Podcast: Nonreligion and War Studies

Date of Publication: 23/11/2018 Description: It is clear that religion is an important factor to consider when examining many conflicts around the world, but what about nonreligion? Last July, Dr. Stacey Gutkowski, senior lecturer in the DWS and Co-Director of Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN), convened the annual NSRN conference, ‘World views in Worldview’, at KCL. This conference sought to drive further dialogue between scholars of critical religious, secular and nonreligion studies and showcase rich, empirical fieldwork from case studies across the world. In brining nonreligion and secular studies to the DWS, Dr Gutkowski argues that in order to understand conflict, one needs to not only look at individual experiences but also at what religious and nonreligious resources individuals draw on to help inform their ethical understandings and perceptions of the world. In this special edition of the War Studies Podcast, Dr. Gutkowski will introduce us to the NSRN, draw fascinating linkages between the studies of nonreligion and conflict that are highlighted in her research and lead us into the 2018 NSRN Annual Lecture, 'Secular Powers and Heretic Undercurrents', by Samuli Schielke, which will follow directly after our interview. Bio: - Dr Stacey Gutkowski is a Senior Lecturer in Conflict Studies and Deputy Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Divided Societies at King’s College London. Prior to joining King’s she was an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of International Relations, University of Sussex; a Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, Arizona State University; and a Research Associate with the Religion and Ethics in the Making of War and Peace Programme, University of Edinburgh. - Samuli Schielke is a Research Fellow at the Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin. His research interests include Islam, festive culture, subjectivity and morality, and migration and aspiration in Egypt. ______________________________________________ For more news and information on upcoming events please visit our website at kcl.ac.uk/warstudies.