*International Summer School "Religion, AIDS, and Social Activism in Africa"
(5-9 July, 2010)*

*Second and Final Call for Papers*
For a long period religion was relatively marginal in inspiring or contributing
to AIDS activism in most African countries. While scholars of religion in
Africa have repeatedly pointed to the important public roles religion played in
the transitions to democracy, the role of religious organizations and
communities on AIDS seems less clear. Some have been quite active since early
days of the epidemic, while others have seemed reluctant to engage with AIDS.
This situation has changed dramatically over the past ten years. Yet despite
scholarship on AIDS activism, and scholarship on religion and AIDS, these two
arenas of inquiry have not been explicitly linked. The proposed summer school
will challenge participants to examine ways that religion, religious identity,
and religious organizations engage in activism.
The summer school provides opportunities to explore new connections between
activism, AIDS, and religion in Africa. The school will explore these
interrelations with regard to the following issues:
+ Religion and Resource Mobilization: Strategies and Conflicts+ Religion and
the frames of social activism+ Religious Activism and Political Opportunities+
Religion, AIDS and Collective Identities
The summer school wishes to address these questions from an interdisciplinary
perspective that includes political science, anthropology, sociology, religious
studies, and other related fields. More specifically, the interface of religion
and AIDS activism provides unique opportunities to integrate the scholarship on
religion and cultural change with perspectives from social movement research
and transnationalism.
*Logistics of the Summer School*
The summer school will be sponsored by the International Research Network on
Religion and AIDS in Africa and hosted by the Working Group on Social and
Political Aspects of AIDS in Uganda at Makerere University. It will be held
from 5-9 July, 2010 in Uganda. Sessions will involve a combination of in-depth
discussions with scholarly experts about their work on AIDS, religion, and
activism; sessions in which participants present their own work for discussion;
and interactions with religious activists and organizations involved on these
issues.

*Funding for travel and accommodation will be covered for selected
participants. However, if scholars' and students' academic work meets the
objectives of the summer school they might be invited as well even if they are
not selected for funding. Therefore, we encourage interested individuals to
work to securing their own funding.*

Applicants for participation in the summer school should send the following to
Amy Patterson (apatters@calvin.edu) and Marian Burchardt
(marian.burchardt@unibayreuth.de) by JANUARY 15, 2010:
(1) Current curriculum vitae(2) 1 page (single spaced) statement about how the
candidate's research agenda fits within the above outlined themes. The
statement should clearly link the applicants' current and/or future research
endeavors to one or more of the themes. It also should make clear the
anticipated benefits of participation for the candidates, his/her personal
scholarship, and, if applicable, his/her hostacademic institution.(3) A short
(1 paragraph) abstract of work to be presented at the conference(4) An estimate
of travel costs to Uganda. (Successful applicants may not have all of such
costs covered, but the conveners need estimates to make financial plans.)

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