'Belief' in Cultural Relations
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Kent
Department Name: Sch of European Culture and Languages
Abstract
The Fellowship's aim is to explore how belief is being used as a major principle in international cultural relations and consider its impact for people and policy. This relates to intercultural dialogue and many issues that affect everyday lives: language skills, migration, integration, diversity, and openness in society. The project will consider whether and how 'belief' can be developed as a core value in contemporary cultural relations, and how important it might be in developing a new approach to future intercultural dialogue activities and projects.
The Fellowship is held by Dr Abby Day, an internationally recognised and respected social anthropologist, award-winning researcher and popular key-note speaker and guest lecturer at academic conferences and universities worldwide. She is Chair of the Sociology of Religion study group within the British Sociological Association and a member of the American Anthropology Association, American Association of Geographers, British Association for the Study of Religions, British Sociological Association; International Society for the Sociology of Religion; and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.
Her recent research developing a wider understanding of belief in cross-cultural contexts was published in September by one of the world's most respected publishers, Oxford University Press. Dr Day holds research posts at the University of Kent and University of Sussex.
The Fellow's initial focus will be to review key academic articles, news reports, government publications and other material to identify some of the misconceptions that can block engagement with other cultures, perspectives or world views. The Fellow will then identify common meanings and uses of the term 'belief' as a religious and non-religious term and consider how it fits within what some describe as a recent rise in religiosity and a so-called 'clash of civilisations'. Her background as a well-published and funded researcher gives her the experience and networks to conduct such reviews systematically, broadly, creatively and in depth.
The Fellow will work with British Council and AHRC staff in the UK and in, particularly, North Africa and the Near East to learn more about the issues of belief on the ground and how those help or impede intercultural dialogue. By sharing research skills and filling knowledge gaps, the Fellow will help staff identify and respond to debates. A series of staff training and engagement events will result in localised materials than can help staff communicate better with media and key decision makers and influential members of the public. The Fellow is an experienced facilitator and her research record demonstrates her ability to engage with and drawn on people's formal and informal knowledge and experience.
Collaboration with international academic networks and conference/seminars will widen the debate and analysis to address key concepts about belief, culture, and identity in the context of wider discussions on religion, pluralism, and community. The Fellow is an experienced conference/seminar organiser and editor of journal and book publications.
The Fellowship is held by Dr Abby Day, an internationally recognised and respected social anthropologist, award-winning researcher and popular key-note speaker and guest lecturer at academic conferences and universities worldwide. She is Chair of the Sociology of Religion study group within the British Sociological Association and a member of the American Anthropology Association, American Association of Geographers, British Association for the Study of Religions, British Sociological Association; International Society for the Sociology of Religion; and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.
Her recent research developing a wider understanding of belief in cross-cultural contexts was published in September by one of the world's most respected publishers, Oxford University Press. Dr Day holds research posts at the University of Kent and University of Sussex.
The Fellow's initial focus will be to review key academic articles, news reports, government publications and other material to identify some of the misconceptions that can block engagement with other cultures, perspectives or world views. The Fellow will then identify common meanings and uses of the term 'belief' as a religious and non-religious term and consider how it fits within what some describe as a recent rise in religiosity and a so-called 'clash of civilisations'. Her background as a well-published and funded researcher gives her the experience and networks to conduct such reviews systematically, broadly, creatively and in depth.
The Fellow will work with British Council and AHRC staff in the UK and in, particularly, North Africa and the Near East to learn more about the issues of belief on the ground and how those help or impede intercultural dialogue. By sharing research skills and filling knowledge gaps, the Fellow will help staff identify and respond to debates. A series of staff training and engagement events will result in localised materials than can help staff communicate better with media and key decision makers and influential members of the public. The Fellow is an experienced facilitator and her research record demonstrates her ability to engage with and drawn on people's formal and informal knowledge and experience.
Collaboration with international academic networks and conference/seminars will widen the debate and analysis to address key concepts about belief, culture, and identity in the context of wider discussions on religion, pluralism, and community. The Fellow is an experienced conference/seminar organiser and editor of journal and book publications.
Planned Impact
1. Who will benefit from the project.
The Project will impact on people inside and outside academia. Stakeholders include a) British Council Staff b) AHRC staff c) wider stakeholders including diplomats, journalists, charities, business leaders, government officials, and galleries and museums interested in representations of beliefs, identities and cultures d) citizens who may not be visibly connected to professional, government or academic networks but who benefit and suffer from societal relationships. These would especially concern people from sectors perceived to be 'problematic', for example, young people, women, minorities, immigrants, asylum seekers; e) Academics: students, teachers, researchers.
