The Fountain,
a bimonthly magazine of scientific and spiritual thought, and University of the Punjab, are
pleased to announce “Ideal Human & Ideal Society in the Thoughts M.Fethullah Gülen,” an international conference organized in cooperation with
the Rumi Forum, Government of Punjab, PakTurk International Cag Educational Foundation, Punjab Education Department,
Journalists and Writers Foundation, and Higher Education Commission.
Every problem we face in our lives, be
it at the individual level or affecting the wider society, has its roots in the
human condition. Whether it is the downfall in finance in the US and Europe or
lack of basic human needs in Africa, whether it is growing rates of divorce or
difficulties in urban life, all challenges start from the deviations in
individuals which are reflected proportionately in the family, neighborhood,
and the entire nation. Thus, we believe, solutions have to be sought where the
problems start.
This conference aims to explore the
model of ideal human and ideal society that have found their definitions in the
thoughts and practice of M. Fethullah Gülen, a prominent Turkish scholar and prolific author.
A pioneer of positive action that contributes to social welfare and peace in
Turkey and worldwide through education, Gülen has had great influence on young
people with his reviving interpretations of faith and tradition according to
the conditions of the modern era and with his global activities in promoting
education as an instrument of intercultural and inter-religious interaction with
a vision for the future that is an inspirational hope, where peace and justice
are maintained in the world.
He has inspired an immense civil
society movement, known as “Hizmet Movement” in Turkey that since the late
1960s has evolved and grown to encompass many facets of social life. This
movement of voluntary people, who has put forth their combined effort to
promote civilized and universal values at home and worldwide, is trying to act
as a bridge in realizing unity in diversity, synergy, social innovation,
interaction and dialogue between the members of different cultures and
civilizations.
A number of questions come to mind
regarding the relation of ideal human and ideal society in the thoughts of M.
Fethullah Gülen:
- Who is the Turkish Muslim scholar M.
Fethullah Gülen and where does he fit into a template of modern and post-modern
Muslim and global change initiator?
- What elements of his teaching appear to be
most fundamental in animating the movement that has contributed to human and
social welfare most dominantly in the fields of education, business, dialogue,
media and charity organizations?
- What can be extracted as case studies from
Gülen’s and the Hizmet Movement’s conduct as philosophies of social action? If
so, what they are and how do they relate to other philosophies espoused by
similar movements?
“Ideal Human and Ideal Society in
the Thoughts of M. Fethullah Gülen” is proposed as a conference designed to
encourage scholarly research into the questions articulated above, as well as
many more. It is to be interdisciplinary in nature so that the work of the
conference can begin to draw important connections between analyses of the
movement from the perspectives of disciplines such as: cultural studies,
sociology, anthropology, urban studies, literature, history, philosophy, law,
psychology, economics, political science, theology, religious studies, and
international relations, as well as many others.
Possible topics might include, but are
not limited to:
•
Gülen’s perspectives on coexistence, humanity, pluralism and dialogue
• Themes like family, youth, conflict-resolution, positive action, and volunteerism
•
Education, media and community efforts
•
The Hizmet movement across the world and in Pakistan; prospects for Pakistani
society
•
The Hizmet movement, secularism and democracy
•
The Hizmet movement success stories
•
Sufism and spirituality in Gülen’s teachings
•
Case studies on various disciplines
Venue:
University
of the Punjab
Quaid-e-Azam
Campus, Lahore, Pakistan
Article Guidelines
The authors should submit an abstract
(approximately 250 words) and a short biography to the conference coordinator
by August 30, 2012. The editorial committee will review the abstracts and
respond to the submitters. The authors should submit papers of a minimum of
3,000 and a maximum of 6,000 words to the conference coordinator by September
30, 2012. Electronic submission via e-mail is preferred. Authors who choose to
submit hard copies are responsible for the timely delivery of their submissions
by the same deadlines. The editorial board will evaluate and ask the authors to
revise the papers (if needed) and resubmit final copies. The conference
organizers reserve the right to remove from the proposed program papers not
received by the published deadlines or that fail to respond to the comments of
the editorial board. The accepted papers will be published on the conference
webpage after the conference, as well as in the conference proceedings.
Please make sure the references are
properly cited in the author-date format recommended by latest edition of The
Chicago Manual of Style.
Upon request, the organizing committee
will provide interested contributors with the printed version of several
resources, such as books and articles, related to conference themes to
facilitate essay writing.
Dates
September 15, 2012 - Abstract
submission deadline
October 12, 2012 -
Article submission deadline
November 15, 2012 - Registration deadline
Send submissions to : info@idealsocietyconference.org
For inquiries : Conference Secretary (+92 51 221 2250)
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