Wednesday, 15 October 2008
14.00 h Conference Reception
16.30 h Refreshments
17.15 h Welcome Address: Tibor Kiss, Vice-Rector for Structure and Finances, Bochum, Germany
17.30 h Introduction: Volkhard Krech, Comparative Religion, Bochum, Germany
18.00 h The Axial Age and the Rise of World Religions, Jan Assmann, Egyptology, Heidelberg, Germany
19.00 h Dinner
20.30 h Evening Programme: »An Audio-Visual Journey through the Parthian Age« (Script: Heinz Georg Held)
Thursday, 16 October 2008
09.00 h SECTION I: THE FORMATION OF THE GREAT RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS THROUGH INTER-RELIGIOUS CONTACT
(Chair: Christian Frevel, Old Testament Studies, Bochum, Germany)
Religious Formations and Intercultural Contacts in Early China, Victor H. Mair, Chinese Language and Literature, Philadelphia (PA), USA
Response, Michael Friedrich, Chinese Language and Culture, Hamburg, Germany
10.00 h Vedic Religion, Buddhism, and Hindu Religions, Patrick Olivelle, Sanskrit and Indian Religions, Austin (TX), USA
Response, Jens Schlieter, Religious Studies, Bern, Switzerland
11.00 h Coffee Break
11.30 h Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Guy G. Stroumsa, Comparative Religion, Jerusalem, Israel
Response, Sarah Stroumsa, Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies, Jerusalem, Israel
12.30 h Plenary Discussion
13.15 h Lunch
14.15 h SECTION II: CONTACT BETWEEN THE GREAT RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS DURING THEIR EXPANSION
(Chair: Nikolas Jaspert, Medieval History, Bochum, Germany)
The First Islamic Empire: The Reaction of the Jewish World to the Rise of Islam, Michael Lecker, Arabic Language and Literature, Jerusalem, Israel
Response, John Tolan, History, Nantes, France
15.15 h The Jesuit Mission to China: Its Consequences for the Religious Situation in Korea and for the Political Ideas in Europe, Eun-jeung Lee, Korean Studies, Berlin, Germany
Response, Michael Lackner, Sinology, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
16.15 h Coffee Break
16.45 h The Expansion of Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia, Stephen C. Berkwitz, Religious Studies, Springfield (MO), USA
Response, Sven Bretfeld, Comparative Religion, Bochum, Germany
17.45 h Plenary Discussion
18.30 h Dinner
19.30 h Inauguration of the Exhibition »Hellenistic Coins from the East« at Ruhr-University Kunstsammlungen organised by Peter Wick, New Testament, Bochum, Germany
Friday, 17 October 2008
09.00 h SECTION III: THE NOTION OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS SEMANTICS IN A CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
(Chair: Lucian Hölscher, Modern History, Bochum, Germany)
Troubles with Pluralism: Conceptualizing Religious Diversity outside the Box, Tomoko Masuzawa, History and Comparative Literature, Ann Arbor (MI), USA
Response, Aslam Syed, Philosophy of History, Islamabad, Pakistan
10.00 h The Notion of Religion and its Meaning for Writing the History of Chinese Religions, Robert Ford Campany, School of Religion, Los Angeles (CA), USA
Response, Russell T. McCutcheon, Religious Studies, Tuscaloosa (AL), USA
11.00 h Coffee Break
11.30 h Canon and Identity in Indian Esoteric Buddhism as the Intersection of Cultures, Ronald M. Davidson, Religious Studies, Fairfield (CT), USA
Response, Markus Zehnder, Old Testament Studies, Kristiansand, Norway
12.30 h Plenary Discussion
13.15 h Lunch
14.15 h SECTION IV: RELIGION IN THE AGE OF GLOBALISATION
(Chair: Marion Eggert, Korean Studies, Bochum, Germany)
Religion in a Globalized World, Peter Beyer, Religious Studies, Ottawa (ON), Canada
Response, Ian Reader, Japanese Studies, Manchester, Great Britain
15.15 h Religion, Secularization, and Sacralization, José Casanova, Sociology, Washington, DC, USA
Response, Reinhard Schulze, Islamic Studies, Bern, Switzerland
16.15 h Plenary Discussion
16.45 h Coffee Break
17.15 h ROUND TABLE: STUDYING DYNAMICS IN THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS. CONVERGENCES AND DIVERGENCES
(Chair: Volkhard Krech, Comparative Religion, Bochum, Germany)
Participants: Bettina Dennerlein (Islamic Studies, Hamburg, Germany), Peter Schalk (History of Religions, Uppsala, Sweden), Francesca Tarocco (Religions and Theology, Manchester, Great Britain), Veit Rosenberger (Ancient History, Erfurt, Germany), Boudewijn Walraven (Korean Studies, Leiden, Netherlands)
19.30 h End of the Conference