2. How they will benefit from the Fellowship and
3. how that engagement will be managed:
a) British Council staff: Staff are responsible for carrying out the strategic objectives of the Council that involve building trust and good relationships with citizens worldwide. The Fellowship will impact on their work publications, reports and other materials that increase background awareness and insights into issues involving belief, dialogue and intercultural relations. The Fellow will engage with staff both as users and beneficiaries through frequent formal and informal on-site contact during the Fellowship and will involve staff through co-designing and participating in the specific skill-building and knowledge exchange events. Staff will act as co-hosts, presenters and participants at the International academic/practitioner symposium, which will strengthen staff's networks and give them a sustainable collaborate resource after the Fellowship ends.
b) AHRC staff: The Project will impact on staff specifically involved in ensuring the AHRC achieves its strategic aims in the AHRC Delivery Plan objective of contributing to "cultural diplomacy" and also staff developing AHRC Translating Cultures programme. This will be achieved through discussions during the Fellow's monthly visits to the Swindon offices and involvement with staff on activities as described above to help them refine skills and develop sustainable networks.
c) Wider Stakeholders: Practitioners in related NGOs, charities, media, government, galleries, museums, and businesses, together with international policy-makers and opinion leaders in related fields will benefit from access to materials produced in relation to the above activities, including reports, guidance/briefing papers and training notes. Further, an International academic/practitioner symposium
co-hosted and funded by the University of Kent will offer participation and dialogue amongst academics and practitioners.
d) People from sectors perceived to be problematic, for example, young people, women, minorities, immigrants, and asylum seekers will benefit from improved communications in media and education discourse that affect public opinion, and through policies and practices that are enriched by Fellowship reports, events, and publications.
e) Academic beneficiaries are primarily researchers, students and teachers who share concerns and research interests about culturally, historically embedded and contested terms such as religion, belief, culture, and identity. They will primarily but not exclusively be in anthropology, cultural studies, visual culture, geography, history, psychology, and sociology. They will benefit through the Fellow's publications and their own participation and publication in the International academic/practitioner symposium co-hosted and funded by the University of Kent Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society.
The above activities will have immediate and long-term impact.
The Project will impact on people inside and outside academia. Stakeholders include a) British Council Staff b) AHRC staff c) wider stakeholders including diplomats, journalists, charities, business leaders, government officials, and galleries and museums interested in representations of beliefs, identities and cultures d) citizens who may not be visibly connected to professional, government or academic networks but who benefit and suffer from societal relationships. These would especially concern people from sectors perceived to be 'problematic', for example, young people, women, minorities, immigrants, asylum seekers; e) Academics: students, teachers, researchers.
2. How they will benefit from the Fellowship and
3. how that engagement will be managed:
a) British Council staff: Staff are responsible for carrying out the strategic objectives of the Council that involve building trust and good relationships with citizens worldwide. The Fellowship will impact on their work publications, reports and other materials that increase background awareness and insights into issues involving belief, dialogue and intercultural relations. The Fellow will engage with staff both as users and beneficiaries through frequent formal and informal on-site contact during the Fellowship and will involve staff through co-designing and participating in the specific skill-building and knowledge exchange events. Staff will act as co-hosts, presenters and participants at the International academic/practitioner symposium, which will strengthen staff's networks and give them a sustainable collaborate resource after the Fellowship ends.
b) AHRC staff: The Project will impact on staff specifically involved in ensuring the AHRC achieves its strategic aims in the AHRC Delivery Plan objective of contributing to "cultural diplomacy" and also staff developing AHRC Translating Cultures programme. This will be achieved through discussions during the Fellow's monthly visits to the Swindon offices and involvement with staff on activities as described above to help them refine skills and develop sustainable networks.
c) Wider Stakeholders: Practitioners in related NGOs, charities, media, government, galleries, museums, and businesses, together with international policy-makers and opinion leaders in related fields will benefit from access to materials produced in relation to the above activities, including reports, guidance/briefing papers and training notes. Further, an International academic/practitioner symposium
co-hosted and funded by the University of Kent will offer participation and dialogue amongst academics and practitioners.
d) People from sectors perceived to be problematic, for example, young people, women, minorities, immigrants, and asylum seekers will benefit from improved communications in media and education discourse that affect public opinion, and through policies and practices that are enriched by Fellowship reports, events, and publications.
e) Academic beneficiaries are primarily researchers, students and teachers who share concerns and research interests about culturally, historically embedded and contested terms such as religion, belief, culture, and identity. They will primarily but not exclusively be in anthropology, cultural studies, visual culture, geography, history, psychology, and sociology. They will benefit through the Fellow's publications and their own participation and publication in the International academic/practitioner symposium co-hosted and funded by the University of Kent Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society.
