Aim: To foster a broad interdisciplinary dialogue about the field of interreligious dialogue
Under the title ‘Dialogue beyond Dialogue (DbeD),’ the KAICIID research department team aims to provide an interdisciplinary space for a dialogue between different forms of ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ vis-à-vis interreligious dialogue. The conference seeks to (a) bring together theoreticians and practitioners, in particular, in the field of interreligious dialogue (b) from various regions around the world, (c) who use different theories and methods in their work (in and off the field) (d) in order to further study the phenomenon of dialogue from different disciplinary perspectives (e) to be able to trigger new learning processes, and (f) to translate them into applied knowledge to be disseminated broadly.
Approach: Frame the conference using the ‘insider/outsider” ideal type
By borrowing the ideal type distinction between ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ - often used in such disciplines as Religious Studies, Anthropology and Sociology - the KAICIID Research Department Team wants to underline different, yet complementary, theories and methodologies that have been used in carrying out research on interreligious dialogue across numerous scientific disciplines. One way of organizing these approaches is to re-group them into two sets: 1) those that use a more empathic point of view (‘insiders’), themselves being active participants in normative and practical interreligious dialogue activities and debates on the topic; and 2) those that use more distanced point of view (‘outsiders’), approaching interreligious dialogue as a historical fact, a sociocultural phenomenon and/or a mental process. The use of this ‘insider/outsider’ ideal type as a means to frame this interdisciplinary conference aims to enhance our understandings of various aspects of interreligious dialogue activities, as well as to make better sense of this relatively new field of study.
Implementation: Foster dialogue across disciplines and kinds of engagement
The structure chosen for this conference aims to enhance dialogue among all participants, so that the notion of ‘dialogue’ is not only the topic of discussion but also the way deliberations are conducted. Three formats are used: 1) a few select larger-scale plenaries, including one public event in the KAICIID Hall of Dialogue; 2) smaller parallel panels that include two presenters followed by one respondent with more time than usual for Q&A; 3) as well as a final morning session devoted to collective in-depth thinking on future directions for collaborative research projects. Each participant is invited not only to present his/her own paper as an expert on dialogue, but also to discuss theories and methodologies of dialogue across disciplines and paradigms of research and praxis throughout the conference.
Results
This international interdisciplinary conference will result in the production of at least two books published by KAICIID in conjunction with an academic press. Additionally, the KAICIID research department team will distil a white paper from the various sessions, particularly the final morning one. The white paper will address the advances and challenges in the academic field of interreligious dialogue, as well as future potential directions for collaborative research. Finally, all participants will be given an opportunity to talk about their work, both research and applied (if applicable), to be included in a KAICIID series on Who’s Who in the field of interreligious dialogue. The conceptual character of this international conference aims that its results will serve for medium to long-range developments in the interdisciplinary field of interreligious dialogue.
