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New film series “Screening Religion”

Next week, the KFG "Multiple Secularities - Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities" will expand its programme by launching a film series, "Screening Religion".

Once a month henceforth, we will screen international documentaries and movies rarely seen in German cinemas. Religion will feature in every film, be it as a catalyst for negotiation processes or a source of conflict, a marker of identity or a constitutive element of social background. Thus, we seek to screen films on religion whilst simultaneously screening for “religion” as a cinematic object.

Some of the films will be presented by their directors, others will be introduced by KFG scholars. We look forward to a curious, cosmopolitan audience to join us on a journey of discovery and in countless lively exchanges.

The series will kick off on Thursday, 23 May 2019 with the documentary short film “Shoot me” by the Iranian director Narges Kalhor. In her award-winning documentary from 2014 she portrays the exile Iranian rapper Shahin Najafi. When he released a song named after a Shiite prophet that deals with many of Iran’s political and social problems, he was confronted with death threats. A head money of 100,000 dollars was put on him, since radical Muslims saw in his song a blasphemy to be punished. Therefore, Shahin Najafi had to disappear. Kalhor searches for him to portray him and the closer she gets to him and his surroundings, the more often she encounters fear. People are afraid for their own lives or those of their families in Iran. Nobody wants to talk openly and she is strongly advised to stop the film project. Narges Kalhor herself has to face her inconvenient memories of suppression, hatred and anger of the past in Iran.

Time: 6 - 9 p.m.
Venue: Strohsack-Passage, room 5.55

CfA: 2 PhD Positions at University of Siegen

The departments of Protestant and Catholic Theology at the University of Siegen offer 2 PhD positions within the project Experiences with and Effects of Denominational-Cooperative Religious Education in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Both full time positions shall start as soon as possible and are limited to a period of 2,5 years. However, the positions can be taken part-time (at least 50%). Payment is made according to 13 TV-L.

Applications shall by made by 24 May.

Open Seminar: How Minority Religions React to the Law

On 1 June, the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College, London, will host the Seminar “How Minority Religions React to the Law”.

The seminar is organised in cooperation with the organisation inform, that aims at "providing information about minority religions and sects" of academic research into the public domain. Among others, it is funded by the British Government.

Registration is open from now on.