AASR Bulletin 35 - The African Association for the Study of Religions

AASR BULLETIN 35 (NOVEMBER 2011)
www.a-asr.org
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Lilian Dube
AASR-NA Representative
AASR-NA MEETINGS
SAN FRANCISCO
19-20 NOVEMBER 2011
AASR-North America met twice during the AAR/SBL Annual Meetings at San Francisco,
CA, USA, from 19 to 22nd November 2011.
The first meeting, with AAR (American Academy of Religion) was held on November
19, 2011, from 1 to 2.30 p.m. It was chaired by Elias Bongmba, AASR President.
Two papers were read and discussed. The first was by Rachel Schneider Vlachos
(Rice University). Its title was: ‘“There is Something in Me”: Narratives of Lesbian and
Transgender Sangomas in Contemporary South Africa’. The second paper, by Pascal
Bokar Thiam (University of San Francisco), dealt with: ‘African Music: How West African
Standard of Aesthetics in Music and Religion Helped Shape the American Gospel
Revolution from the “Negro Spirituals”’. Dr. Bolaji Olukemi Bateye (Obafemi Awolowo
University) acted as respondent to these two papers.
The second meeting was held with both SBL and AAR on November 20, from 4 to
5.30 p.m. It was chaired by Prof. Althea Spencer-Miller. Two papers were read and discussed
in it. The first, by Celucien L. Joseph (University of Texas at Dallas), was entitled
‘Toward a Senghorian Negritude and African Postcolonial Theology’. The second
was by Mutombo Nkulu-N'Sengha (California State University Northridge). He discussed
‘Biblical Foundation for the Recognition of African Traditional Religions: Prolegomenon
for an Interreligious Dialogue’.
This session was followed, at 5.30 p.m., by an AASR-NA Business Meeting for 45
minutes, in which Elias Bongmba set out the new proposals the AASR Executive has
developed in the past few months by.
After that meeting, in keeping with the tradition of breaking bread together, AASR-
NA members attending gathered for a dinner at Savanna Jazz (2937 Mission Street, San
Francisco, CA 94110) from 6.30 to 8.30 p.m., enjoying ‘a fusion of French, Caribbean
and West African dishes’.
AASR Bulletin 36 (May 2012) will have a further report on these two meetings and
the AASR-NA Business Meeting.