The above activities will have immediate and long-term impact.
Publications
Day, Abby; Vincett, Giselle; Cotter, Christopher R.
(2013)
Social Identities Between the Sacred and the Secular
| Description | The Fellow worked with British Council and AHRC staff from the UK, Egypt, Tunisia, and Hong Kong to share skills and help staff to learn more about the issues of belief on the ground and how those help or impede intercultural dialogue. By sharing research skills and filling knowledge gaps, the Fellow helped staff identify and respond to debates. A series of staff training and engagement events resulted in knowledge exchange, skills transfer and the creation of materials than can help staff communicate better. Some main examples: - Working at individual and corporate levels to share skills resulted with skills transfers relating to public dialogue: - a design for an international academic/practitioner symposium was tested and found successful. The design was co-developed with British Council staff to promote open and sincere dialogue amongst people from different cultural (religious, national and ethnic) backgrounds. This can be replicated in the future. - individuals in the UK, Egypt and Tunisia personally received mentoring and coaching regarding further education and related skills in writing about and gaining funding for their research and activities. - Internal British Council discussion re web site - Advisory meetings with British Council consultant developing funding proposal (resulting in successful funding) - Meeting with British Council New York staff to discuss programmes and developing international network - Collaboration - meetings and discussions - with Fern Elsdon Baker and her Leeds University network on developing AHRC project Science Communication project (successful). - Academic presentations by the Fellow on the nature of belief were shared with key staff. - A network has been created for British Council staff in the UK, Tunisia and Egypt to engage with scholars in the UK and the United States. - Further informal dissemination regarding British Council work was made through frequent attendances and discussion at my own network events, Attendance at various UK based conferences/symposiums focusing on inter-cultural relations, faith relations: London School of Economics; Goldsmiths; AHRC/ESRC Religion & Society Programme events; Oxford University. - - Two academic chapters on belief in cultural relations will be published in the next 12-24 months and will be made available to the British Council. - The Fellow began collaboration which is continuing in an effort to involve the British Council in a future funded research project. The Fellow worked with British Council and AHRC staff from the UK, Egypt, Tunisia, and Hong Kong to share skills and help staff to learn more about the issues of belief on the ground and how those help or impede intercultural dialogue. By sharing research skills and filling knowledge gaps, the Fellow helped staff identify and respond to debates. A series of staff training and engagement events resulted in knowledge exchange, skills transfer and the creation of materials than can help staff communicate better. Some main examples: - Working at individual and corporate levels to share skills resulted with skills transfers relating to public dialogue: - a design for an international academic/practitioner symposium was tested and found successful. The design was co-developed with British Council staff to promote open and sincere dialogue amongst people from different cultural (religious, national and ethnic) backgrounds. This can be replicated in the future. - individuals in the UK, Egypt and Tunisia personally received mentoring and coaching regarding further education and related skills in writing about and gaining funding for their research and activities. - Internal British Council discussion re web site - Advisory meetings with British Council consultant developing funding proposal (resulting in successful funding) - Meeting with British Council New York staff to discuss programmes and developing international network - Collaboration - meetings and discussions - with Fern Elsdon Baker and her Leeds University network on developing AHRC project Science Communication project (successful). - Academic presentations by the Fellow on the nature of belief were shared with key staff. - A network has been created for British Council staff in the UK, Tunisia and Egypt to engage with scholars in the UK and the United States. - Further informal dissemination regarding British Council work was made through frequent attendances and discussion at my own network events, Attendance at various UK based conferences/symposiums focusing on inter-cultural relations, faith relations: London School of Economics; Goldsmiths; AHRC/ESRC Religion & Society Programme events; Oxford University. - - Two academic chapters on belief in cultural relations will be published in the next 12-24 months and will be made available to the British Council. - The Fellow began collaboration which is continuing in an effort to involve the British Council in a future funded research project. |
| Exploitation Route | International organisations working in pluralistic societies may find this work useful in conflict management, |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice |