into account and the paper is revised accordingly. Papers classed as such will be provided with a second deadline, upon which the assigned editor will review the paper for the second time and decide either to accept or decline the paper.
• Not Accepted: If the paper is classed as ‘Not Accepted,’ then the paper will not be included at the conference and no further action need be taken by the author.

Authors of accepted papers are to submit their final papers by no later than 1 April 2015.

More information is available on the conference website at www.peacebuildersconference.org. Please feel free to share this conference within your network.

Source: Atlantic Institute

Tags: North America | Peacebuilding | USA |