This conference will welcome faculty, graduate students, undergraduates, independent scholars, and professionals from around the eastern United States to Pitt’s campus to present research around the primary theme: “Globalizing the Human(ities).”

With this theme, the organizers hope to engage with questions of how interdisciplinary and historical humanities research, and especially the study of religion, can be conducted in an increasingly global age. What does it mean to be human, and to construct the human as an object of study, particularly in global perspective? How do individuals construct religious knowledges, ethics, and identities in such a context? How have religious communities responded to or engaged with globalizing cultural, economic, political, and social forces, as well as with local, regional, or national issues?

The study of religion is naturally interdisciplinary, and therefore this conference boasts involvement even at these early stages from many Pitt departments, faculty, and students, several local institutions, and multiple centers within the University. It will feature a number of panels over the course of the two-day event, including a keynote speaker and a concluding roundtable on incorporating global themes into humanities research agendas.

This event is also sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies. For more information, contact Linda Penkower at penkower@pitt.edu.